OK...so I have lots of great ideas and can dream big. My father taught me that. But what I struggle with is finding a little reality, time and resources to make it happen. Here's how it turned out.
My original idea:
"So, here is my idea. I think it would be a great idea to have my students interview their "Great Aunt Susie" about songs their parents used to sing to them or the music of their childhood. From there, interviews could be developed into podcasts and so on.
The best part, their podcasts can be incorporated into the final concert performance. You know, along the lines of any Ken Burns documentary; commentary from real people intermixed with music and facts."
Well, my students did interview their family members and friends. I was hoping for more music related answers but somewhere that point got lost along the way. I was REALLY wanting to hear things like the songs family and friends learned in school, not their favorite band being AC/DC. But none the less, my three classes (110 students worth...) turned in their interviews and many were quite good. I think my students were surprised by how little they actually knew about their family and friends and most enjoyed the opportunity to learn more.
So, now off to the recording stage. I didn't think this part through very well. When I realized I had nearly 100 stories to record, I freaked out a little. My intent was just to use a few in the performance, you know, the ones that said all the right things. Well, none said all the right things. So, now what? Well, I sent most of my students to record their story with my digital recorder. I have chosen a few to use in the performance and now I'm just figuring out how to incorporate them. All that is left now is to "podcast" them. I'm looking at uploading them to gcast.com. I'll post a link as soon as I get it done.
Our big performance is this Thursday. The band and choir have worked hard and have learned some challenging music. Singing with a live band is difficult for anyone but they are pulling it off. I didn't get to spend as much time with the history of folk music as I would have liked. But we did get the histories done and some of them will play in the concert.
So I guess I have reached most of my goal. Now, I just need to get them on the net and it will be done. I better hurry, school is out in three weeks....
Showing posts with label folk music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folk music. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Podcast idea revamped - a better idea
I was thinking just today how my original podcast idea could be improved. Originally I thought about my students researching an artist of their choosing. OK, it was a nice idea, but had nothing to do with anything other than getting them to create a podcast in a way they might care about. But today, I got a better idea.
My choir students are starting to learn a new set of music. It is all folk music from around the world. The last two days the choir has been listening to a Kennedy Center podcast (The Kitchen Sink podcast via iTunes)about the endangered music of the Yunnan Province in China. I prepped the podcast by asking my students to think about all the music and stories that have died throughout history simply because there was no one left who knew the words. Then I asked them to think about that crazy Aunt Susie or Grandpa Joe who always tells the same stories when they come to visit. We talked about how folk music and stories were an oral tradition. When their crazy Aunt Susie tells a story, it is a tradition that is as old as mankind. I wanted to know it was important that they remember the stories, even if they thought there were dumb or unimportant. I then challenged them to listen closer, write down or record these stories because the day will come when Grandpa Joe is gone and his stories will be gone too. I challenged them to remember because they will be helping to preserve their culture and their history.
So, here is my idea. I think it would be a great idea to have my students interview their "Great Aunt Susie" about songs their parents used to sing to them or the music of their childhood. From there, interviews could be developed into podcasts and so on.
The best part, their podcasts can be incorporated into the final concert performance. You know, along the lines of any Ken Burns documentary; commentary from real people intermixed with music and facts.
Oooo, I'm liking this idea more and more.
My choir students are starting to learn a new set of music. It is all folk music from around the world. The last two days the choir has been listening to a Kennedy Center podcast (The Kitchen Sink podcast via iTunes)about the endangered music of the Yunnan Province in China. I prepped the podcast by asking my students to think about all the music and stories that have died throughout history simply because there was no one left who knew the words. Then I asked them to think about that crazy Aunt Susie or Grandpa Joe who always tells the same stories when they come to visit. We talked about how folk music and stories were an oral tradition. When their crazy Aunt Susie tells a story, it is a tradition that is as old as mankind. I wanted to know it was important that they remember the stories, even if they thought there were dumb or unimportant. I then challenged them to listen closer, write down or record these stories because the day will come when Grandpa Joe is gone and his stories will be gone too. I challenged them to remember because they will be helping to preserve their culture and their history.
So, here is my idea. I think it would be a great idea to have my students interview their "Great Aunt Susie" about songs their parents used to sing to them or the music of their childhood. From there, interviews could be developed into podcasts and so on.
The best part, their podcasts can be incorporated into the final concert performance. You know, along the lines of any Ken Burns documentary; commentary from real people intermixed with music and facts.
Oooo, I'm liking this idea more and more.
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