Sound, Learning, and Classrooms.

Hello! Welcome to my first post of this new school year! I missed typing like this a tiny bit, but I'm back now. This week, we went to a Sound Fest in Millennium Park, and experienced (some of) the songs there to see how it would be as a classroom. I'd like to tell you about the song I chose and how I think about the experience as a whole as a learning space!

The piece I chose to analyze was Sonorous Admittings by Kito Aoki! The piece itself was very loud and booming, like thunder or large strikes. This was made possible by the taiko drums, a type of drum used in traditional Japanese music. The composer of the song wanted to draw out the drum's most basic and alluring element: the fact it can amplify the sounds around it. Using this, the composer made a song not only using odaiko (bigger taiko drums), but smaller taiko as well to make a song that makes you feel like you're surrounded by thundering noise all around.

What did I learn from this, though? Well, one thing is the difference between your regular classroom and a more open one. While a more walled off one might be able to facilitate more traditional learning, a more open classroom will give you a sense of freedom. Having no real boundaries, you can move about and have a sort of freedom not allowed in your more traditional one. This has also challenged me to think about what type of learning spaces I might like and want to use. The idea of freedom, being able to move, not limited by walls of any sort is a nice feeling, though I doubt you'd feel very nice in rain or snow.

Picture by AR (me!)