"Sounding Stones" – DE
I. Abstract
"Sounding Stones" is a process-oriented educational activity in which pupils explore how stones can be used as musical instruments. To this end they categorise the sounds they discover and compose a piece of music together which they then present and analyse. This lesson plan opens up a wide variety of possibilities for approaching the subject of "new" music and at the same time for integrating aspects of other subjects (physics, geology, crafts).
Coordination
Olaf Pyras is a freelance musician and teaches percussion at the Institute of Music at the University of Kassel and the Music Academy in Detmold.
II. Introduction
The lesson's starting point is a tub containing pebbles which serve as instruments for the entire class. In the course of a variety of different tasks that have as their aim the exploration of sounds the pupils develop their own compositions which are then analysed according to selected criteria (e.g. structure, tone colour creation).
A tub containing pebbles
To aid the analysis and keep a record of the process the sounds produced are recorded at regular intervals. The pupils themselves take on the role of the conductor right from the start. The lesson offers many opportunities for digressions into related subjects such as geology, physics, crafts, new music and many more. There are no age constraints for this activity, and so far it has been done with pupils from grades 4 to 12.
The fact that Olaf Pyras, a freelance musician, developed and implemented the activity provides a good example of successful cooperation with freelance musicians. However, any music teacher at any school can do this activity, making it a universal example of practice. The model demonstrates a successful implementation of those central aspects that we deem especially important.
Given the material used for the instrument, interdisciplinary learning is almost inevitable. Besides the musical objectives of the activity, the highly communicative nature of the group work also promotes social skills.
III. The example
Warm-up: Listening experience – listening to stones
The lesson starts with warm-up exercises in which the pupils experiment with the sounds made by the stones. This is followed by a reflection on what has just been experienced.
Stage 1: Sound exploration
A period of free experimentation is followed by a task that aims to achieve a deliberate refinement of the sound by limiting it to sounds produced by friction. This task can incorporate activities such as performing a certain number of actions per person and minute, imitating sounds, finding contrasting sounds, making rules for playing (with) the stones and, to finish off, presenting a piece of stone music that lasts one minute.
Sound exploration tasks
From the outset the task of conducting is
entrusted to the pupils. The first task the conductor has is producing a
graphic representation of a piece of music that lasts one minute. Later on he
or she also influences the form of the music creatively. In addition to
structuring the time, possibilities present themselves such as combining
sounds, fading in, fading out and cross-fading, etc. The conductor and the
group agree on symbols for general rests, solos, tutti beats etc. Stonemusic
1
The recordings that ensure a record is kept of every presentation are always part of the next stage and form the basis of the analysis. During the analysis the whole group develops the composition in which disparate parts are layered and/or arranged in sequence.
Stage 2: Rhythmical stones
Under the heading "rhythmical stones" a pattern-oriented piece is developed. Aspects for analysis here include tone density, tone colour, rhythmic stability, rhythmic centres, dynamics etc.
Depending on the age group the first digression can take place at this stage, e.g. into the topic of "the development of noise in 20th century music". To add to the available sounds the tonal quality of other stones is explored and the issue raised of the point at which a noise becomes a sound of an audible pitch: friction-induced sounds, coloured noise, rolling sounds, percussive sounds, differing pitches and layer sounds are examined. Which techniques specific to musical instruments can also be used on stones? Do stones produce sound if they are played with a bow?
A second digression could take the form of a visit to a stonemason's workshop because working the stones with machinery adds to the diversity of sounds. For further explanation of this a digression into geology and physics is useful: which stones vibrate particularly well? What is the physical difference between a sound and a noise? What are vibration nodes, and what does that mean for the mountings?
Which stones vibrate particularly well?
Stage 3: Studying stone instruments
Each group now decides which instruments they are going to use and discusses their limitations with regard to sound production and playing possibilities. The sounds can be classified as follows:
· noise,
· struck stones (high pitch),
· struck stones (medium-low pitch),
· rubbed stones,
· microphoned stones.
Stage 4: Inventing music – composing
The final task is one of composition. The
pupils are instructed to develop an idea to perform that last three minutes and
to rehearse it, paying attention to formal characteristics such as a dynamic
progression. Stonemusic 2
Another digression, on the subject of notation, can be undertaken here. The pupils develop and try out suitable written symbols.
To finish, a look can be taken at composers who have made stone part of their music, such as:
· Christian Wolff: Stones,
· John Cage: Ryoanji,
· Dieter Schnebel: Re-Visionen & Missa Brevis,
· Peter Eötvös: Stein.
IV. Commentary
The model described here was published in the journal Musik & Bildung, Mainz 3/07. Its strength lies in the material’s tremendous creative potential and the group work. What is particularly appealing is the fact that either the entire project can be undertaken or specific tasks from it can be used as lesson material. The methodology is in keeping with all the currently accepted learning forms that promise long-term benefits. The project fosters both affective and cognitive activity, and both on a number of different performance levels.
The digressions described can either involve the whole class or be strategically brought into play as incentives tailored to the differing learning capabilities of individual pupils in order to elicit maximum performance. The whole activity generates a large number of group experiences and just as many personal discoveries and learning possibilities.
V. Contact
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