We’re
still in only our first week of the camps, and already all the campers
have gone through two music workshops, with Greg Phelps and Jake Mahler
respectively. These two actors work for the American
Shakespeare Center, and both help to organize and perform the music in
the shows.
In Greg’s music workshops, he opens by asking, “Why is there music?” and gets the campers to share why they think people make music. Toni suggested that it seems like an imitation of nature, of birds singing, the rhythms of trees and water. “Music is to carry history, to help people remember through generations” said Allegra, another camper. Cam thought it could be to “express yourself” or “to communicate,” and we all agreed that people can be united or divided over music. For its use in theater, music is “infectious” and communicates “unspoken adjectives” which can present the emotional content of the scene or the play.
From this conversation about the philosophy of music, we turned to the elements of music, and discussed what makes up music, exploring questions such as if major or minor keys actually make a song sound sad or happy. Then we read through the text of all the songs in the plays we’re doing in this camp (there are quite a few) and made some discoveries about structure and form and how that might apply to a song, so that in the last section of the workshop we all made up a song together. For Greg’s first workshop we created “O Mistress Mine” from Twelfth Night. With Toni and Emily (one of our counselors) on guitar, Dan on uke, a trio of strings, and many voices singing, we put together a beautiful little song.
In Jake’s music workshop, the class started with a whole lot of questions. What do you think about when you hear the word “music?” When do you listen to music? Do you have a particular song that “you just need to listen to” when you’re feeling a particular way? When? Do you have specific memories associated with a particular song? Can you think of a spot in a movie that you “cannot imagine” without music? All of these questions yielded enthusiastic conversation and helped the campers think about this nebulous thing we call music which surrounds us and fills our lives, but which doesn’t usually engage all of our cognitive energy. Next, Jake showed three different movie clips, each using music quite differently, and he asked the campers what the music was telling us in each of these clips. In scary movies, it’s the music that makes our hair stand on end; in happy movies, the soundtrack is often the reason we know it’s a happy movie just from the opening credits; and in a romantic (or sad) movie, the music can spark our emotional responses in powerful ways.
In the rest of the workshop, we talked about the ways the ASC uses music, complete with performances from Jake and Dan, one of our counselors who just toured with Jake this past year. We made our own playlists of what songs we would do for Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night if we had the option, and then we talked about where songs live in popular culture and how that affects our understanding of them. What would it do to the play if a production used Katy Perry’s “Firework” as the tune and harmony for the fairies’ lullaby in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? We talked about different styles of music and what they each bring to text. Then all the campers were divided into four groups, and each of the groups created their own song using text from Twelfth Night in four assigned styles: Country, Blues, Gospel, and Alternative Indie Punk. The performances of these four little songs were so much fun for everyone. Jake made sure to mention that we should all be excellent audience members, supporting our fellow actors, and the campers really took it to heart, clapping and even singing along on occasion.
So that’s our news from some music workshops. If you’re interested to hear a little of the music we made up Greg’s second workshop here is a bit of the Mariner's song from Gallathea. Many thanks to Madeline for the file!
In Greg’s music workshops, he opens by asking, “Why is there music?” and gets the campers to share why they think people make music. Toni suggested that it seems like an imitation of nature, of birds singing, the rhythms of trees and water. “Music is to carry history, to help people remember through generations” said Allegra, another camper. Cam thought it could be to “express yourself” or “to communicate,” and we all agreed that people can be united or divided over music. For its use in theater, music is “infectious” and communicates “unspoken adjectives” which can present the emotional content of the scene or the play.
From this conversation about the philosophy of music, we turned to the elements of music, and discussed what makes up music, exploring questions such as if major or minor keys actually make a song sound sad or happy. Then we read through the text of all the songs in the plays we’re doing in this camp (there are quite a few) and made some discoveries about structure and form and how that might apply to a song, so that in the last section of the workshop we all made up a song together. For Greg’s first workshop we created “O Mistress Mine” from Twelfth Night. With Toni and Emily (one of our counselors) on guitar, Dan on uke, a trio of strings, and many voices singing, we put together a beautiful little song.
In Jake’s music workshop, the class started with a whole lot of questions. What do you think about when you hear the word “music?” When do you listen to music? Do you have a particular song that “you just need to listen to” when you’re feeling a particular way? When? Do you have specific memories associated with a particular song? Can you think of a spot in a movie that you “cannot imagine” without music? All of these questions yielded enthusiastic conversation and helped the campers think about this nebulous thing we call music which surrounds us and fills our lives, but which doesn’t usually engage all of our cognitive energy. Next, Jake showed three different movie clips, each using music quite differently, and he asked the campers what the music was telling us in each of these clips. In scary movies, it’s the music that makes our hair stand on end; in happy movies, the soundtrack is often the reason we know it’s a happy movie just from the opening credits; and in a romantic (or sad) movie, the music can spark our emotional responses in powerful ways.
In the rest of the workshop, we talked about the ways the ASC uses music, complete with performances from Jake and Dan, one of our counselors who just toured with Jake this past year. We made our own playlists of what songs we would do for Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night if we had the option, and then we talked about where songs live in popular culture and how that affects our understanding of them. What would it do to the play if a production used Katy Perry’s “Firework” as the tune and harmony for the fairies’ lullaby in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? We talked about different styles of music and what they each bring to text. Then all the campers were divided into four groups, and each of the groups created their own song using text from Twelfth Night in four assigned styles: Country, Blues, Gospel, and Alternative Indie Punk. The performances of these four little songs were so much fun for everyone. Jake made sure to mention that we should all be excellent audience members, supporting our fellow actors, and the campers really took it to heart, clapping and even singing along on occasion.
So that’s our news from some music workshops. If you’re interested to hear a little of the music we made up Greg’s second workshop here is a bit of the Mariner's song from Gallathea. Many thanks to Madeline for the file!
Rocks, shelves, and sands, and seas, farewell!
Fie! Who would dwell
In such a hell
As is a ship, which drunk does reel,
Taking salt healths from deck to keel.
Up were we swallowed in wet graves,
All soused in waves,
What shall we do, being tossd to shore?
Milk some blind tavern, and there roar.
'Tis brave, my boys, to sail on land,
For being well manned,
The trade of pursing ne'er shall fail
Until the hangman cries, "Strike sail"!.
Rove, then, no matter whither,
In fair or stormy weather.
One hempen caper cuts a feather.
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