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Baschet Sound Sculptures: Body, Mind and Sound Effects I have always believed in intuition as the source of creative teaching. As a music teacher, I suffered the boredom of the bland, uninspired and antiquated programmes we had to teach. I searched for academic methods which would promote interaction and participation amongst my students. When I came across the Baschet Sound Sculptures, I found the tools that I needed. When I met Bernard Baschet back in 1974 in Paris, I was able to experiment at leisure with the extraordinary shapes, textures, vibrations and sounds of his sculptures. While I was being introduced to the world of therapy work and thought-provoking music teaching, Bernard clarified his own didactic philosophy: that there was 'no work method'. In other words, freedom and intuition are the fundamental ingredients for using these sound structures: In imaginary play, the scribble has sound; the blot of colour has resonance; the dots have rhythm. There is a place for all cultures, all races, to bring the Sound Structures alive with their traditions. Music Teaching in Schools The Sound Structures make an introduction to music fun, stimulating and-full of curiosity. To teach rhythm and beat, the structures allow the production of sounds through clearly distinct movements in order to differentiate them physically, tangibly, and in terms of sound. Generally, school children have little time to communicate. Their task is to read and reproduce information. There is no creative, spontaneous space. In story-telling activities, the structures provide a physical space around which the ritual of listening expectation and imagination can take place. Interdisciplinary teaching It is extremely important to make sure that children have enough time to educate their hearing, and to know how to listen. The more the Sound Structures are used in general school classes, the better, as the use of such sound effects sharpens the curiosity for listening in children. Language Work In bilingual schools, the importance of educating the ear is fundamental. The Baschet Sound Structures provide a basis for discovering both sound and movement, bound together in the creation of stories relevant to the local culture. The integration of language, sound, image and movement is a powerful method for promoting communication. Furthermore, the Structures give ample opportunity for work and play with onomatopoeias. Improvisation It is frequently believed that improvisation the child of inspiration and intuition. Improvisational activities with the Sound Structures require clear thinking and programming for children to gain the maximum benefit. Workshops "We can dance to create; we can create to paint; we can paint to imagine; we can imagine to talk; we can talk to hear; we can hear to play; we can play to know; and we can even make collages full of mystery; move in space and listen to the sound of light." Creative Instrument Making This is an important facet of the philosophy of the Baschet Sound Structures. The construction of the formal structures serves as an example, where all the materials are simple metal, fibre or glass pieces taken from everyday objects. An fascinating and inspiring activity for students of any age from 5 to 95 is the creation or invention of musical instruments from recycled materials such as plastic, metal, paper or glass. The objective and challenge: to find and project the voice of hitherto inanimate materials. Therapy Therapy, using the Sound Structures, consists of communication and play. In Melbourne, Australia, where the Aboriginal story-telling traditions are strong, work with children with language difficulties was greatly helped by the Structures, due to their properties for encouraging free non-verbal communication. In Singapore, working with young and elderly disabled people, a work method emerged which was based on animation and play. Here, in therapeutic work alongside physiotherapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists, the residents were helped to obtain better physical body positions, better breathing, careful muscular stretching etc. The Sound Structures helped to encourage all of these focuses. Case Study : Kan Wei, a Chinese boy with severe difficulties in walking and in sitting alone due to the fear caused by an early fall from his cot. During a year of therapy, the Sound Structures were used as the physical and sonorous support for performing stories. Kan Wei learned to extend his movement little by little, measuring his strength and extension to the body and sound of the structures. Case Study: Vicky, a spastic 12-year-old child with language difficulties. The Sound Structures provided the means for Vicky to make sound effects for a story about cats and their postures, and the gradual unfolding of the story became the powerful motivation which enabled him to move himself into postures which had been totally impossible for him before. Sound Exhibitions and School Courses in which the Sound Structures have participated under the baton of Cristina Vidal-Quadras:
Cristina Vidal-Quadras de Lewin Richter | |||