Remember Bridge Music? How about Playground Music?
Recording the playground at St. Peter's School, Hyde Park NY
With an Arts-in-Education grant from the Dutchess County Arts Council, I began a workshop with the 6th grade at St. Peter’s School in Hyde Park, NY. The end product? Simple ringtones and/or sound effects drawn from the sounds of their playground equipment and a greater understanding of the music that surrounds us in every day life.
We began by learning about latitudinal and transverse sound waves and how that bit of physics informed my work on Bridge Music. The playground was designated as their target source of sound and on October 17, 2011 we went out and sampled ladders, tubes, slides and rock walls, two swing sets, a picnic table and even the nearby garbage can.
Composer Joseph Bertolozzi demonstrating how to attach the contact mic
Notice the contact mic on the globe
Our next step will be to catalog the sounds, learn to use the software to create music and then begin to compose. Stay tuned!
"Playing" the swing set