Final Project

LT 741

Lori Fox

Grade level: 6th grade music (2 classes with 23 students each)

Objectives:

Create an original composition using the program “Garage Band”

Explore styles of music from another country

Learn about another country’s climate, people, government, culture

Work in cooperative groups

Part 1:

Learn to use Garage Band by creating a short composition

  • Use tutorial on teacher website to learn tools of garage band
  • 10 measures long
  • 3-4 tracks
  • All melodic tracks must be in the same key
  • Must sound like it has an ending
  • Listen to two other anonymous compositions and give reactions through email

Part 2:

Team with anther school in a cooperating country.

  • Divide each class into 6 groups ( 3 groups team with 3 groups from the other school – more that 6 tracks takes too much memory and starts to read errors)
  • Give each team member a job assignment (manager, recorder, communicator, etc. depending on how many students in the group)
  • Decide the range of measures the song should be. (ie. more than 10 less than 30)
  • Decide what other tracks to be included.
  • Begin with the drum track.
  • Email track to the next group. Along with the track ask one question about the group’s country or culture. Repeat the process until your composition returns to you, making sure to alternate group members working the program.
  • Email the instructor after each track is completed and sent. Comment about how it went and difficulties experienced, things you noticed about the tracks from the other countries.
  • Arrange for a face-to-face meeting using an iSight camera to discuss their reactions and experiences.
  • Each team will have a set of 2-3 questions to ask about music from their cooperating schools culture.
  • Since the schools will probably not be in attendance during the same hours, special arrangements will need to be made for one school to meet during an evening.
  • Possibilities could include getting permission for a lock-in sleep over with volunteer parents attending.

Part 3:

Students will evaluate their experience with a reaction paper describing:

  • Their process and decision making for the composition.
  • Team cooperation
  • What they learned from the other school
  • Problems they encountered
  • Suggestions for improvement
  • Overall reaction to the project

Instructor will evaluate the students’ project on the reaction paper, the timeliness of the emails to the other groups and the instructor, and group cooperation,

Footnotes:

This project is an adaptation of “Rock Our World” by Carol Anne McGuire.

I intend to implement this project during the 2007-2008 school year, after requisitioning an iSight camera and searching for schools willing to participate.

Carol Anne has been very helpful with tips on where to search and how to begin.

I have previously used power point projects with 55h and 6th grade students for composers and musical time periods.

I have the 6th graders create an end-of-the-year video with each group putting together a 30 second clip. (takes care of the copyright issue)

Both projects are done in cooperative groups. A rubric is used to score the final project as well as a weekly journal entry to share questions and concerns I may not have gotten to during our class periods.

I am currently working on a composing project with 3-4 grade students. We are rewriting lyrics to simple familiar tunes. They are to rewrite the song and lyrics using Finale Notepad. I give them a copy of the original song that they are to copy onto “notepad” and then write the words they have created and see if they fit with the melody. The program plays the notes they have written back to them and they can sing the words. They are to problem solve if the words don’t exactly fit the original melody.

But, I am experiencing technical difficulties. When they go to put the notes on the staff, strange symbols appear. I am seeking technical assistance through their technical support staff and our technical support staff. I hope to have this issue resolved before the year is up. Stay tuned for further adventures.

K-2 graders are started with basic use of an internet program called “Musical Mysteries” that takes them through the basic components of music. They can choose to go through these components in any order. When they are finished, it takes them to a self-correcting quiz. In Kindergarten we go through the components together as some require reading.

By first grade they are usually able to proceed on their own.

I am always in search of new programs that can enhance their learning experiences. So far, these projects seem to get the students quite excited and involved. They ask to do them often. They would not all be considered DE but considering the level of students I am working with, I am hoping it is a good start in providing them with technical

opportunities.

Garage Band Cooperative Project

Group Names: ______

Cooperating Country Group Names: ______

Manager: ______

Recorder: ______

Communicator: ______

Other: ______

Range of measures ______

Track 1: Instrument ______operator ______

Track 2: Instrument ______operator ______

Track 3: Instrument ______operator ______

Track 4: Instrument ______operator ______

Track 5: Instrument ______operator ______

Track 6: Instrument ______operator ______

Question 1: ______?

Question 2: ______?

Question 3: ______?

Question 4: ______?

Question 5: ______?