I AM Sound Collage
Materials: Journals, Something to write with, recorder (laptop? digital recorder?). Work in small groups/pods. One mentor per pod. One facilitator to give large group instructions at the beginning, help keep groups moving in production mode, and coordinate small group work into large group show and tell at the end.
1. (NO more than 10 minutes) In journals, Finish the following four sentences. One facilitator– read each statement one at a time and give time to write an answer. One mentor per pod - help small groups keep moving with next statements, if some groups are going slower than others. Facilitator – as you read each statement, type and project it on the big screen.
FOCUS: - quick writing, not too much worrying over the answer. Just write down the first thing that pops into your head.
I am
I make
I want
I am
---
(Other statements to use on subsequent days?)
I am/ I create/ I like/ I am
___
I build/ I hate/ I am from/ I am
2. (NO MORE than 5 minutes) In small groups – Take turns reading the poems out loud. Mentors record everyone at their table. Listen to the recordings to make sure they’re audible. If they’re not, re-record. Notes about what to use? Use audacity? Odeo? Can we use frooty loops? how do we get the voiceover into FL?
3. Editing: Mentors lead pods through how to save the recordings, converting, and playback. Focus on things like audio levels, where is the microphone, what background noise is audible, etc. With small group – decide about order of statements. Change the orders of statements – let each person in the group make choices about what to put where. Use this to talk about arrangement – sequencing, rhythm, pace, repetition, variation. Ask questions:
Why do you want to put it (there)?
What sounds do you think make for good beginnings, endings, or middles? Why?
What kinds of differences do you hear in the recordings of each other’s voices?
In small groups, compose a 2 minute sound collage from the recordings based on the conversation above. Everyone must be represented in the collage at least once. Everyone must have input about what to put where, or why. Try to encourage moving statements around, out of the order in which they were recorded. Repetition is fine. Just get everyone's voice, and everyone's input.
ISSUES/Questions – There is down time while recordings are being uploaded unless we record directly into the laptops.
Can each student record into their own laptop to allow each student to have material to work with, or is it better to use one laptop per pod, and push students to work together?
For this project - keep the mixing relatively simple. The goals for this project are to get some familiarity with recording, collaging, group work, editing/arranging concepts, and connecting pen and paper writing with other modes of production. More elaborate mixing, sampling, and editing can be layered to these skills later.
4. Performance: Pods play their collages for the large group.
NEXT DAY: add beats to the collages. Create a spoken word, composed music collage.
FURTHER USE: could become material for video – soundtrack, score, miniprojects, or all the small group work could later be collaged together into a larger piece.
Materials: Journals, Something to write with, recorder (laptop? digital recorder?). Work in small groups/pods. One mentor per pod. One facilitator to give large group instructions at the beginning, help keep groups moving in production mode, and coordinate small group work into large group show and tell at the end.
1. (NO more than 10 minutes) In journals, Finish the following four sentences. One facilitator– read each statement one at a time and give time to write an answer. One mentor per pod - help small groups keep moving with next statements, if some groups are going slower than others. Facilitator – as you read each statement, type and project it on the big screen.
FOCUS: - quick writing, not too much worrying over the answer. Just write down the first thing that pops into your head.
I am
I make
I want
I am
---
(Other statements to use on subsequent days?)
I am/ I create/ I like/ I am
___
I build/ I hate/ I am from/ I am
2. (NO MORE than 5 minutes) In small groups – Take turns reading the poems out loud. Mentors record everyone at their table. Listen to the recordings to make sure they’re audible. If they’re not, re-record.
Notes about what to use? Use audacity? Odeo? Can we use frooty loops? how do we get the voiceover into FL?
3. Editing: Mentors lead pods through how to save the recordings, converting, and playback. Focus on things like audio levels, where is the microphone, what background noise is audible, etc. With small group – decide about order of statements. Change the orders of statements – let each person in the group make choices about what to put where. Use this to talk about arrangement – sequencing, rhythm, pace, repetition, variation. Ask questions:
Why do you want to put it (there)?
What sounds do you think make for good beginnings, endings, or middles? Why?
What kinds of differences do you hear in the recordings of each other’s voices?
In small groups, compose a 2 minute sound collage from the recordings based on the conversation above. Everyone must be represented in the collage at least once. Everyone must have input about what to put where, or why. Try to encourage moving statements around, out of the order in which they were recorded. Repetition is fine. Just get everyone's voice, and everyone's input.
ISSUES/Questions – There is down time while recordings are being uploaded unless we record directly into the laptops.
Can each student record into their own laptop to allow each student to have material to work with, or is it better to use one laptop per pod, and push students to work together?
For this project - keep the mixing relatively simple. The goals for this project are to get some familiarity with recording, collaging, group work, editing/arranging concepts, and connecting pen and paper writing with other modes of production. More elaborate mixing, sampling, and editing can be layered to these skills later.
4. Performance: Pods play their collages for the large group.
NEXT DAY: add beats to the collages. Create a spoken word, composed music collage.
FURTHER USE: could become material for video – soundtrack, score, miniprojects, or all the small group work could later be collaged together into a larger piece.