Napoleonic Conquest

Hello, friends! Welcome again to Liquid Logic - STEAM in form and function. This week I would like to respond to an e-mail from my friend Jeremy Cromwel in Massachusetts. Jeremy teaches 11th grade Social Studies and was looking for a way to integrate music. He was curious about special ties in History and I wanted to take the time to address that today.

During my very privileged tenure at Butler University, I was fortunate to have been in class with two very masterful musicologists. Dr. Wayne Wetzel focused on the evolution of music in history. His class involved the "nuts and bolts" if you will, of when and how certain musical structures evolved. Dr. James Briscoe's class focused more on the composer as a person, and what life events led to their compositional technique and style. Taking both classes, although difficult, gave me a strong grasp on the connection between art and artistic creation through a span of time.

An easy way to look at this would be to look at Beethoven. Beethoven is a gruff character who moves us from the Classical to the Romantic periods in music history (roughly 1751- about 1830). As an adult, Beethoven became interested in the Napoleonic Conquests in Europe. As he came into his own he began to distance himself from Franz J. Haydn, who was instructing him at the time. Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, Eroica, captures the spirit and the majesty of Napoleon's fight for freedom from tyranny in a musical snapshot that is the beginning of the Romantic period in music history. The music broke the conventional "classical" mold that Haydn taught and offered man a new idea: freedom.

That age of man was constructing a new society. Napoleon was rallying thousands to his cause by promising them freedom from tyrants. This was not lost on Beethoven and he was inspired, in his own way - to break the conventions; to become free the only way he knew how, to add his voice of support. Of course, I make this trivial - but I think you see the point.

The 1960's. Obviously a volatile time in the United States. Issues of Feminism, Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War were causing our country to really consider who we were and where we were going. The time inspired art, but also pushed it forward. Studying Jimi Hendrix through 60's -  following him from Little Richard's rhythm player to the one stealing the show at Woodstock - is a great way to capture that time. He's just one voice of several worth looking at.

There are artists and musicians that have brought to life every period of history. It's just a matter of looking at your subject saying, "Who caught this?" You will find them following these simple steps:

1. Look for composers and artists that match up with the dates your unit is working in. 
2. Find out what these people were up too during that time. Who were they learning from? Where were they? What were they working on? (Beethoven was specifically working on the 3rd symphony when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in Italy.) Find the connections.   
3. You'll come across many fascinating people and their stories deserve to be told as much as the leaders at the forefront of the nations, making decisions. 

In many ways Napoleon's Conquest failed. When he crowned himself emperor he betrayed his own cause. Not Beethoven, though. He never looked back, and his music set the tone for the more radical and expressive music of the Hyper-Romantics. His presence can still be felt, even in modern Rock n' Roll. It is this rebellious nature in Beethoven's music that makes him immortal. He captured the very essence of Napoleon's dream and put it in a form that everyone could understand. It's that form that will help your student's grasp and remember the concept 250 years later.

If you have a specific time or place you would like to focus on, please let me know and I'd be happy to help or refer you to someone else who knows more than I.

Until next week!

Poetry and Prose

Hello, and welcome to this latest edition of Liquid Logic - STEAM in form and function. As I write this I glory in the fact that my partner and I kicked off my favorite project of the year yesterday. As of this moment, the Poetry Slam project is in full swing. In less than a month there will be a gala of live music, poetry, and coffee in our school library. Next to the Madrigal Dinner, it is my favorite event of the year.

In honor of the slam, I thought I would break down the project for you. Perhaps you would be willing to try it in your own class? I realize that poetry slams are not new to school cultures, and savvy English teachers have been hosting them for years. I think (and I'm biased) ours is special because of the music inclusion...

Our entry event is simply a flyer posted around the school announcing the slam. It has the date, time, and location, along with some of the musicians that will be performing before and after the show. The students see these early in the day and typically come to class asking about them before we get a chance to "present" them. Since this is our third year doing the project - our upper classmen could be heard in the hallways saying things like, "The poetry slam is posted!" and "Man, remember (so-in-so's) poem? That was awesome..." By the beginning of second block our sophomores knew what was going on. 

After a brief discussion of the entry event, we ask the students to list all of the things that they know about the project, simply from reading the entry document. Once we've listed those "Knows", we discuss them together. Then we get a list of "Need-to-Knows" from the students. That list gives us a general idea of their pre-existing knowledge concerning the project, and a good idea of what we're going to need to workshop. We usually have a good hypothesis of what the students know and need to know before they come in, but sometimes they surprise us. 

Then we introduce them to our favorite poems. It is truly my favorite thing, to introduce students to new stuff. We have readings and analysis of poetry. We break down the meaning of poems. We look at inspiration of the poets and history of the poets... Who do we listen too, exactly? Oh, poets like Emily Dickinson, Octavio Paz, Edgar Allen Poe, Pablo Neruda, Yeats, Martin Espada, Eddie Vedder... What? YES, we listen and look at poetry in music too. How are the two connected? What types of poetry work best in western music? How do you set a poem to a piece of music? What do the words "scansion" and "diction" mean when utilizing music? This is the meat of the Poetry slam and an integral part of our class - making that connection between the art of literature and the art of music. 

Then the fun begins... Mrs. Papin-Thomas is a "boss," to use the vernacular, when it comes to poetry. A few years ago she came up with the idea of a Poetry Gauntlet; stations where the students could try their hands at sonnets, terza rima, haiku, and other forms. Also, we have a Gauntlet that lets students work with object poetry and inspiration. We even use games like "Apples to Apples" to help them with word choice, and we create "Shared Poems" where the students each add a word or phrase to a poem to create wonderful and fresh poetry. 

Yes, it is my favorite time of year. We sit with them. We participate in the gauntlets with them. We share our poetry and discuss their poetry with them. We analyze what went right, what went wrong, and why. For a few weeks in the fall our room becomes a true academic forum of discussion and thought all revolving around the arts and inspiration.   

Then, before we know it - because the project is only about 14 days - we host the slam. The community gathers and we settle into the library with coffee to listen to the stylings of our 14 strongest poems selected by vote. Prior to the slam we have live music. I usually bring my acoustic guitar and djembe' and jam with students. We sing songs and have a good time. Then the readings begin. Students stand up and pour their hearts out; lost loves, missing parents, exciting events, deaths, births, break-ups, desires, fantasies, dreams... it all comes out in beautiful words and rhythms. Some students write music to accompany their poems; they sing and play, others rap. Some simply stand and read in dramatic voice. It's truly magical, though, and every year there are one or two students who no one saw coming. Students that typically don't participate in after-school events. They find their way into the slam and we get a chance to see their creativity. 

Yup... that time of year again. I'm excited!     

2nd Fiddle

Welcome back! Per our discussion last week, I want to submit ideas to you for consideration where arts integration is concerned. How do we put two classes together, especially when one of the classes is considered "general education"? How do we connect the standards from our classes? How do we ensure that the students are learning - that our instruction is differentiated? These are the questions that I want to address this week. Also - I haven't forgotten - you requested examples and I'm glad to accommodate...

Remember the keys: 1.) Get out of your classroom. 2.) The arts are a language. 3.) The arts are connected to everything. If you don't believe these three tenants, this will not work. If you are compartmentalized in your thinking, this will not work. However, if you're open-minded, honest with yourself, and have a strong command of your content area - you should be fine.

When I talk to teachers getting ready to integrate, they express concerns that my partner and I expressed when we were first brought together. Our principal ensured that Sarah and I had time, and a chance to really work out how we were going to do this. We started with a Venn diagram. Right away two things happened. First, I realized that my partner was brilliant and knew her content very well. Also, I realized quickly how many standards that we had in common. Check your standards together. Find the similarities. Find the differences.

Once we figured out how our standards would work together, we set about creating projects that would cover them. We typically do ten projects a year. The following projects are my favorites...

Poetry Slam - Write poetry (music lyrics included). Analyze poetry (this includes musical texts). Put together a "slam". Stage and perform the show. Students that are capable are encouraged to play instruments as well as sing their poetry. How do we differentiate for students that cannot play instruments? 1.) They have the option to simply stand and read their poetry. 2.) They have access to music notation software. They can write entire symphonies, dub-step, etc. to go with their poetry and then just press play and start reciting their poetry into the mic. I note that some students elect not to include music for artistic reasons. That's cool too.

Film Fest - We ask the students to write an essay on an issue they feel strongly about. Then we pair them in groups with other students that have similar or contrasting themes. We ask them to come up with a script covering all of their ideas. We encourage them to be elaborate - sets, costumes, blocking, etc. Then they are asked to go and film. We ask them to compose both entree' act and incidental music as well as come up with actual theme music for their film. Using Finale music software, students create full scored orchestrations for their films. Then they export them to mp3 files and drag them into the movie software. The project culminates in a festival for the public to see what they created.

Myth - Our myth project asks students to study myths from different cultures. During their research they build a wiki for their myth. Then we randomly assign a wiki to each group. The group must go only on the data that their researchers have given them. They have to create a skit, puppet show, or some other sort of live performance. Music is to be included throughout. Some groups have even composed songs to tell their stories with. Then the students take their act on the road to the Elementary school and put on live shows for the students there.

At face value, those projects may sound like too much fun (is there such a thing, really?), but Sarah and I make sure that the students don't shirk the writing and research components. Students are checked at every turn about what they are doing and more importantly... WHY.

So, your reading this and you teach math. Math teachers are the first to point out that they teach math, and math is an oddball. This is not so with the arts. Ask your students to create a physical, tangible representation of the relationship between sin and cosin. Too rigorous for you? Okay - have students check intervals for distance and create a song using the matrix they come up with. In music, this is a valid composition style known as "Serialism". You can research Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) for more information.

What about Physics? Pythagoras and Music love one another. Pythagoras invented the guitar... well, sort of. It was his idea that clipping a string might change the pitch. Perhaps your students could construct guitars? That would be a  radical project...dude.

Music History and History go together. For every age, there is a composer. Roaring 20's = Kurt Weill, Baroque = Bach/Handel, Napoleaonic Conquest = Beethoven. Artists gain inspiration from their environments. Find a world event worth studying, you'll find a composer there attached to it somehow.

What about the other arts? What about theater? Dance? Sculpting and painting?

Dance can go with mathematics through measuring forces, distances, and looking at motion. Measuring motions and creating problems to calculate issues concerning precision movements and distances can become fun. The problem is that most students have no dance background and they don't feel confident doing it.

Art can become both the focal point of an analytic study and supplemental to analytic study. Finding works that coincide with the concepts that you are presenting is easy to do. For a history class - have the students examine pictures (both photo renderings and artistic works) from the period that you are studying. Ask them what they imagine the artist felt, what they feel, and what they think the subject of the work felt. This exercise will bring History alive for them and make it much more meaningful and relevant.

Art and Music tend to work hand in hand. At the beginning of the 20th Century Debussy hung out with Monet. It's interesting that Monet would work on visual impressionism, while Debussy would forge a musical aesthetic that was equivalent. History is full of connections between artists, writers, and musicians. The arts draw on each other and inspire one another.

Mathematics also has a great friend in the arts. Art can be measured, calculated, plotted, and even created by math. Artists tend to "see in lines" and it is my understanding that math people love the logic of linear calculations. There is order in art as there is order in math.

Chemistry and the Culinary arts. Go bake cookies! And while you're at it, sort out this equation for me...

Now, I have been rather trite and I understand that several of you may need more assistance. I do not mean to make light of your situations. I know that it is daunting to begin. If I have been unclear or you would like supplemental work, please just e-mail me and I can assist you further.

Until next week, when we look deeper into STEAM.

Adieu!

Finding Harmony

Hello, and welcome to the second installment of Liquid Logic - STEAM in form and function. I'd like to devote this week's blog to helping friends of mine that are coming on-line in the northern part of the state. Developing integrated arts classes can be daunting. Like the culinary arts, the right ingredients are necessary. If you have the wrong ingredients, incorrect mixture, or improper baking time, you'll leave a foul taste in the mouths of your students. So, how do we do it?

When I was going through Butler University I fondly recall my professors using the terms "cross-curricular" and "interdisciplinary" often. I remember hearing them say things like, "In order for your arts program to survive you must make yourself useful to the general curricular classes." My own experience was rather difficult. I set out to connect with my colleagues in the English department first. I recall sending an e-mail to the department head requesting a synopsis of what they would be teaching that year. It was my goal to select choral music for the year along the lines of their curriculum, so that we could study together. For whatever reason, and there may well have been some good ones, I received no response.

It was my good friend and colleague, Michael Buck, instructor of Spanish, that had the foresight to consider my request. Michael suggested that I select Spanish music that I was comfortable teaching. He agreed to work with me on a cultural project covering both our standards. Our first project culminated in a deep study of Spanish history and culture set around the song "Las Mananitas." Since then, Michael and I have teamed up on no less than six other projects. Even now that I work predominately with English, Michael continues to include the arts in all of his cultural studies as a premier tool to bring Spanish culture to the students.

That's the first key: Get out of your classroom! Find connections. Create connections. You're going to need to understand the needs and expectations of your faculty and work with them.

When our school became affiliated with the New Tech Network in 2008, I was encouraged to explore the possibilities. What would an integrated class look like? How would it function? I devoted myself to discovering ways to connect music,  particularly choral music, to everything - Science, Math, Physical Education, History... What I assumed would be difficult became rather easy when I realized one basic truth: Music is a language. Music has a system of writing, grammar and syntax (music theory),different dialects (style and genre'), and finally, music expresses thoughts, feelings, emotions - it has meaning. These are the components of language. Music has them all. The fine arts in general contain these items. It's difficult to see them in the other arts, but they are there.

This is the second key: The arts are a universal language. Every culture has the arts and uses them in a meaningful way to communicate.

This revelation led me to the third key: The arts are interwoven into every facet of the fabric of society.

What does this mean? It means where there's a Napolean Boneparte, there's a Ludwig van Beethoven. Where there's a George I of England, there's a George Frideric Handel. Every major event, every figurehead, every moment in history from Bob Dylan's "All along the Watchtower" to Rage Against the Machine's "No Shelter"... it's all connected. I truly believe that I can connect the arts to anything.

So why aren't we making those connections?

The difficulty is two-fold. Arts teachers worry about performance. We struggle to get ready for our concerts,   dramas, art shows... The pressure for us comes when we realize that we need the kids to put on a show. Yet there comes a time when you need to decide whether you're going to have a social club, or your going to truly educate the kids. I'm talking about a real and deep understanding of the connections between humanity and the stuff we create, art or otherwise.

General education teachers worry about tests, and rightfully so. It is unfortunate that our federal and state governments have pushed us to the point where we worry about a snapshot of how our students will perform academically. They have forgotten our mission: to fill the kids in on every great thing that they're missing. It's not Math... it's the order of the universe! It's not History... it's a record of our species! It's not Science... it is the laws of existence; and the arts are representative of those subjects in ways that may help you reach kids that you could never touch before. Not everyone cares for Physics, but most people love Star Wars. The kid that goes home and works on his "flux capacitor" may someday win a Nobel Prize for Physics. That's what it's all about.

So, remember the keys: Get out of your classroom. The arts are a universal language. The arts are interwoven into every facet of society. These keys open the door to all possibilities - and that's what I want to talk about next week; how to integrate this stuff with examples.

Until then...