teachingkidsmusic-blog

[teachingkidsmusic-blog]

Music Tech Poster Assignment

I designed this poster using Canva for the first time. I really liked the program and knew that I would have a lot of fun with it, but realized very soon in the process that the variety of choices can be overwhelming. I made two posters, but the first one did not turn out well, in my opinion. There were just too many options, and throwing something together without a clear of idea of what I wanted just made a big sloppy mess. After fooling around for an hour or so, I decided to put it away and come back later. Between designing the first and second poster, I tried to get a clearer idea of what I wanted in my head. By the time I came back for the second attempt, I knew what to look for. However, even with a new, definite idea, my poster changed a lot throughout the process of finishing the design. I was afraid that, with all the options, I would never settle on one that I was happy with, but I am pleased with the end result, and I really like Canva as a tool for poster design. 

Poster: file:///C:/Users/deari/Desktop/Poster%20–%20Spring%20Elementary%20Easter%20Egg%20Hunt.html

[teachingkidsmusic-blog]

Garage Band Sound File Assignment

When I first started using this software I was a little intimidated by all of the functions and buttons, and trying to remember how everything worked. After fooling around with it for a few minutes I realized it was very user friendly. I learned how to repeat the same segment of each track, rather than recording a repeating patter several times, for the sake of consistency. I learned how to add new tracks, how to delete tracks, and how to listen to just one track at a time. I figured out how to use the loop tool, highlighting only the amount of measures I wanted to be played, which was helpful for isolating certain sections as I played with volume, panning and mixing. Inserting the little segments of sounds was extremely useful, especially for my second project. It added a lot to the music without requiring me to record something through the piano. I did learn how to connect the keyboard to the file and add recorded segments to my piece. I used that for the harp in my first project. I didn’t know much at all when I started using the program, but I picked up on a lot just by using it. I thought the process was fun and interesting, and I enjoyed fooling around with its potential for creativity and imagination. I am definitely looking forward to using and expanding on my basic knowledge of this program for future assignments and projects.  

https://soundcloud.com/mary-kate-dearie/mk_garage-band

https://soundcloud.com/mary-kate-dearie/project-2-mk-garage-band

[teachingkidsmusic-blog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZmxZThb084

Ashokan Farewell

         This piece is one of my favorites because I think it exemplifies music that evokes very clear emotions and images. “Ashokan Farewell” was written in 1982 and used as the soundtrack for the 1990 documentary, “Civil War.” While I think this piece was very appropriate for that documentary in several ways, it can also be enjoyed in a broader sense than just as it applies to the period of the Civil War. From the beginning, the piece immediately recalls vivid images. Perhaps there is a man playing the fiddle to himself on his back porch, watching the sun sink down after a long day of work, or a father playing to his children as they drift off to sleep. There are a thousand scenes that can come to mind while listening to this song. I always find that, as I listen, my mind slips into imagining a large field on a nice summer night. On the horizon the sun is setting, and I can from a distance away a long, dirt path that runs along a tall field of corn. There are some trees here and there, and some houses down the road, but for the most part, there is nothing but space. I’m completely alone, and I have a deep, satisfying feeling of calm and freedom. 

This is the power of music to its listeners. It can bring out thoughts, emotions, smells, sights and sensations through nothing but its sound. While these sensations may be experienced differently from person to person, there is something about this piece that gives us a universal understanding that it is somehow in reference to a specific period in history, whether we knew it was used in a documentary about the Civil War or not. Perhaps the most powerful hint to this effect is that it is written using the Pentatonic Scale. Without the half steps incorporated into it, the melody is very simple and easy to listen to, and similar to the sound of old American folk songs. Thus, the piece in itself brings to mind the simple life-style of the people of the time period. I find this effect very calming and pleasing. 

Aside from the scale, the instrumentation is very suggestive of the same. It begins with just a single violin, an instrument that was often played as a hobby, such as in Laura Ingalls’ depiction of her Pa’s fiddle playing in the “Little House on the Prairie” series. At approximately one minute into the posted recording, the fiddle is joined by a guitar, whose arpeggiating and strumming adds to the relaxed, folksy feeling, while also picking up the pace and making it more rhythmic. At two minutes, the guitar takes over the main theme. At three minutes, the violin once again plays the theme and is joined by a second violin. It is now not just one instrument playing solo, but several instruments making music together. It brings to mind a friendly group of people coming together to make music, a very common form of socializing and entertainment for the people of that time. I’ve always found this piece very beautiful and visual, but I never stopped until now to wonder why. I have discovered that, when music makes me feel a certain way, there are almost always technical, concrete reasons for it.    

[teachingkidsmusic-blog]

Ashokan Farewell

         This piece is one of my favorites because I think it exemplifies music that evokes very clear emotions and images. “Ashokan Farewell” was written in 1982 and used as the soundtrack for the 1990 documentary, “Civil War.” While I think this piece was very appropriate for that documentary in several ways, it can also be enjoyed in a broader sense than just as it applies to the period of the Civil War. From the beginning, the piece immediately recalls vivid images. Perhaps there is a man playing the fiddle to himself on his back porch, watching the sun sink down after a long day of work, or a father playing to his children as they drift off to sleep. There are a thousand scenes that can come to mind while listening to this song. I always find that, as I listen, my mind slips into imagining a large field on a nice summer night. On the horizon the sun is setting, and I can from a distance away a long, dirt path that runs along a tall field of corn. There are some trees here and there, and some houses down the road, but for the most part, there is nothing but space. I’m completely alone, and I have a deep, satisfying feeling of calm and freedom. 

This is the power of music to its listeners. It can bring out thoughts, emotions, smells, sights and sensations through nothing but its sound. While these sensations may be experienced differently from person to person, there is something about this piece that gives us a universal understanding that it is somehow in reference to a specific period in history, whether we knew it was used in a documentary about the Civil War or not. Perhaps the most powerful hint to this effect is that it is written using the Pentatonic Scale. Without the half steps incorporated into it, the melody is very simple and easy to listen to, and similar to the sound of old American folk songs. Thus, the piece in itself brings to mind the simple life-style of the people of the time period. I find this effect very calming and pleasing. 

Aside from the scale, the instrumentation is very suggestive of the same. It begins with just a single violin, an instrument that was often played as a hobby, such as in Laura Ingalls’ depiction of her Pa’s fiddle playing in the “Little House on the Prairie” series. At approximately one minute into the posted recording, the fiddle is joined by a guitar, whose arpeggiating and strumming adds to the relaxed, folksy feeling, while also picking up the pace and making it more rhythmic. At two minutes, the guitar takes over the main theme. At three minutes, the violin once again plays the theme and is joined by a second violin. It is now not just one instrument playing solo, but several instruments making music together. It brings to mind a friendly group of people coming together to make music, a very common form of socializing and entertainment for the people of that time. I’ve always found this piece very beautiful and visual, but I never stopped until now to wonder why. I have discovered that, when music makes me feel a certain way, there are almost always technical, concrete reasons for it.