Inclusive Composition
This composition was created using virtual drums, scissors, piano and saxophone. This particular exercise was presented to the class to get us thinking about other avenues to make music. We were asked to consider using technology, body percussion, found objects and traditional instrumentation as a tool to make music together.
Reflection
Chantel Vallier
This type of improvisational activity has never been easy for me, it is almost at as uncomfortable as some movement activities. This comes from my comfort level and preference for reading music. Other forms of musicing such as playing by ear play off my anxiety in not wanting to make a "wrong" note. Where does this come from? I think that this type of conditioning is instilled in us by the education system. There is a need to feel that we are correct and that our answer is good. Instead, we should be valuing the risks students take and how they are able to think through concepts and problems. This comes back to the struggles I have with assessment and assigning grades. Do we value and assess the process or the product and what makes something "good?"
Reflection
Marysia Bulanowski
For our group composition, we had a saxophone iPad drum set, scissors, and a piano. We improvised prior to recording, in order to get a sense of our sound. I chose to play piano, to add some melody to our composition. I focused on playing in a pentatonic scale, as I find it to be a comfortable and safe area for improvisation. We recorded our tracks individually and complied them together. I found that when playing through zoom, the lag made it very difficult to really play to a common beat. Playing through our parts individually, in order to record made it more relaxed as we could make multiple takes to find one, we were happy with. The group composition could have been smoother if we were all in the same room, feeding off each other’s energy and listening to peoples works as we contributed our own. I think the energy and enthusiasm of being with a group of musicians can influence the essence of the composition.
Reflection
Jason Jamieson
I am a lifetime composer and improviser; and I’ve always noodled around and improvised solos in jazz and rock concerts. After completing my capstone research on open-ended composition activities I would think that being given the chance to compose should be right up my alley, but having the four conditions put upon it immediately removed any enthusiasm I had for the process. Requiring us to use specific instrumentation felt arbitrary and unnecessary, and completing all of it within 15 minutes was another restriction that impacted my enthusiasm for the assignment.
I mustered some effort and used the Garage Band digital drumset on my iPad pro to lay down a pretty basic rock beat to form the foundation for the “composition”. Then Adam insisted he wanted to use scissors as a rhythmic instrument because he saw it in a stage performance once, and Chantel and Marysia added melodic instruments. The result was a cacophonous mess, if perceived from a western music tradition, because lag and delay meant none of the rhythms fit together the way we wanted. We discussed it, but then we were called back into the class zoom chat, so it was abandoned at that point.
However, later that day we were told we had to record the composition and write this reflection upon the process (which was frustrating and likely impacted our enthusiasm for the endeavour because we had to do it all again). So we went back into zoom, and this time we decided to input our parts separately so we could match up the rhythms. I laid down the drum track with a four beat click intro, then Adam added scissors, and Marysia added her piano at the same time as Chantel added her saxophone. This meant that the melodic instruments didn’t blend, so Adam did some manipulation of the parts to help them blend better before submission.
I recognize that Caroline placed restrictions upon the assignment intentionally, and I know she was tying it to the lesson we had just done on musicians with autism, but I still don’t see the connection and I don’t feel it was made clear. Perhaps restricting us was to help us empathize with the challenges people with autism would have with the activity. Perhaps it was to hamstring our musical abilities. Regardless I felt the conditions were unnecessary and inappropriate in the face of everything I’ve read on restricting musical creativity. Perhaps if I understood the purpose of the restrictions I might feel differently. Regardless we had a couple of laughs and some fun in the process, but I can’t say I’m pleased with our end product. Then again, maybe the product was irrelevant here and it was meant to be about the joy in the process. I just wish I knew.
Reflection
Adam Koopmans
I chose to “play” the scissors. I’ve actually seen them played live, believe it or not, in Noel Gallagher’s (ex-Oasis) High Flying Birds. They're obviously a common classroom and household accessory and I had a pair close by when were asked to jam in our group. It’s a satisfying high frequency percussive click that’s quite enjoyable to make. And because of the frequency range it’s audible through many other instruments.
In creating the composition I acted as the arranger, which could be the teacher, or a student with some technological knowledge. Two parts were submitted roughly the same time, which were actually in two different keys and wouldn’t automatically work together. Instead of asking one to be replayed, it was an opportunity to try and replicate a situation where perhaps a student submitted the best they could do, or any able to play in different keys etc. This ended up trying to use one as a harmony part to the other in the arrangement and view it like as everything that was contributed could be made to work.