tower of Babel Making sense out of chaos

Main content: glissando

Pedagogical objectives

  • The student is able to create a smooth glissando
  • The student is able to respond precisely to the gestures of the conductor

Pedagogical intentions

  • Familiarize the student with the concepts of glissando and reverberation
  • Improve the students response to the conductor’s gestures

Tools

Example

babel-engl

Realised at Camp musical Père Lindsay, Val-St-Côme, Québec

Process

The teacher plays each of the “hello, bonjour, guten tag” files, asking the students to identify each language. The version corresponding to the mother-tongue of the students is played reversed (without warning), so as to introduce to the students, the reverse playback function.

Step by Step

  • The teacher asks each student to select (with the selection-tool) one of the “hello” greetings: "sounds - varia" bank > [hello]. The student activates this sound when the conductor points to them.
  • The teacher points to each and every student, until each sound is activated (tutti). Once tutti has been achieved, a moment is taken to appreciate the “Tower of Babel” effect (chaotic mixture of languages, phasing effect...). 
  • Following the gesture of the conductor, the student initiates a glissando by slowly sliding their sound into the extreme high register, using the pitch/speed tool.
  • The teacher initiates another glissando, this time in the opposite direction: a glissando down to the lower register.
  • The teacher can optionally add the reverberation effect.
  • The teacher ends the experiment by either cutting all sounds suddenly or by initiating a slow decrescendo.
  • Assessment: Were the crescendos and decrescendos well executed (smooth and following the gesture of the teacher/conductor)? Were the glissandos well executed (smooth and following the gesture of the teacher/conductor)? When using extreme variations of speed, can one still understand the words spoken? Which images and sensations come to the mind of the student during these extreme variations?

 

VARIATION: The group is divided into 7 sub-groups, each responsible for a different “hello” greeting, allowing interesting cross-fades and polyphony among/between the groups.

 

NOTE: The teacher can ask a student to conduct.

variateur

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