In preparation of today’s lecture we were asked to research Soundscapes if we had no prior experience or knowledge of these, and as I did not recognise the term I did not think I had either. However, it was upon researching this topic that I realised I was already aware of the definition of a Soundscape and had in fact experimented with the creation of one in my secondary school Higher Music Class. Although I already had this knowledge, I am grateful for the opportunity to refresh it and maintain my professional learning. In clarification, I understand that soundscapes are a combination of sounds, played in a strategic manner to depict an object, person, or a story amongst other things. The inclusion or imitation of sounds specific to a particular environment can provide an immersive musical experience, one which mentally places the listener into the environment that is being portrayed.
In connection with last weeks theme of ‘evocative objects’, we took another look at the richness of common objects. We done this by selecting a variety of household objects which we thought could be used to make an interesting form of noise. We were then tasked with creating a soundscape with these objects. This innovative approach to musical expression adheres well to the current COVID-19 related lockdown by providing an opportunity to repurpose objects in our immediate environment to engage in musical activity. Creating soundscapes today really demonstrated to me the versatility and adaptability of the musical form, during a time where most of us do not have access to conventional instruments due to lockdown measures. If I were a qualified practitioner during these times, I would definitely be leading children in my class in the creation of soundscapes with everyday items, as it is a valuable group activity which both supports children’s social wellbeing and can be easily engaged with through virtual learning.
The subject our lecturer provided for our soundscape was ‘Animals in the Forest’. My group chose to create a soundscape which would depict a snake moving through the rainforest. We chose to do this because we had coincidentally all selected items which could be used to make rattling noises. I was rather excited about this selection as amongst the items we had gathered were a rainmaker, a tambourine, and an egg shaker which already sounded distinctly snake like.
As a group we were rather apprehensive at the thought of creating music with items that are not usually used to do so, and one member of our group made a particularly interesting observation regarding this. She suggested that this apprehension we were feeling was akin to what children experience when they are experimenting with playing and creating music for the first time, as it is unfamiliar. If anything, this observation made me realise how difficult and daunting musical creation and engagement may seem to children at first and highlighted the importance of approaching my teaching of it with provision of the correct encouragement and support.
My group banded together and created our soundscape in the manner we feel best represented our desired sound of a snake moving through the rainforest. In doing so we went into quite a deep analysis of the characteristics of a snake, by considering how they are represented within things such as children’s literature and associated illustrations. The fact that this activity had encouraged us to consider a topic through the lenses of other curricular areas, shows that it is a valuable teaching tool which enables the formation of cross curricular links. I have included at the end of this blog a recreation of my groups soundscape as we were not able to get a recording during the presentation of it.
