I am going to do a little cross posting. My other blog Virtical Education covers my Instructional Design/Technology thoughts. Of course, music and IT cross paths often in my life, thoughts and activities.
Our KSQ mission is to promote music for life in our communities. This mission I take seriously and look for ways to expand our knowledge of what is going on in the great musical community. By doing so, I feel we can develop not only an understanding, but an appreciation for the role our group plays in the overall musical community. Certainly, an area of interest for me is music education.
As we think about the future of music education, it is my thought that we have great opportunities to learn how we learn, how our kids learn, what motivates us to grow (and learn), all driven by new technologies and approaches to learning. The Wii MUSIC game is a pretty good example of how to mainstream music learning. Music has been held back from the masses for most of our countries history. While in ancient time, music was revered as a necessary academic subject for all.
I just started working with a talent, young Saxophonist from a local school district. She has access to the school's technology resources including Smart Music and recording equipment. My business partner also shared a recent story about a band director, while attending a PMEA festival, was able to continue testing his students at school by using SKYPE to listen to their scale assessments that were due. And, if you have not tried Wii MUSIC and read about the support of the MENC, this is a good opportunity to catch up on what is going on. Technology and music education offer a truly powerful way to connect students to the subject, and to talent teachers. My own venture, viaAcademies relies on this premise and promise of the two working in harmony.
Does Wii change the way I think about saxophone and saxophone quartets. No! Appreciating it helps me in a broader sense though. KSQ's mission requires us to be diverse, and to expand our view past our immediate musical contribution. I think all great groups who strive to influence the growth of the art of music should do the same.
Please visit my other blog and read more about Wii MUSIC.
Showing posts with label Digital Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digital Arts. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Merger Arts: Combining Visual with Musical
The digital age has opened many avenues for the creative promotion of musical art. Besides the obvious distribution channels, ie web postings, podcasts, online downloads for purchase (iTunes), there are some amazing examples of digital "merger" arts. I like to call this a Merger Art because one art promotes the other. In this case, the digitial animations and music work together seemlessly, merged together to form a single experiences. One without the others seems a bit pointless.
The AniMusic videos are not new, I remember seeing the bouncing ball example about a year ago and was almost convinced it was real. Now enter the HD world. This morning, I downloaded the HD version of "Resonant Chamber".
If you are so inclined to download at 280MB of this single video, it took me about 15 minutes on cable in the early am. In the end, I now have a great clip to watch when I want to.
So, what does this have to do with quartet performance?
First, what I love about this clip is the visiual aspect of what is going on in the music. The animators do an incredible job connecting us to the music by being at the right place at the right time VISUALLY. There is a section where the bass does a gliss'ed line. As it is played, the view is of course on the bass. Seeing and hearing the bass line creates a great connection to what is going on musically. This "vision" of what is going on is something that all of us have experienced. For example, after you have heard a piece, or practiced a piece, the music starts to BECOME more a part of you. In essense, we can start to "see" the music. We start to anticipate what is coming up and start to visualize the sound. This is an amazing phenomenon in my mind. It is one of the great occurances that makes music so enjoyable. The Animusic clip is a great way to actually visually demonstrate this "merger" of the mind's eye and the musical sounds.
Secondly, and somewhat connected to number 1, is a lesson for all musical groups. The visual hand off of musical lines throughout a composition is what really makes an audience connect to the music. When I think of some of the greatest recitals I have heard (and seen), I think of groups like the Canadian Brass, The Nuclear Whales and the New Century Sax Quartet. I would also add groups like the New York Phil to that list on a larger scale. The point is with each of these groups, the musicians interact in a way that hands off musical lines throughout a performance. The audience can not only hear, but see how the lines connect. The motions are subtle. Disconnected from the music they would almost if not totally be inperceptable. Sometimes the connection is eye contact between performers. Other times, a shoulder node handing off a melodic line to the next perform in the line up. For groups that move about, a step forward or back depending on the musical phrase or priority brings about the vision. Of course, groups that sit, like the symphony are capable of making these visual musical connections. The way that this example of Animusic scripts the perspective throughout demonstrates a good lesson for all groups. Creating the visual connection to the music can be incredibly powerful.
Learning from our world around us means we have to step outside our domain once in awhile. When you have the time, download the clip and others and see what inspiration they could create for you.
The AniMusic videos are not new, I remember seeing the bouncing ball example about a year ago and was almost convinced it was real. Now enter the HD world. This morning, I downloaded the HD version of "Resonant Chamber".
If you are so inclined to download at 280MB of this single video, it took me about 15 minutes on cable in the early am. In the end, I now have a great clip to watch when I want to.So, what does this have to do with quartet performance?
First, what I love about this clip is the visiual aspect of what is going on in the music. The animators do an incredible job connecting us to the music by being at the right place at the right time VISUALLY. There is a section where the bass does a gliss'ed line. As it is played, the view is of course on the bass. Seeing and hearing the bass line creates a great connection to what is going on musically. This "vision" of what is going on is something that all of us have experienced. For example, after you have heard a piece, or practiced a piece, the music starts to BECOME more a part of you. In essense, we can start to "see" the music. We start to anticipate what is coming up and start to visualize the sound. This is an amazing phenomenon in my mind. It is one of the great occurances that makes music so enjoyable. The Animusic clip is a great way to actually visually demonstrate this "merger" of the mind's eye and the musical sounds.
Secondly, and somewhat connected to number 1, is a lesson for all musical groups. The visual hand off of musical lines throughout a composition is what really makes an audience connect to the music. When I think of some of the greatest recitals I have heard (and seen), I think of groups like the Canadian Brass, The Nuclear Whales and the New Century Sax Quartet. I would also add groups like the New York Phil to that list on a larger scale. The point is with each of these groups, the musicians interact in a way that hands off musical lines throughout a performance. The audience can not only hear, but see how the lines connect. The motions are subtle. Disconnected from the music they would almost if not totally be inperceptable. Sometimes the connection is eye contact between performers. Other times, a shoulder node handing off a melodic line to the next perform in the line up. For groups that move about, a step forward or back depending on the musical phrase or priority brings about the vision. Of course, groups that sit, like the symphony are capable of making these visual musical connections. The way that this example of Animusic scripts the perspective throughout demonstrates a good lesson for all groups. Creating the visual connection to the music can be incredibly powerful.
Learning from our world around us means we have to step outside our domain once in awhile. When you have the time, download the clip and others and see what inspiration they could create for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
