I often find it a delicate task to encourage youngsters to listen to what is considered by some, strenuous or exotic music. I like to lead them though this thorny endeavour with something that is perhaps more familiar to them. One such technique is the use of graphic scores.
Inspiration Cards: These are brightly-hued cards with some sort of brightly-hued swirl of an image intended to inspire brightly-hued, fantastical musical ideas to come flooding from their brains to the instruments they’re holding.
I developed a series of graphic scores to help youngsters, particularly in the upper primary/lower secondary years with the process and techniques of composing music, particularly with the structure of their pieces and the development of musical ideas.
I have frequently used a visual art technique/concept as inspiration, with the resulting art works being then interpreted through music, and becoming a Graphic Score as a subsidiary role.
It is an effective and wonderful way to help very young learners with their reading and writing skills using music as the learning medium.
Graphic Scores are a wonderfully useful and creative tool for use in composing activities with youngsters.
What’s the Big Sing Finale in Dunedin all about, then? It’s about 23 of the best young choirs in New Zealand coming together for one big three-day-long fiesta of showing each other what they’re chorally made of …..
I’ve been asked a few times by colleagues and others to provide ideas for Harvest or Autumn assemblies. Here’s one of my favourites.
I’ve been to Lupset every week for a year and a half to help with the Yew Tree Youth Music production of Something Special.
There’s nothing more thrilling for this composer than finding out about recent or upcoming performances of your pieces. This happened to me in New Zealand recently….and I got to meet the performers!
