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We are thrilled to be working hard on our very first book! Tonight we hammered out some printing and design details. Soundscape Music will be launching our new logo in the next couple of weeks and we have almost finalized the cover of our book! We spent most of today designing a perfect cover that represented us, our ideas, and our music! We are so excited to be able to share it in the near future!  
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Summer holidays, wohoo! The summer has begun with relaxing at the lake, a PRISM performance at the University of Manitoba and composing fun! We love creating music together and that's exactly what the two of us did yesterday at Sean's. From themes, word splashes, poetry, melody and then added harmony, comes a new piece- Boat Song! We love it. It is still in its early stages, but we are really excited about it! Stay tuned for when it will be available, but until then- a sneak peak at the rich, descriptive text.  We can't wait to share more with you! Happy summer!  4 DAYS LEFT! Don't get us wrong, we love our students and making music with them, but everyone needs a break once in a while! We both love ending the year with a whole lot of fun with the kids. They will leave being excited for next school year! Below are some activities that we are doing in our schools this week! RHYTHM SQUARES! We love taking advantage of the beautiful weather in June, especially since Manitoba has some pretty long, chilly winters. Here is how to play Rhythm Squares! 
RHYTHM BALL PIT! Here's a great music room activity that can be used with students of almost any age! Buy multi-coloured plastic balls, the type used in ball pits. These can sometimes be found at places like Walmart, but are often less expensive and more readily available online (eBay or Amazon). For entire class activities, buy 200-300+ balls. Write a one beat rhythm on each ball (ta, ti-ti, rest, ti-ka-ti-ka, etc). Make sure each colour has a variety of rhythms (ie: don't make all the blue balls ti-ti). See below for the game instructions! 
We would love to hear some of your ideas! What fun activities do you do with your students during the last couple of weeks of school? Enjoy your summer! Make sure to rest, relax and rejuvenate!  What an amazing weekend we had! The National COC Bridges conference was fantastic . Thank you so much to the organizing committee. They did a great job of putting on the conference! In addition to presenting our "Bring on the Bugs" and "Journey through Outer Space" sessions, we brought the Highbury Orff Club to perform PRISM. Working with the students and sharing this performance with the conference delegates was an unforgettable experience.  PRISM is a musical work that includes six movements, each one representing a different colour. Along with our friend Julie, we composed four of the six movements and arranged the other two with help from the children. RED - Complete with red body bags, intricate drumming patterns and an original dampened metallophone ostinato pattern played with hard mallets, this piece represents beginnings. Pulsating, sizzling and erupting, Red was a perfect way to begin our program. ORANGE - This movement was so fun to create! We were wanting to do something in Locrian, a mode that is traditionally avoided when composing. Xylophones were positioned vertically so that two students could play them at the same time, one on either side of the instrument. It was cool to see students play the unique question and answer melodies on the same instrument! The children were so innovative in creating their movement, using orange dodge balls as props. Although thoughtfully arranged with the students, this movement embodies chaos  YELLOW - This piece was the last composition that we created for PRISM. We wanted something upbeat, joyful and happy! A jazzy piece in mixolydian, this was a crowd favourite with six of the boys creating buoyant, fun and interesting movement using big, yellow smiley face beach balls! GREEN - What a technically difficult piece this is! The kids did a fantastic job. Adapted from The Sailor’s Wife, an Irish folksong arranged by Doug Edwards, Green demonstrates intricate melodies with flourishing Celtic flavour. Added hand drum parts support a thick texture that embodies the theme of renewal in this fresh, lush movement.  BLUE - This is a contrasting piece with smooth lines and thinner texture. When composing Blue, we wanted to foster the idea of living your dreams, using the imagery of a wide open sky and birds soaring within it. The flowing, graceful scarf movement created by students and soundscapes complete with bird calls, vividly paint the wide open landscape and limitless message we were going for. PURPLE - Stately, majestic and royal, the final movement of Prism presents an arrangement of Song for Friday and Procession by Isabel McNeill Carley. Flag and ribbon wand movement help to present the culmination of the all of the colours; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. With strength and PRIDE, the Highbury Orff Club concluded their performance of PRISM, inspiring a room full of teary-eyed music teachers.  Taking on a big project like this is so much work, but the process and final product made it completely worth it. Throughout the journey, student creativity was fostered, teamwork was celebrated, and the musical development of each individual as well as that of the entire group grew exponentially. One of the biggest compliments from other music teachers was the very apparent mutual respect observed throughout the performance. The connection between students and adults was undeniable. Planning, preparing and performing Prism was a life-changing experience for everyone involved. We loved every minute of it and we can’t wait for our next big undertaking! 
Sean and I will be posting ideas, updates and resources on this blog regularly. If you are interested in having Soundscape Music present, if you have any questions, or if you would just like to connect, please contact us at soundscapemusicnet@gmail.com. We would love to meet you!  |
Sean and StephWelcome! Soundscape Music provides creative resources and workshops for elementary music teachers. Here on our blog you will find sneak peeks, new ideas and updates regarding our workshops! Archives
September 2019
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