spreading the virus

Hey XJ et al,

Last year I taught middle school kids in an after school program how to build electric
guitars. www.geocities.com/ubertar/kids
This year I'm in two high schools, and this time around, we'll start off with movable frets
and tune to 10 equal, and play in 5 equal (at least to start). I like 5 tet because the
fingering is really easy (just 1,3 1,3 all the way up), it sounds good and there are some
nice sounding chords as well. We're going to make the amps too, and some electric
percussion with piezo transducers.
http://www.runoffgroove.com/ruby.html www.geocities.com/ubertar/amp

I'm really psyched to hear what these kids will come up with. I'm hoping to have them
record a cd by the end of the school year.

I made a series of electric guitars recently that are each tuned to a different equal tuning.
I'm planning on recording a cd featuring them but have to finish another cd first as well as
other projects, but hopefully I'll get to that soon.

Wow Paul!!!!

> www.geocities.com/ubertar/kids

This is absolutely amazing.

What grade are the kids on the page? The guitars they built last year are in
in 12? Do you or the school get a grant to pay for the materials?

And you're going to build the amps from scratch as well? Yow!

This is really a fantastic thing you are doing.

- Jeff

thanks Jeff.

The kids on the page are in 6th and 7th grade (12 - 13 years old). We tuned to standard
12tet. I work for a non-profit afterschool program. There are a lot of these in NYC to help
make up for the lack of arts funding in NYC schools. They rely on grants to stay afloat--
mostly private grants and some govt. money too, at least from what I understand... I'm not
involved in that end of things.

I'm doing the microtonal tunings with them this year partly for selfish reasons-- because
it interests me-- but also because (and I think you'll agree with me here) I think the way
music is generally taught is backwards. Instead of starting by exploring sound and
thinking about ways of organizing sound (scales, various types of rhythm) and building up
from basic concepts to more complex ones, kids (and adult students) are spoon fed the
standard stuff as though it was factual and set in stone. By the time it's even mentioned (if
it's ever brought up at all) that there are other ways of doing things, the students (at this
point probably accomplished musicians) have already invested years of effort into the
status quo and will be very resistant (if not downright hostile) to change. I suppose the
counterargument would be that exposing students to all the possibilities at the beginning
would lead to chaos, but what's so bad about a little chaos every now and then? You've
gotta breaks some eggs... so they say. I'm looking forward to a delicious 10tet omelette. I
have no idea how it will taste, but I think it will be good.

--- In crazy_music@yahoogroups.com, "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:
> Wow Paul!!!!
>
> > www.geocities.com/ubertar/kids
>
> This is absolutely amazing.
>
> What grade are the kids on the page? The guitars they built last year are in
> in 12? Do you or the school get a grant to pay for the materials?
>
> And you're going to build the amps from scratch as well? Yow!
>
> This is really a fantastic thing you are doing.
>
> - Jeff

THAT is super-duty COOL!

And making their own amps is AWESOME...

The only risk (and it may be a pretty big one!) is irritating people who make and _sell_ a lot of useless crap to children--like myself--who yearn for a more artistic life, and a more self-reliant and mutually respectful society.

<<By the time it's even mentioned (if
it's ever brought up at all) that there are other ways of doing things, the students (at this
point probably accomplished musicians) have already invested years of effort into the
status quo and will be very resistant (if not downright hostile) to change.>>

Ain't that the truth! I find it difficult--most of the time--to even carry on a conversation with people who are the least bit invested in 12-equal about "other ways". Even the ones who can 'intellectualize' its (12Tet's) shortcomings, AND who acknowledge it as tool of cultural imperialism. (I mean, like, when I finally realized that digital audio doesn't work (!), how many friends did I almost lose??? Quite a few...hee!)

Bravissimo, Paul!

This kind of idea needs to get around a whole lot more!

Paul <ubertar@...> wrote:

thanks Jeff.

The kids on the page are in 6th and 7th grade (12 - 13 years old). We tuned to standard
12tet. I work for a non-profit afterschool program. There are a lot of these in NYC to help
make up for the lack of arts funding in NYC schools. They rely on grants to stay afloat--
mostly private grants and some govt. money too, at least from what I understand... I'm not
involved in that end of things.

I'm doing the microtonal tunings with them this year partly for selfish reasons-- because
it interests me-- but also because (and I think you'll agree with me here) I think the way
music is generally taught is backwards. Instead of starting by exploring sound and
thinking about ways of organizing sound (scales, various types of rhythm) and building up
from basic concepts to more complex ones, kids (and adult students) are spoon fed the
standard stuff as though it was factual and set in stone. By the time it's even mentioned (if
it's ever brought up at all) that there are other ways of doing things, the students (at this
point probably accomplished musicians) have already invested years of effort into the
status quo and will be very resistant (if not downright hostile) to change. I suppose the
counterargument would be that exposing students to all the possibilities at the beginning
would lead to chaos, but what's so bad about a little chaos every now and then? You've
gotta breaks some eggs... so they say. I'm looking forward to a delicious 10tet omelette. I
have no idea how it will taste, but I think it will be good.

--- In crazy_music@yahoogroups.com, "X. J. Scott" wrote:
> Wow Paul!!!!
>
> > www.geocities.com/ubertar/kids
>
> This is absolutely amazing.
>
> What grade are the kids on the page? The guitars they built last year are in
> in 12? Do you or the school get a grant to pay for the materials?
>
> And you're going to build the amps from scratch as well? Yow!
>
> This is really a fantastic thing you are doing.
>
> - Jeff

Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In crazy_music@yahoogroups.com, "Paul" <ubertar@y...> wrote:
I'm doing the microtonal tunings with them this year partly for
selfish reasons-- because
> it interests me-- but also because (and I think you'll agree with
me here) I think the way
> music is generally taught is backwards. Instead of starting by
exploring sound and

id agree with ya there personally i belive that music has a preset
standard and that if you go against the grain or the stauts quo its
not music but there are so many great musicians out there that no
one will ever hear of because they don't comform to that set style
of what music is ment to be rather that what it is.

ill upload a song i found a while back tell me what you think.. its
kinda chaotic

> thinking about ways of organizing sound (scales, various types of
rhythm) and building up

im not sure i think scales are pointless good to speed up your
figers i guess but if its got a meaning it will be expressed
regardless

> from basic concepts to more complex ones, kids (and adult
students) are spoon fed the
> standard stuff as though it was factual and set in stone. By the
time it's even mentioned (if
> it's ever brought up at all) that there are other ways of doing
things, the students (at this
> point probably accomplished musicians) have already invested years
of effort into the
> status quo and will be very resistant (if not downright hostile)
to change. I suppose the

yeah that happened to me i kinda listen to a lot of heavy deathy
metal and no one seems to hear what the musicans are trying to
express i guess most people here would avoid that kinda music like
the plague reagardless. but personally there are so many diffrent
forms of metal that it seems to be the only style of music with any
createive freedom left. and that what i don't like with music
schools ect they tend to destory the ability to create music and
replace it with the ablity to mimic something thats been done a
million times before.. cost me a good drummer but hey ill find
another sooner or later

> counterargument would be that exposing students to all the
possibilities at the beginning
> would lead to chaos, but what's so bad about a little chaos every
now and then? You've
> gotta breaks some eggs... so they say. I'm looking forward to a
delicious 10tet omelette. I
> have no idea how it will taste, but I think it will be good.

im going write a song about chaos. it will have no meaning or
anything its just ment to be what it is prue chaos but again who
knows its real name could be crap and not even know it.

> --- In crazy_music@yahoogroups.com, "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...>
wrote:
> > Wow Paul!!!!
> >
> > > www.geocities.com/ubertar/kids
> >
> > This is absolutely amazing.
> >
> > What grade are the kids on the page? The guitars they built last
year are in
> > in 12? Do you or the school get a grant to pay for the materials?
> >
> > And you're going to build the amps from scratch as well? Yow!
> >
> > This is really a fantastic thing you are doing.
> >
> > - Jeff