The Tinkering of Sound Project

MOHAI + MakerHaus + Mount View

Over View: Seattle has a rich musical past: the early days of Vaudeville and Jazz (think Gypsy Lee Rose, Jelly Roll Morton and Woody Guthrie), Modern inspirations at Cornish with John Cage and Martha Graham, Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and Soundgarden, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie and Macklemore.

With exploring and developing an understanding of how sound is produced, student groups will use electronic circuitry to produce electronic sound. Students will make connections to real world instruments in order to create new and innovative instruments out of reusable and recycled materials. Using music theory, students will take the sounds produced and create musical arrangements using digital software.

Student Groups will also collaborate (through social media platform Edmodo) music students at Tilemannschule, Limburg, Germany (instructor Dr. Holger Frohlich) to transform created sounds into an Industrial Music Project as part of the final presentation.

*I know that this is over ambitious but it would be amazing to create something like this: (thanks Mike, this is truly amazing and can’t wait to show my students!)

Pre-Visit starting February 2nd– 5th Graders at Mount View will start to build electronic circuits using LittleBits Deluxe Kits and LittleBits Synth Kits to produce an electronic sound

Visit 1 – Thursday, February 12 @ MOHAIHistory and Context: Understanding the History of Innovation. Leave MTV at 9.15am and return at 1.15pm

  • Student Groups will find a particular area of focus that will be their inspiration for their final music project

Visit 2 – TBD @ Mount View (brainstorming and design process) Looking at reusable and recycled materials that can take the electronic sound those groups produce and turn it into an instrument. Think: the guitar string vibration produces a sound but it is the combination of the string and the guitar case that produces that ‘music’

Visit 3 – TBD @ Mount View (prototyping) Building the actual instruments out of found materials

Visit 4 – Wednesday, April 22 @ MOHAI Presenting – each class will make a video of a composition using the instruments, demonstration of music created with instrument and we’ll have a poster session around the room

  • This year’s program will focus on innovations in music, with students making innovative instruments out of found/upcycled materials and using Little Bits.
  • Final piece of music inspired by a particular story from Seattle’s past that they see in the galleries (like the Great Seattle Fire Theater exhibit). (LOVE THIS IDEA to tie in history!)
  • I am also coordinating with a music class in Germany to collaborate on producing music done in an Industrial Style. This should be a really fun addition to the project!