Inspired by Russian Sound artists of the 1920’s , including Arseny Avraamov and Leon Theremin I devised this KS2 experimental sound project with Dave Birchall. The aims were to

• Introduce the notion of experimental music and sound, raising the awareness of sound in their daily lives through keeping sound diaries
• Develop listening skills
• Introduce key sound artists including John Cage & Joseph Bueys
• Make junk instruments
• Create a Graphical score and look at the links between symbols and sound
• Create their own soundscapes
• Perform as ‘Noise Orchestra’!

Sound Drawing

Throughout the sessions we undertook Sound Drawing exercises through listening to a wide range of soundscapes and field recordings encouraging the young people to draw how the sound made them feel and what they thought the sound looked like. Over the project we assembled a Sound Dictionary containing all the descriptive words we had come across when talking about sound. We asked the group to keep sound diaries at home and write down or draw reflections on different activities or times of the day.

Junk Instruments and Graphical Scores

Working in teams we created four different types of instrument, these were straw flutes, tubes, shakers and drums. Through playing these instruments the groups had to decide on a variety of symbols that related to the specific sounds they could make from the materials. Taking turns we then organised ourselves into the noise orchestra and drew a graphical score which we performed at the final session.

Performance!

Taking it in turns to conduct we performed our tracks in the final session. Each sound had it’s own symbol and was painted onto a huge graphical score with a key. Check out the video below…