For the past two weeks in MUS150, we have been exploring the technologies Scratch and Makey-Makey. Jesse gave us two prompts to choose from and design an experience from that using the two technologies listed before. My partner, Erica, and I initially chose the prompt for the child with a disability, but by the end of our creation realized that our experience could have easily fit for either prompt. We decided to do the prompt for the child with limited movement abilities because we thought it would be interesting to design an experience for a child with disabilities since we had never thought of encountering a situation like that before. The prompt shaped our thinking and acting because we knew we had to create something that would be easy for them to use, as well as easy for them to figure out how to use because the experience could not have notation. We had to break down the project to its raw materials to make this as easy and flexible for the child to use. In the end, we created a piano/xylophone looking instrument with a hodge-podge of materials that could be used with Makey-Makey. Jesse gave us the idea to look up easy Makey Makey piano on Scratch, which we did, and that spurred our ideas that came later. We wanted something that was easy to use and was fun to look at. We thought that using larger objects for lower sounds and smaller objects for higher sounds would give the student a better connection of what keys to press and how to figure out the instrument more easily. We connected each object to a different wire that could be connected to Makey-Makey, then used the Scratch program to allow us to connect the different notes on the piano to different objects. We had difficulty connecting the Makey-Makey device to the keyboard initially, so we confronted this challenge by asking Jesse for help. We also struggled with figuring out how to produce a sound by connecting wires to objects. After some random experimenting and looking at the instruction manual, we figured out that you had to be holding the wire that was connected to earth and then touching the objects that were connected to other buttons on the Makey-Makey to produce the sound wanted.
In a listening-based experience with middle school general music students, I could have them listen to a popular pop song and break down the different parts of the song. To make it even more interesting and challenging, I could also choose a remix of the same popular pop song and break down those parts of it. They would have to break it down by hearing the different instruments and loops and assigning each instrumental or musical part to a certain object. The project would force them to listen to the piece, hear each part, and then use Scratch and Makey-Makey to produce that same sound by touching an object that reminds them of that sound quality. With a non-formal community music making group with members from diverse populations, I could have them be more interactive and communicative by putting them in groups and making them create their own melodies. With Makey-Makey and Scratch, they could either make an instrument, like a piano, out of household objects, that plays certain chords at once by clicking a single button, or they could draw a picture that has different loops depending on which area of the picture is pressed. This experience allows people of all different interests and abilities to join in to create music and learn about what sounds good together. With an honors ensemble in a performance situation, we could use Makey-Makey and Scratch to produce the interesting sounds required for a piece without actually having the instrument if we are limited on resources or we could add creative loops and extra noises to add to the performance. If resources are limited, such as not being able to find enough Whirlies or tuned wineglasses for a piece, they could explore and discover how to use Makey-Makey and Scratch, to program these sounds by pressing simple objects like pots or pans. You could also have students learn to create loops that could be pressed with their foot to create a back drop for them to play to if it was an honors jazz ensemble. Comments are closed.
|
Davina MiawOn this page, I will present examples of my leadership through videos, lesson plans, and reflections. Archives
December 2019
Categories |