During the ISME conference, I realized a shift of discussion and concern in the field. Many symposia and worshops presents ideas and reports that concerns the technological development in music education.
The paper presentation, Child as Composer, was conducted by Dutch scholar Dr. Michel Hogenes. Dr. Hogenes gave a report on an on-going project in Amsterdam called Klankspeeltuin, or Sound Garden in English. This sound garden is located at a concert hall in Amsterdam. The facilities are especially designed for children aged 7-12 to explore sound ideas.
The names of the three sound stations in this Sound Garden are very sci-fi: Kosmix, Xenax and Omni. Their formations are unique and each of them represent a different combination of technology and art. Children from the elementary school visit the Sound Garden as one of their out-of-school musical experience. In Klankspeeltuin, children create music through interaction with technology as well as with their peers.
Please see the video below to find out more about the Klankspeeltuin.
This project, as described by Dr. Hogenes, is still in its first phase and he looks forward to sharing its development in the next ISME conference.
This very creation is very intriguing. "Composing" has been a controversial topic in music education - music teachers have been pondering "What to teach?" "How to teach?" "How to assess?" etc. Klankspeeltuin reminds us to keep our minds open when it comes to children's composition. If we can allow children to play with sound ideas and explore the millions of possibilities of using these ideas in a musical context, they will surely be able to come up with something unique and creative!
