The other day I showed a different, shorter one of these. But before we watched, I gave the kids a discussion question regarding Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I explained to them some pros (it might get kids to play instruments who were otherwise unmotivated) and cons (it might prevent kids from investing their time in learning how to read actual music).
This was a definite Mike Lee “music and ethics influence”.
So, this is the Guitar Hero version of examining music. It allows kids who can’t read music to see patterns, make predictions, etc. And to balance things out, next week I will play them some Chopin with my human fingers and display the black notes.
Not surprisingly, most students were pro-video game. One who was adamantly against it is an Asian girl (insert John Barnts stereotype here) who is a phenomenal pianist, knows her Major and minor key signatures, and is the only person at the school with perfect pitch. So if the majority rules, Guitar Hero wins amongst fourth and fifth graders. But if you give a heavily weighted vote to the girl whose opinion I trust the most, well… . Interesting.
Final note: The boys pay more attention once you tell them that Chopin’s had his heart removed after his death at age 39 and you can still see it in a church in Warsaw.
One more final note: One student asked if we were listening to a person playing the piano or a computer that sounds like a piano. Fabulous. The plot thickened.
I think the basic concept of musical literacy is changing. Before standardized notation, literacy meant being able to follow the solfege hand signals of a conductor. Now, it means being able to read a part from a printed page.
If we keep in mind that the purpose of notation is execution, that it exists to efficiently communicate musical ideas, then fluency in technology for exchanging musical ideas is becoming part of literacy.
Even now, for some styles of music, standard notation is useless. It doesn’t matter to me if the vocalist can read a lead sheet, it matters if they can pull the part off the demo after one listen, and then sing it.
For the piece I’m writing now for a HS choir, it’s going to be a pain in the butt to notate the thing in standard notation. I would much, MUCH rather make a demo, pass it off to the teacher, and have them learn it by ear, let them mute or pull up different parts to get where they fit. They would learn it more quickly, it would sound closer to my original idea, my ideas would be much more natural than they will be if I fit them into a music notation scheme.
The reason I can’t do it that way is because the choir directors would view this as “cheating”. They think it’s a betrayal of what they are supposed to teach to allow their students to learn a piece by relying on some kind of musical literacy other than ink.
“I’ve finished your composition. Here’s the thing – the ideas don’t fit into standard notation. I’ve recorded it, your students can learn it, they will perform it beautifully, and learning this piece will teach them some very complex things about time and rhythm that they don’t yet understand, but none of that will happen if you make me write it down and make them learn it from the page.”
sharolyn, and 
Stick 12:40 pm on 11 March 2010 Permalink
Cool. I like how you can see the more dissonant intervals inside pretty sounding passages.
sharolyn 5:45 pm on 11 March 2010 Permalink
Yes. It also made me realize how long he intended those bass notes to last. Little things like that.
michael 5:57 pm on 11 March 2010 Permalink
Very cool.
Sharolyn 2:15 pm on 19 March 2010 Permalink
The other day I showed a different, shorter one of these. But before we watched, I gave the kids a discussion question regarding Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I explained to them some pros (it might get kids to play instruments who were otherwise unmotivated) and cons (it might prevent kids from investing their time in learning how to read actual music).
This was a definite Mike Lee “music and ethics influence”.
So, this is the Guitar Hero version of examining music. It allows kids who can’t read music to see patterns, make predictions, etc. And to balance things out, next week I will play them some Chopin with my human fingers and display the black notes.
Not surprisingly, most students were pro-video game. One who was adamantly against it is an Asian girl (insert John Barnts stereotype here) who is a phenomenal pianist, knows her Major and minor key signatures, and is the only person at the school with perfect pitch. So if the majority rules, Guitar Hero wins amongst fourth and fifth graders. But if you give a heavily weighted vote to the girl whose opinion I trust the most, well… . Interesting.
Final note: The boys pay more attention once you tell them that Chopin’s had his heart removed after his death at age 39 and you can still see it in a church in Warsaw.
Sharolyn 2:17 pm on 19 March 2010 Permalink
One more final note: One student asked if we were listening to a person playing the piano or a computer that sounds like a piano. Fabulous. The plot thickened.
michael 11:50 am on 20 March 2010 Permalink
I think the basic concept of musical literacy is changing. Before standardized notation, literacy meant being able to follow the solfege hand signals of a conductor. Now, it means being able to read a part from a printed page.
If we keep in mind that the purpose of notation is execution, that it exists to efficiently communicate musical ideas, then fluency in technology for exchanging musical ideas is becoming part of literacy.
Even now, for some styles of music, standard notation is useless. It doesn’t matter to me if the vocalist can read a lead sheet, it matters if they can pull the part off the demo after one listen, and then sing it.
For the piece I’m writing now for a HS choir, it’s going to be a pain in the butt to notate the thing in standard notation. I would much, MUCH rather make a demo, pass it off to the teacher, and have them learn it by ear, let them mute or pull up different parts to get where they fit. They would learn it more quickly, it would sound closer to my original idea, my ideas would be much more natural than they will be if I fit them into a music notation scheme.
The reason I can’t do it that way is because the choir directors would view this as “cheating”. They think it’s a betrayal of what they are supposed to teach to allow their students to learn a piece by relying on some kind of musical literacy other than ink.
Sharolyn 8:18 pm on 20 March 2010 Permalink
Well, they are supposed to teach the ink, but I understand, it’s not a betrayal to do something else, too.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/SS/muproficient.asp
michael 9:00 pm on 20 March 2010 Permalink
“I’ve finished your composition. Here’s the thing – the ideas don’t fit into standard notation. I’ve recorded it, your students can learn it, they will perform it beautifully, and learning this piece will teach them some very complex things about time and rhythm that they don’t yet understand, but none of that will happen if you make me write it down and make them learn it from the page.”
I would love to say that. I don’t think I can!