The students and I enjoyed another visit from one of our Composer House composers last week. Mikey Maiorana and Mandy Fassett, both musicians and composers in Minneapolis, taught students how improvisation can be used in writing music. The duo first performed a piece that Mikey had composed, reading the notated music while they played. Then, they demonstrated an improvisation, making up music on the spot without any written notation, based on ideas suggested by the students. It was fun to see how the students' ideas could be instantly expressed in music.
Next, the students had their turn at collaboratively creating a new piece of music through improvisation. Each student improvised a four beat pattern using only two different pitches. Mikey notated some of the patterns so the students could see and repeat them to help them choose their favorites. As a group, they chose an order for their favorite improvised patterns to create a new piece of music. In only 25 minutes, each first through fifth grade class was able to improvise, compose, and perform their own brand new piece of music! The students were impressed by how easy, fast, and fun writing music can be. Kindergartners have been learning about instruments and how they make sounds, so they enjoyed learning about Mikey's melodica and Mandy's violin. For many students, it was their first time seeing either instrument in person. The melodica is a wind instrument in which vibrating reeds produce sound, but it looks like a tiny piano. Mandy demonstrated different ways that the strings on her violin can make sound and how she can change the pitch of the strings. You can learn more about Mikey's work as a composer at his website: https://www.maioranamusic.com/
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Songwriter Kyle Gray Young visited music classes for a two day residency this week. Kyle is one of our Composer House composers this year, so it was very exciting for the students to meet him after learning about him and his music this fall. Students learned a method for writing songs, but they also learned about his guitars, how he became a songwriter, and his career.
Each first through fifth grade class collaboratively wrote at least one verse of an original song during their time with Kyle. Students first came up with rhyming words, then made sentences or phrases that ended with those words to create lyrics. They enjoyed being creative with their lyrics, especially when they learned that songs can be about made up things, they don't have to make sense, and they can even include made up words. Once the lyrics were written, individual students offered to make up melodies for each line. Kyle then added guitar chords to the melody. Each class was able to sing their own original songs, complete with lyrics, melodies, and chords, after only one class period of work. It was so fun to see them so engaged in this creative process! Kyle will be putting together the verses and choruses written by the students to create an original, collaboratively written song for each grade level. We hope to premier them at the spring concert! Kindergartners also enjoyed Kyle's residency as he taught them about his electric and acoustic guitar. They learned about how the guitar works and how it can produce high and low sounds. One of the kindergarten sections was also able to write a verse of a song! In the two days since Kyle's residency, so many students have talked about or even performed songs that they've started writing on their own. We are so fortunate to have this partnership that is helping students to explore this powerful way to express themselves. I can't wait to hear more of their original songs! |
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