Finding the Groove

Each day in Ms. Hostetter's 8th grade music class at Pence Middle School begins with a listening activity.  A piece of music is selected, then played for the students.  The kids listen attentively as they write their impressions in their notebooks.  They use a rubrik that is permanently mounted at the front of the classroom to guide their responses.  Style, dynamics, form, meter, tempo, texture, and more, give students lots of ideas and lots of things to listen to.  A lively discussion ensues as Ms. Hostetter calls on students to share their observations.

I got to select the listening lesson yesterday as part of my guest-artist role.  I've been invited to help the students in the 8th grade Orff ensemble class compose their own music.  I chose a great tune by my good friend, recording engineer, and studio musician, Bart Reardon.  October '97 is a sweet, pop-jazz tune that shows lots of the elements that I'll be working out with the kids over the three sessions that I'll be meeting with them.

Bart composed this tune,  built it, developed it  and added harmony over an infectious groove.  A soaring B section frames the tune and a 'fantasia' section provides a chance to improvise.  All of this was woven through a fabric of accompaniment that supported the tune and moved us through the form in a tuneful four minutes or so.

After a lively discussion of all the elements involved with Bart's composition, Ms. Hostetter assigned each student into a group of 3 or 4.  My first assignment for them was to "Find a Groove."  We talked for a while about how several of my compositions were generated by hearing a cool groove, melody or rhythm pattern.  A favorite of the class is Jewe, a tune composed in a similar setting in 1996 by a group of 7th graders.  I shared with them that the original groove came from a cut from Mickey Hart's Planet Drum CD.  We took the groove to the marimbas and began to play.  Pretty soon, we had 4 riffs that we joined together, made an arrangement, and had a very cool marimba tune.

Off the students went in their groups, each tasked with finding a groove and playing it on their Orff instruments.  Ms Hostetter and I circulated among the students, listening, suggesting, molding, learning and most importantly, encouraging.  Some kids jumped in right away,  some were a little reluctant but all willingly joined in the activity.

Basically, every student is invited to compose a tune, riff, or groove.  They teach it to the members of their group and together they work out layers of accompaniment and harmony.  As kids create, Ms Hostetter and I help them with the form, the harmony, and with the development of the tune, always learning from the student and guiding them on to the next step.

Day one was a huge success.  Several of the pieces show promise and the enthusiasm from the students is growing.  The composition process is often infectious.  You get a little bit of a groove, then build it, develop it and excitement and interest build and develop right along with it.  It's a fun process and very enjoyable for the students and for us.  Day two will be next week.  It will be interesting to find out if the interest is still high and the student's work can be completed.  Stay tuned.

Pittsburgh AOSA 1980 / 2011

In the process of making final preparations for the trip to Pittsburgh for this years AOSA conference I got to thinking about the last time the AOSA conference was in Pittsburgh in 1980.  I remembered several of the sessions I attended and remembered many activities that have stayed with me in memory.  Late night folk dancing with Phyllis Weikart, an hour of intense movement activities with Heidi Weidlich, the closing ceremony with Konnie Saliba, and the Saturday night concert where the 5 original members of the Virginia Highlands Chapter made the plans that resulted in the formation of that chapter 3 years later in Cleveland.

I've gone to my library and have found some pics of that wonderful event.  Enjoy!

Jester Hairston leads a choral session in the main ballroom of the conference center.

Konnie Saliba, Karen Medley and Carol King perform.

David Holt

A memorable couple of sessions with a Young David Holt was a highlight of the conference.  I still remember him teaching us to play, bones, bags and spoons!

Ellen Koziel, Brent Holl and the WVU Percussion Ensemble

The West Virginia Percussion Ensemble demonstrated their authentic baliphones. An amazing performance and session!

Heidi Weidlich leads us in an arduous movement session.

Heidi Weidlich started her session with a command to imitate her.  "Do everything I do!"  We ended up on the floor, rolling, sitting, doing leg and arm movement, laughing and exploring every possible combination of movement.

Making marimbas, making music - Roanoke.com

Making marimbas, making music - Roanoke.com

This is the newspaper story of the marimba making project at Kipps Elementary just completed this past Tuesday.  Enjoy!

Beatin' Path Photo Gallery - Kipps Bass Marimba

Beatin' Path Photo Gallery - Kipps Bass Marimba

I'll be traveling soon to Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg, Virginia to help the students build a new bass marimba!  I've spent the past week gathering materials and tools, ordering the frames, and building and tuning the pipe resonator units in preparation for my trip to Blacksburg.

 

The frame was made by a local carpenter, Pierce Pitsenbarger.  He made the frame with some very nice poplar lumber.  After delivering it, he helped me mount the PVC resonator pipes. 

 

Mr. Pitsenbarger also cut and milled 19 tone bars that will be mounted on the frame.  The tone bars are mahogany.   My job today was to mount the bars on the frame and prepare them for the tuning process.  Each bar was measured, center cut, and drilled in preparation for mounting on the frame.

Drilling the nail hole.  This is how each bar will be attached to the frame.

Each bar is marked.  The center third of the bar will be carved out in the tuning process.

Each bar is center cut.  The cut goes halfway through the thickness of each tone bar.  This will serve as a guide for the tuning of the bar.

I'll add more pics and stories as the marimba work continues.  For now, please click on the link at the beginning of this blog entry for a gallery of pics showing the steps in making Gipps Elementary School's new bass marimba.