Music for the Brain Overview
During the 2017/2018 academic year, The Children’s Trust School in Tadworth, Surrey, UK, https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/school , for children and young people aged 2-19 years with acquired brain injury, commissioned Sounds of Intent Charity to create a set of resources that teachers, carers and parents could use to engage pupils and students with profound disabilities through music. To this end, The Trust employed a Sounds of Intent music practitioner one day a week to work with colleagues to ensure that the resources that were produced would enable non-music-specialists to embed music activities readily in their day-to-day practice. The result was a set of 36 cards, each matching a Sounds of Intent element in the reactive, proactive and interactive domains at Levels 1, 2 and 3. A catalogue of the cards, with links to each, is provided here.
Printed sets of cards are available from The Trust. Contact enquiries@thechildrenstrust.org.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1737 365 000.
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Music for the Brain: Overview Introduction Elements A Elements B Elements C Elements D R.3 reacts to simple patterns in sound R.2 shows an awareness of sound R.1 encounters sounds P.3 intentionally makes simple patterns in sound P.2 intentionally makes or controls sound P.1 makes sounds unknowingly I.3 copies other’s sounds and/or is aware of own sounds being copied I.2 interacts with others using sound I.1 relates unwittingly through sound [DOC 20] [LINK TO DOC 21] [LINK TO DOC 22] [LINK TO DOC 23] Music for the Brain Resources from The Children’s Trust 200 activities using sound and music Welcome to Music for the Brain The cards correspond to the three ways in which children and young people can engage with sound and music, through listening , doing and interacting . ABOUT ME MY NEEDS AND W ANTS O THER PEOPLE A CTIVITIES PL A CES MOVING TO MUSIC LEARNING THROUGH MUSIC USING MUSIC TO STRUCTURE OTHER LEARNING INTERACTING WITH OTHERS THROUGH MUSIC AND PHRASES KEY WORDS The Tuning In resources The Tuning In resources Try making all sorts of different sounds to see whether I respond • Think of all the sounds you can make with your voice • Remember to get close up to me • Make sure that the environment is quiet • Bring me into contact with everyday soundmakers • Use instruments in the same way • Make sounds in front of me or behind Music for the Brain Listening 1 Play me different kinds of music and see whether I react to any of them • Play music in short bursts • Put the speakers close to me • Let me experience different melody instruments • Try low notes and high notes • Don’t forget to sing to me • Always allow plenty of time for me to respond Music for the Brain Listening 2 Let me encounter sounds and music in different environments • Let me experience the muted effect on sounds in a small room • Now take me to a hall that echoes • Try the acoustic of a corridor • Can you play me music in the hydrotherapy pool? • Take me outside, somewhere quiet • You could use an amplifier to increase the volume Music for the Brain Listening 3 Let me experience sound and other sensory input at the same time • Let me experience the weight of a tambourine • Let me feel the wood of a recorder • Show me the light dancing off a cymbal • Let me smell of a new Kenyan drum • Let me experience a didgeridoo • Let me feel the cool metal of a brass instrument Music for the Brain Listening 4 Enable me to experience how the movements I may make involuntarily can make, cause or control sounds • The rise of my chest could operate a beam • My tongue could control sounds • A blink could switch a sound on • Amplify any sounds I may make through breathing … • ... or my heart beat • Make a careful note of any signs of awareness that I may show Music for the Brain Doing 5 [LINK TO DOC 24] [LINK TO DOC 28] [LINK TO DOC 32] [LINK TO DOC 36] [LINK TO DOC 40] [LINK TO DOC 44] [LINK TO DOC 48] [LINK TO DOC 52] [LINK TO DOC 56] [LINK TO DOC 57] [LINK TO DOC 58] [LINK TO DOC 59] [LINK TO DOC 25] [LINK TO DOC 29] [LINK TO DOC 33] [LINK TO DOC 37] [LINK TO DOC 41] [LINK TO DOC 45] [LINK TO DOC 49] [LINK TO DOC 53] [LINK TO DOC 26] [LINK TO DOC 30] [LINK TO DOC 34] [LINK TO DOC 38] [LINK TO DOC 42] [LINK TO DOC 46] [LINK TO DOC 50] [LINK TO DOC 54] [LINK TO DOC 55] [LINK TO DOC 51] [LINK TO DOC 27] [LINK TO DOC 31] [LINK TO DOC 35] [LINK TO DOC 39] [LINK TO DOC 43] [LINK TO DOC 47] Guide me to make movements co-actively that produce sounds Music for the Brain • Help me to tap a small drum • Help me to scratch a tambourine • Help me to strum the strings of an autoharp • Help me to shake small bells • Help me to tip instruments like a rainmaker one way and the other • Enhance them using a microphone and an amplifier Doing 6 Think of the different environments in which you can help me make, cause or control sounds Music for the Brain • Lie me in the pool with my ears in the water to hear my vocal sounds • A quiet environment may help me concentrate on sounds tImake • Use technology to mimic different environments • Think of large places that echo • Try outside near buildings • Try a large open space Doing 7 Guide me to explore soundmakers with my other senses too Music for the Brain • Can I feel the vibration of a drum I hit? • Shine a light on a cymbal as I scratch it • Help me use sound and light switches or movement-sensitive beams • Convert my sounds into vibration • Put me in a swing that brushes by hanging soundmakers • Associate certain soundmakers with scents in multisensory sessions Doing 8 Help me make sounds in response to yours and respond to any sounds that I may make without knowing it Music for the Brain • First, make a sound yourself … • … and then help me to make a sound • Use a microphone and amplifier to intensify our vocal sounds • Put an ocean drum across our laps • Now try the same activity using movement-sensitive software • Remember to allow plenty of time between sounds Interacting 9 With a colleague, family member or friend, model interactions in sound for me Music for the Brain • Sit either side of me and take turns to make sounds with your voices … • … or with everyday soundmakers • Make sounds that are similar … • … or contrasting • Interact using digital sounds • Try having one person work with me and another alongside a friend, exchanging sounds Interacting 10 Try trading sounds with me in different environments and in different contexts Music for the Brain • Try working in a small, quiet room • So metimes a large echoey space may spur me into action • Try working in a hall, with groups of people • Try working in a corridor • Am I likely to be more alert at certain times of the day … • … or following a feed or medication? Interacting 11 Model interactions in sound that are also multisensory in nature Music for the Brain • Enhance the impact of interactions in sound through touch • Use a swing for interactions in sound • Use a rainstick and vocal sounds • Use a little fan blowing gently on my face or arms in turn • In a multisensory room, link sound sources and lights • Try interacting in the pool Interacting 12 Make many different sounds, to see which catch my attention • Sing long and short notes to me • Rub your hands together • Shake rattly containers, jangle small chains and crinkle rustly paper • Make sounds that are high or low, smooth or rasping • Make sounds that go up and down or get louder and quieter … • … or stay the same for a long time Music for the Brain Listening 13 Put together playlists for me of different kinds of music • Choose music with plenty of repetition, like pop songs • Play short bursts of the music at first • How do I respond to hip hop and dance music? • Try Bollywood music, J-pop, K-pop • Try film and TV music • Try experimental music by Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage Music for the Brain Listening 14 Take me out and about to hear sound and music in the wider world • Shopping malls use alluring music! • Fields, forests and farms are all full of natural sounds • Visit churches, mosques, synagogues • Take me to the seaside • Record the sounds of different environments • Combine these sounds with the smells, sight and the feel of objects Music for the Brain Listening 15 Let me experience how sounds can be linked to other sensory input in a variety of different ways • Show me a gong that shimmers • Help me get to grips with musical gourds from Asia • Let me feel a guitar or ukulele • Put a loudspeaker on a resonance board • Drop pebbles into a bowl of water • Let me experience a pile of autumn leaves being scrunched together Music for the Brain Listening 16 Encourage me to make different types of sounds myself • Use a microphone and amplifier to enhance my vocal sounds • Help me explore soundmakers • Help me explore instruments • Help me use a stick or a beater • Using my feet might be the easiest way for me to make sounds • Use technologies that can convert any movement into any sound Music for the Brain Doing 17 Help me to express my feelings through sound • Make an exaggerated response to any vocalisations I make • Respond empathetically to sounds I make with objects and instruments • Identify triggers to my vocalising • Can you change the way I feel … • … and so change the sounds I make? • My choosing not to make a sound may show how I’m feeling too Music for the Brain Doing 18 Give me the chance to make sounds in different places • The activity at a shopping centre may stimulate me to be more vocal … • … or a large railway station … • … or even an airport • Sitting on a train may stimulate me to vocalise • Take me outside in different weathers • In contrast, sometimes take me into very small rooms that absorb sound Music for the Brain Doing 19 Guide me in soundmaking that is multisensory in nature • Encourage me to feel guitar strings • Guide me to feel the cow-bell • Remind me of the rough, hard skin of the musical gourd that I am shaking • Help me appreciate the changing weight of a rainstick as I tip it up • Assist me in feeling seashells in a the box as I stir them round • Give me time to enjoy rustling leaves Music for the Brain Doing 20 Assist me in making sounds myself in response to the sounds that you make Music for the Brain • Use your voice to make sounds I like • Share hand-held percussion with me • Make a burst of sound and then have a period of silence • Put clusters of bells on my wrists or ankles and on yours too • Place a balloon in between us • Make funny noises down a tube held to my ear, and then swap Interacting 21 Respond empathetically to any sounds that I make Music for the Brain • Remember, when I make a sound it is always for a reason • S o respond to my sounds … • … emulating what I do, or through making a contrasting sound • Let us share an instrument • Then use two separate instruments of the same type • Use instruments of different types Interacting 22 Have ‘conversations’ with me in sound in different contexts Music for the Brain • People’s voices sound quite different in echoey places • Play outdoor instruments with me • T ake it in turns to hit a log with a stick • Remember that I may become more vocal and receptive in a vehicle • Different voices may make me want to respond in different ways • Is the time of day may be important? Interacting 23 Interact with me through sound in ways that use my other senses too Music for the Brain • Exaggerate your facial expressions when having conversations in sound • R einforce he sounds you make by touching my hands or arms • E ngage with me on the swing • Use a resonance board • Use a microphone and amplifier • Use technology to add a visual dimension to our sound dialogues Interacting 24 Use your voice to make simple patterns in sound to catch my attention • Start by making patterns that use the lips, like ‘ma, ma, ma, ma, ma’ … • … or ‘puh, puh, puh, puh, puh’ • Try patterns that use the tongue, like ‘dah, dah, dah, dah, dah’ • Try ‘sss, sss, sss, sss, sss’ • Try ‘mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm’ • Make whistling patterns: ‘peep, peep, peep, peep, peep’ Music for the Brain Listening 25 Make short bursts of a regular beat on percussion instruments for me to hear • Tap the same simple pattern on different instruments • Use your fingers then beaters • Scratch your nails to and fro • Tap instruments gently on my hands • Tap the pattern on a resonance board so that I can feel the sound • Use switches or motion-sensitive technology to make the same pattern Music for the Brain Listening 26 Let me listen to patterns of sound that go higher and lower, or louder and quieter • Make short patterns of three notes on a keyboard for me to listen to • Do the same on a glockenspiel • Now do the same on a tablet … • … and on the recorder or whistle • Do the same on one of the strings of a ukulele or a guitar • Try a different kinds of pattern on different instruments Music for the Brain Listening 27 Help me to be aware of what is going to happen by using sound symbols • Place different sets of windchimes in the doorways of important rooms • Give people different jangly bracelets • Give me and my friends ‘personal soundmakers’ for times of greeting • Use sounding objects of reference • Use the sound symbols consistently • Record what happens during activities using sound symbols Music for the Brain Listening 28 Support me in making a regular beat on soundmakers or by using my voice • Put my hand over yours while you tap a beat on a drum with your fingers … • … then let me have a go on my own • Help me make a beat on instruments • Show me how to make patterns too • Remember that a beat comes from my head, not my hand … • … so guide me with your hand under mine, so I’m always in control Music for the Brain Doing 29 React positively when I deliberately repeat sounds using my voice or sound- makers on my own initiative • Let me have plenty of time and space to experiment with pattern-making • Give me soundmakers that I find the easiest to play • Give me plenty of encouragement • Try using beams or switches too • Move other parts of my body in time with the patterns that I make • Make recordings of what I do Music for the Brain Doing 30 Help me to make short patterns of notes that get higher or lower • Show me how to play single notes on a keyboard • Now show me how to play a simple beat on one key • Help me to use white and black notes • Give me plenty of time • Show me how to play short, simple up or down patterns on three notes • Help me to make longer patterns Music for the Brain Doing 31 Put together families of soundmakers for me to explore • Make a collection of metal utensils • Give me a set of wooden items • Put together a collection of things to shake like a rattle and maracas • Make me a set of scrapers • Collect things that make a sound by plucking, like a ukulele and banjo • The same patterns in sound can be made on different instruments Music for the Brain Doing 32 Copy the sounds that I make with my voice, and encourage me to copy what you do Music for the Brain • Copy my vocal sounds • G ive me time to process what you do • Initiate an interaction by making a sound like the one I make • Give me plenty of time to respond • I may copy you more and more accurately over time • Repeat the activity many times in different contexts Interacting 33 Echo the sounds that I make with everyday objects and instruments Music for the Brain • Imitate the sounds that I make on instruments or other soundmakers • U se the same instrument at first • Next, use a second instrument that is the same as mine • Let me see or feel what is happening • Next use a different instrument to copy the same pattern • Swap instruments! Interacting 34 Encourage me to imitate what you do on instruments and other soundmakers Music for the Brain • Give me an instrument and make a sound on it that I have made before • Give me plenty of time to respond • Play another soundmaker the same as mine, so we don’t have to share • See if I will copy the same pattern on a different kind of soundmaker • Exchange instruments • Repetition is key Interacting 35 Play ‘pass the sound’ games with me Music for the Brain • Let me sit in a circle of three or four people - first, one makes a sound with his voice, then the next copies … • … and so the sound goes round • Do the same with body sounds and then use soundmakers … • … that are all the same … • … and then different ones • Add more people to the circle Interacting 36 Figure 1: Download PDF