This week’s session of our Integrated Arts module saw us consider some of the different ways we can learn within the arts. In the music workshop, we learned about the use of Figurenotes in the classroom. I personally cannot read conventional notation of music and before this workshop I would have claimed that I could never read any form of sheet music. Although I love music, I did not have any experience of reading it from primary school and when I went to secondary school I felt intimidated by the vast number of unknown black dots, lines, and shapes. I also remember feeling that I was scared to get it wrong in music because there were young people who, by this stage of their education, found reading music to be easy. However, this workshop completely changed my view; I can now confidently say that I would be able to teach music to learners using Figurenotes and to guide them through their progression to be able to read conventional notation. My aim is that I will learn to read conventional notation using this same progressive strategy, in order to make sure all of my pupils are set up in their best stead to get the most they possibly can out of music. Figurenotes started off in Sweden as a way to help young people with additional support needs which meant that they struggled to read conventional notation, to play music. This was a great success and the programme has moved across the world, as shown by a BBC Scotland report (MacAulay, 2010) which spoke of a seventeen year old boy from Edinburgh who has Autism who, after being introduced to Figurenotes, could confidently and happily play music with his peers. Clearly, this displays how Figurenotes are a fantastic force of inclusion and provide a whole new way in which people can be introduced to and allowed to experience music. Although, it is not only those with additional support needs who struggle to read conventional notation, and it is not only those with additional support needs who have anxieties about music. It is for this reason that Figurenotes are now being used across the country in all different classrooms – it will definitely be used in mine.

When we were experimenting with Figurenotes, we played Twinkle Twinkle, Jingle Bells, and Frere Jacques.

As shown in the pictures above, Figurenotes are represented by different shapes which are different colours. The different colours represent the notes and the different shapes show whether it is a low note, a middle note, or a high note. This is the first stage of the progression. Once learners are confident with this they move on to reading the coloured shapes on a stave, and then to coloured notes, before finally being able to read conventional notation. The system makes perfect sense and my only question is: why did nobody think of this when I was at school?

My colleagues and I discussed a few of the benefits we feel using Figurenotes in the classroom will have:

 

Overall, I think Figurenotes allow people to focus on the creative side of music; which arguably is the most important side. If children can easily access a way of reading music which comes easily to them, then they can start coming up with ideas and creating music much more quickly than if they had to learn conventional notation first. This mirrors the fact that learners cannot truly understand a piece of writing in literacy before they have the graphic and phonic knowledge to read it. Therefore, using Figurenotes will hopefully allow learners to build up and make use of higher order thinking skills much more efficiently. After experimenting with Figurenotes we improvised while Julie played a tune on the piano. We removed the B and F keys from our glockenspiels and this meant that whatever we decided to play would not sound out of tune with the piano. This allowed us all to create a piece of music on the spot which was completely our own and sounded good, encouraging our confidence.

I believe that we should be making it as easy as possible for learners to indulge in their creative side and this view would be supported by Cindy Foley (2014) as she discussed in a TED Talk her belief that an ideal classroom would be one in which all learners are experimenting and coming up with their own ideas. By providing learners with the correct materials and guidance, for example using Figurenotes or removing certain notes from an instrument, we as teachers can provide them with the ability and confidence to play with, consider the impact of, and create artistic ideas in the form of music.

The theme of creativity was carried through to the second workshop of visual art. We began by creating our own paintbrushes. We were provided with sticks of willow which we could cut to be any size of our choice and different materials such as feathers, wool, foam shapes, buttons, string, scissors and tape. We were not given any instructions other than to make a paintbrush, leaving the task one which was free for us to individually interpret. I began by wrapping different coloured wool around the stick and then tied a bundle of feathers to one end. I then taped foam shapes to the other end of the stick and tied a bundle of wool about two thirds of the way along, as shown in the photographs below:

I wanted my paint brush to be able to make different types of marks but I also wanted it to look extravagant; unlike the usual, boring paintbrushes we buy in bulk. By making our paintbrushes, we were able to move on to making a painting which was not constricted by any outside means. The work was completely my own and this gave me a stronger sense of ownership and pride. This task is one which I would love to use in a classroom as I feel that is embodies the true meaning of art. It supports the ideas of Room 13; giving young artists full control of their work and as stated by Claire Gibb (2012):

“encouraging individuals to discover their full potential”.

We then moved on to listen to Diarmuid as he read a description of a picture he had in front of him. While he read we were given the opportunity to take notes if we wanted to. We chose a piece of paper (there were different sizes and colours) and drew a border within the paper. We were provided with paints in the primary colours and white and had to mix them to make the different colours which we required. This allowed us to experiment with the different colours and to find out for ourselves what would happen if we mixed them. Using our handmade paintbrushes we painted the picture which we had heard a description of. All of the paintings were different and because we had never seen the picture which had been described, none of us really knew what our paintings were supposed to look like. This would be a fantastic way to help learners to build up a tolerance of ambiguity as it was the not knowing which made each of our paintings individual and which encouraged us to be creative. It is the not knowing which prevents replicas of ready-made things and which allows paintings to “encapsulate an expression of their own experiences, curiosities and worldview”, which Claire Gibb (2012, p.240) states as being very important when creating art.  

Overall, by providing learners with materials and allowing them to make use of them in an artistic way, which we guide rather than control, they will develop higher order thinking skills and learn to communicate their thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions in a universal language. We must allow children to show off the amazing talents which they all have (Robinson, 2006). We can do this by helping them to learn about different means of expression such as visual art and music and encouraging them to take pride in anything that they create. It is this sense of pride which will hopefully help children to gain confidence within and outwith the arts and to jump into the unknown without the fear of being wrong, because with unconventional notation and handmade paintbrushes, is anything we do wrong? Sir Ken Robinson (2006) argues that by accepting the possibility of being wrong we can create something new and authentic. This is the main lesson that we should be teaching learners as this is a skill which can be applied across the curriculum and throughout life.

References 

Foley, C. (2014) Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcFRfjb20Nk [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

Gibb, C. (2012). Room 13: The Movement and International Network. International Journal of Art and Design Education. Vol.31(3), pp.237-244.

MacAulay, J. (2010) Colours and shapes are helping people to read music. [Online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8579853.stm [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

Robinson, K. (2006) Do schools kill creativity? [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY [Accessed: 26 September 2017].