Third-Stream Music Education

Way-New Music: Tod Machover

Here’s one for the IB Music teachers and high school general music teachers, for your file of lesson plans for non-musical substitute teachers, or just to keep us all on our toes.

You should know the name of Tod Machover, if only from your undergraduate-level Music History of the 20th Century class (his composition “Bug Mudra” for two amplified guitars, electronic percussion, computer-driven conducting glove, and computer is a commonly used example of electronic art music). You might even know his Hyperscore software for composing music (and teaching higher musical concepts such as form, texture and melody) without the traditional hassle of music notation. Mr. Machover is not only a prolific composer of art music using electronic instruments, but is also an prolific inventor of astonishing new music technologies. He teaches both in his role as Professor of Music and Media at MIT’s Media Lab. In fact, Mr. Machover and his proteges are inventing the future of music–the traditions, language, instruments, even the paradigms–of whatever musical epoch will follow our current contemporary music epoch.

Discussion of Machover’s instruments and compositions is sure to fire up a good debate among your upper-level students (and faculty!) You may find that individuals with greater formal music training may be more prepared to listen with an open mind (reminiscent of older, more accepted 20th Century composers such as serialists) or less prepared to listen with an open mind (”That doesn’t sound like music” or “people make music, computers are just a gimmick” or “Composing without reading notation is just cheating”). Please take a few minutes to explore the following links, starting with the TED conference presentation. Then string a few links into a mini-lesson, and ask your students some provocative questions. Is it music? Is the performer still the performer? Will electronic music replace acoustic music entirely? Will the instrument you play soon be obsolete? Is turn-tablism (DJ-ing) an instrument/form of musicianship? If you were to create a brand-new, never-before-thought-of instrument, what would it be?

Presentation at a TED conference including new music by Dan Ellsey
Todmachover.com
Hyperscore.com
Scientific American interview covering Brain Opera
Current projects at MIT’s Media Lab
Next opera Death and the Powers

Add comment August 31st, 2009

Essential and Non-Negotiable Percussion Strategy #1

Percussionists deal with a wide variety of sound-generating implements. The more your percussion students grow towards artistry, the more they will experiment with non-traditional methods of generating vibrations from each instrument to achieve the exact desired sound. However, when it’s time to rest, then it’s time to rest….and there is no substitute for silence. Silence, it has been said, is the canvas on which musicians paint. But both your percussion students and your wind students deserve a clean canvas to work their magic. In this vein, today’s percussion tip is not how to make better sounds but rather how to make no sound when silence is called for.

The secret is actually quite simple. Teach every percussionist that they require a minimum of TWO music stands–even just to play one single instrument. Set the second stand next to the instrument rather than behind it, lay it flat, and throw a black towel over it…viola, a tray for the sticks! One flat music stand can hold a pair of sticks and a tambourine; two triangles and a few beaters; a pair of yarn mallets, castanets, finger cymbals and a triangle beater; or a half-dozen pairs of sticks and keyboard mallets. Commercial stick trays are available, of course, and there is a critical mass of equipment which is better suited to a proper table or rolling percussion cabinet. Either way, the idea is to have your percussionists set their implements on a padded surface while counting rests, changing instruments during a piece, or listening to instructions during rehearsal. Make your percussionists use a stick tray consistently, and make sure your upperclassmen indoctrinate your freshmen into this habit. The primary benefit is quiet mallet changes, but valuable fringe benefits include less hacking during non-playing moments, avoiding sticks rolling off of snare drums and clattering onto the floor, and improved ergonomics when switching instruments during a piece. Listening for and appreciating silent stick changes might even lead your percussion students to discover a new appreciation for the quality of sound they make when it is time to actually strike an instrument!

Add comment August 27th, 2009