Elizabeth Got Wrecked
And so did her students!
Heather Henson and I are thisclose to finishing a big project funded by the ol’ NEA (National Endowment for the Arts).1 Read more about it, and click various links along the way to learn (and experience) more!
In the very beginning of this project,YA novelist Heather Henson read from her newest book, Wrecked. It has a protagonist who loves to record and manipulate ambient sound, so while she read, I cued my own sound design and music to create a multi-sensory experience as well as to demo something I’d then be teaching students. After our initial presentation, we split into groups to work with three different classes between two high schools.
Heather visited with them first, focusing on analyzing the book, thinking about what sounds were within the scenes and how sound and music work to give us context, emotions, and even tell their own story.
I then jumped in to then help students build a “soundscape.” The original idea was to augment passages of the book, but we quickly went off-script to make the project more accessible and less daunting, as almost none of these students had actively played with music or sound, be it on an instrument or computer.
But wait! What the heck is a soundscape, you may ask?
Take a listen here. This is my “Main Theme” to the book. I created it to hype up the students, but I also super dig it. (For more about this track, check out the description under the song while you give it a listen.)
The book, by the way, is sort of a modern re-telling of The Tempest, but the island becomes the isolated knobs of Kentucky and the dangerous magic is now meth. There’s young love, intrigue, heartbreak… but, maybe best of all, the main character, Miri (Miranda) rides a MOTORCYCLE (see book cover above)!
Now that you’ve met Fen (and Miri), take a listen here. This is a soundscape I think Fen might create as he settles into rural Kentucky after moving from Detroit. (Again, more info in the description once you click and listen to the track.)
So, I visited all these amazing students about three different times per class to get them creating their own auditory experience. By the time you read this, if we’ve got all of the tracks done and submitted, there should be close to 30 projects posted here on SoundCloud.2 Each student had their photo taken and they wrote a description about their piece, so please do poke around.
There is a HUGE breadth of styles here. I am so incredibly pleased and honored and impressed! I essentially told my students that I didn’t care what they made as long as they “threw spaghetti at the wall.” And while some did just that, others put serious time and thought into their project. Interestingly, you might not be able to tell which is which, and I firmly believe that creating something, anything, is a win, no matter how it was done. Go ahead. Fake it. Make a mess. I don’t care. Just create!
Among these projects, you’ll hear an electrifying piece with a medieval flare. There’s an intense delve into an individual’s psyche and a diary-like monologue. There’s a standoff with the police. A sci-fi investigation. An underwater monster. A rock song. There’s music for little kids. There’s an even an electro version of Danville High School’s fight song.
Every single student created something utterly unique and totally unexpected.
I laughed my butt off listening to many of these. I sat, thrown back in my chair with eyes frozen open in surprise and awe. I got shivers, goosebumps, tears... I forgot to breathe. I emerged from a few different immersive pieces and had to remember where I was.
These students really knocked my socks off.
I wish I had more time with them!
Here’s what I learned:
More in-person. Less video-call. There were students from all walks of life and they each deserve attention and support and encouragement. I wish I’d had more time.
To that end, match names to faces as quickly as possible so I can take time getting to know the actual individuals!
If I have a hand in the publicity/marketing side of things, create designs early so I know what info/supplies/resources to gather sooner rather than later.
At the same time, communicate with everyone succinctly and regularly.3
And keep a master spreadsheet for all involved to reference (but not edit!). I’ve learned I don’t process information well using others’ methods. I really need my own approach. Now I know!4
Teach the basics of the software (in this case we used BandLab5 ). This was a BIG failure on my part. I assumed they’d be able to point and click and figure it out. Teens seem so young and hip and tech-savvy. I knew many of them could figure it out with time (and many did), BUT this didn’t take into account the steep curve of 1) trying out an alien medium while 2) creating something that has never existed.6 That’s a HUGE ask. If I had gotten more into the software, I would have been able to…
Demonstrate cool audio things. LIVE. Unfortunately, because of unpredictable tech, I was only once able to play sound in stereo. Not being able to hear depth in music is kinda the worst. (I did make a playlist that presents some pretty neat stuff. Listen to it on Spotify here. And here is a link to my syllabus, in which I explain why I chose these songs and what to listen for.)
It also would have been so much fun if I'd had the foresight to bring in gear to explore: keyboards, mics, guitars and amps, exotic wind and percussion instruments from my travels…
Still, I managed to have cool-audio-moments with a few students:
Brynn and Zayden were working on a project in which you, the listener, were walking through autumn leaves. I believe one of them made the recording with their phone. It sounded real, but flat… I gently panned the sound so that the right footstep was a tad louder in the right ear and the left footstep was a tad louder in the left ear. This is how we hear ourselves walking. This is stereo sound. Then I played it on headphones for each of them. Each ones’ faces and body reacted.7 They could hear this subtle difference, hear that it brought new life to the sound. A simple enough sound, but full of beautiful texture and movement and depth and complexity.
This ah ha! moment. This full-body impact. This light-bulb-going-off, didn’t-know-I-could-do-that realization. Some of them got there by themselves, and all did fascinating work, but THIS is what I wish I could have done for every student.
Massive thanks to everyone involved:
Heather, Kate, Elizabeth T, Colleen, Kaye, Jimmy, Brent, Kellsie, Tyler, Abdias, Abel, Sam, David, Zayden, Brynn, Peyton, Traeden, Leah, Camilla, Haley, Brennan, Tessa Shelby, Addison, Kylee, Abby, Daniel, Olivia, Caleb, Audrey, Callie, Cadence, Joshua, Miles, Scott, Christian, Petra, Sadie, Kelsi, Corwin, Christian, and Vincent.
The Boyle County Public Library will display student projects December 12th (2023) to January 13th (2024) if you happen to be in central Kentucky (come visit and stay with us!)
Communication styles are so challenging to figure out. I included dates and expectation and examples in the syllabus AND I needed to do regular check-ins to keep us on track. Next time I’ll take a more project management approach.
Write clear subject lines for your emails. Use key words so others can find relevant emails by doing a search. Be deliberate when hitting “reply-all” (and utilize cc and bcc). Ere on the side of brevity. Start new email threads when there are new topics. Clearly label any files you attach. Read through emails before asking questions that have already been addressed— utilizing tags and folders really helps.
Free. Easy. Similar to GarageBand. But it does have a social media component I highly suggest you don’t go anywhere near. Take your project offline!
Can you compose a little melody in your head? Now let’s try… imaging a coffee percolator morphing into a roll of thunder while sizzling bacon turns into heavy rain. Can you hear that? Meanwhile, can you picture a cat? How about a flying pig with a mustache and purple cowboy boots? There are some extraordinary and bewildering differences in our abilities to imagine sights vs sounds. Shall we delve into that sometime? You tell me!
I like to talk about how sound is a physical medium. It’s not just info going through your ear for your brain to interpret. Soundwaves actually touch you.