Today’s music workshop explored the anatomy of music. We learned about rhythm, and Julie described it using an analogy of a cake. The bottom layer of the cake was described as the pulse, the next layer of a cake, the filling was said to be the rhythm, and just as the filling of a cake gives the sponge taste, so too does the rhythm make the pulse interesting. During the we were given drumsticks and as a starting point we talked about squares and circles instead of quavers and crochets, I found this extremely helpful as It meant I wasn’t too caught up in the technicality and it was much easier to understand when to use one beat or two beats just by looking at the shapes. This method was very simplified, which I think is good for children and the simplicity of the activity allows children to enjoy and still create music. We played along to music, as there were a series of circles and squares on the board which allowed us to follow along. Introducing the circles and squares first to children I feel is effective as it allows children to slowly immerse themselves into the concept of music, as quavers and crochets may be too confusing to understand at first.
During the visual art workshop, we discussed Norwegian artist and explored how different painting have a different meaning and message behind it. For example, the infamous painting by name “Scream” conveyed the message of mental illness. I understand that as a future teacher it is important to explain to children that by painting you are not just creating an image, you are sending a message. Continuing this theory, in today’s workshop we printed messages. In groups we were to pick a message we thought expressed an important message. I greatly enjoyed this activity and found myself greatly involved. One of the reasons why I enjoyed this activity was due to the fact that it went horribly wrong. When printing we had to write the letter back to front, so that when we stamped the print onto paper the letters came out correct. However, we forgot about this aspect and so needless to say our slogan made no sense and was not our intended message. I had great fun creating the messages and picking the paint to create the print. This message made me realise that sometimes things don’t always go the way we want, but it is important to learn from our mistakes after and enjoy the process. Although so far this is the only activity that has gone wrong, it is by far the lesson that I have enjoyed the most. This activity can make a lesson more meaningful as children are not just creating an image for the sake of it, there is an intention and purpose, to send a message they felt strongly about.
