Hill Freedman Middle School
It is quiet in Ms. Levicoff's sixth grade class; thirty heads are bent over their electric pianos working in pairs on their compositions. They whisper to each other and nod as they work to inventing notation for their pieces, then they listen to themselves play on split keyboards through their headphones, one side piano, the other percussion. I feel a little left out of the sonic world that I can not hear; I have to tap them on their shoulders to get their attention.
Moving quickly from group to group, I work with them individually, pointing out alternatives in notation, encouraging the hesitant to write down their thoughts. Every once in a while I speak to the entire class; they all lit their heads up for a moment to catch scent of my words. "Don't forget," I say, "Composing is like writing a story, it has a beginning, middle, and end." Thirty heads bob and then return to their work. Tina Davidson, from "The Listening Journal"
"This week when I was outside, it was like Mother Nature was playing a song and all the animals were dancing to the beats." Nisjah Brown,student, Hill-Freeman School
McMichael Elementary School
Timothy stands very close to me. When I move, he moves. He is waiting for me to play his piece with him. I tell him I will come shortly, so he follows me like a shadow around the room as I help Shante with her instrument, calm Ferron down so he can concentrate, and get sidelined by Brandi and Terrell. They are working on a piece for two desks and their hands and experiment with how many sounds their fingers, palms, and fists can make on the wooden tops. I step back and almost fall over Timothy; he is still waiting. We go over to Jake and Michael who are struggling with their notation. Jake is about to explode, he cannot figure out how to write his rhythm down. We put words to it and he can clap it with ease. Finally Timothy pushes me towards the piano and I grab a drum. His piece is carefully notated in tiny print. He checks to see if I remember the drum part and then begins to play, his long fingers curving around the complicated chords. He gets a dreamy look on his face, and plays his piece on and on. "How will I know when to stop?" I press him. He hardly notices and continues to play. Tina Davidson, from "The Listening Journal"
"This was all my own; it was my music and my conducting -- it was all me, and I was really proud of that." Brandi, age 14, McMichael School
Martin Luther King High School
Jerry and Adrian can hardly contain themselves. Tenth graders at Martin Luther King High School, they listen attentively as I review the piece the class had written together the week before, but their fingers and feet tap out the rhythms in excitement. The class sits huddled next to the blackboard looking intently at the piece they had notated. Jerry continues to tap, so I go over and hold his fingers to keep him quiet; we keep reviewing the piece. Then slowly, with their homemade drums and shakers, they try the piece. After several attempts they finally perform the whole composition. A smile creeps across Adrians face as he pushes the ever-present cap back off his face, "The piece sounds exactly like it did last week!" he says with amazement. "We really wrote something!" Tina Davidson, from "The Listening Journal"
"You know, I love to drum. If I am angry I just go and drum, and things feel better." -Adrian
Nebinger Elementary School
Michael's eyes are full of tears, his small body slumps in the chair. "It's not fair! I want to work with the cellist." Tears splash down his face. I study him intently for a moment before settling down beside him. Michael and the other boys had been out of the room recording the rap lyrics to the song the fifth grade class had written. During their absence, the rest of the class had continued working on their graphically notated pieces about theOdyssey. Today, each group is collaborating with a member of the visiting Cassatt String Quartet and now, without a piece the boys feel left out and deserted. I stall for a moment.
"Well, perhaps..." Then I know, "What if you write a brand new piece for all of the string players right now?" Michael immediately runs for the markers and newsprint. Working quickly, the boys graphically notate a new work called Rough Riders from Lotus Town, fighting only briefly about how to notate the motorcycle sound. Later, after a few explanations and discussion, the Quartet plays the piece for the class. Michael leans into me smiling, "They played my piece pretty good!" he concedes. Tina Davidson, from "The Listening Journal"
"Inside the classroom at Nebinger, Davidson told the students to watch Whittenberg, who would conduct the class piece. With smiles that got broader as their music got louder, students strummed, shook and pounded their instruments. They missed some sounds. "Okay, I think that was a dress rehearsal," Davidson said." The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1, 1999
