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.