Task 7 – Mode-bending
Link to MP3 recording, Musescore file, and score of the music
Reflection:
For this week’s task, I decided to create a children’s song describing what is in my bag or I spun it to what I take to work. I chose this mode as it was a strength of mine and an area of communication I wanted to explore during the redesign. Music serves as a universal language, transcending cultural boundaries and fostering emotional connections that resonate across diverse human experiences.
A few conscious decisions I made while creating the children’s song:
- I used a pentatonic scale for the voice
- Repetition was a key factor in the selection of melodies
- Unpitched instruments over pitched instruments
- I wanted simple rhythms
I wanted to hone in on teachable while creating a delivery that was approach to people of all generations and cultures around the world. To achieve this, I used the pentatonic scale for pitches as it is known as the universal sounds and movement.
A great example is by Bobby McFerrin on the power of pentatonic scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk&ab_channel=WorldScienceFestival
Throughout the weekly tasks and readings, one key aspect I learned was that language and communication can often become challenging when cultural nuances, differing interpretations, and contextual variations complicate the transmission of intended meaning. Cope and Kalantzis (2009) mentioned open-ended questions during the design as we have to take learner subjectivities into account, we encounter a panoply of human differences that we simply cannot ignore any longer. Some open-ended questions I reflected on to make those conscious decisions were:
• Social: How do the meanings connect the persons they involve?
• Structural: How are the meanings organized?
• Intertextual: How do the meanings fit into the larger world of meaning?
• Ideological: Whose interests are the meanings skewed to serve?
I wanted simplicity as everyone’s music literacy is at a different level. Having unpitched instruments can be easier for some individuals because they don’t require specific pitch accuracy or the ability to discern and reproduce specific musical notes. Instead, they typically involve producing sounds without the need for precise tuning, making them more accessible to beginners or those without a strong musical background.
One challenge to conveying a message through a children’s song is the lack of description I could put as I wanted to keep things simple. I was constrained by meter and rhyme by music. I only had 30 syllables to deliver my thoughts. In addition, I was worried about the subjective nature of music. The beat and choice of melodies can manipulate one’s emotions slightly, changing how the audience will interpret the information.
This was one of the most interesting weeks based off the readings and tasks.
References:
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). Multiliteracies: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4(3), 164-195.