Sounds of the City was a five session project with The Museum of Docklands London and Beatrice Tate special school. Four school visits finishing with a museum visit.
Methodology
The goal is for the students to arrive in the spaces inside and outside of the Docklands museum and feel comfortable, safe and held in the music and sounds we have created together. So they can:
- Settle – Feel settled with the sounds, story, spaces, building & objects.
- Pretend – Be on the cobbles outside the museum and pretend to be the traffic on the street, go by the water and pretend to sail the ship off and back home.
- Arise – See and experience the objects from the perspective of their story, created from what they noticed in the films they watched at school.
It’s not a performance and it’s not even a traditional story, it’s a journey with sounds so we can experience the museum and its objects and history. From the inside out rather than outside in.
And as we’ve created it together lots of little unique things have emerged from the students and staff. For example one student became much more engaged as we added a banker to the warehouse story. Another student was more empowered when they added whales to the ship scene. This engagement came from us all being present and immersed in our story making ideas in a very free way. At times it might not be exactly factually accurate but there is an energy and engagement that helps our experience of the essence of the collection of stories coming from the museums objects. Rather than going – “this is this bit and that’s that”- it’s more like, “what’s happening here? What could that be? What would that sound like? And out of that there’s a window where the students can enter into the story and history in their own way and with their own energy and imagination.
The sounds I’m making are being used to support the environment and imagination space. Together we created lots of symbols to capture the essence of our sounds each week.
The music drones that I play at the start and song are about arriving and making a space where we become present together, see where the groups energy is that day and relax into our bodies and imagination.
The story has grown out of what the children have discovered and explored in the first three sessions.
Soundscape and song
Project song with makaton signs
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city. Where will we go?
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city Where will we go?
Listening
Listening
Listening
Name and hello song
The children chant
Who is in the city?
Who is in the city?
Who is in the city today?
Xxxxx in the city
Xxxxx in the city
Xxxxx in the city today.
Everybody says helloXxxxx how are you today
Session one. Mile End.
ARRIVAL
We have a track to play and interact with to signify the beginning of each session. It is layered in 3 sections that are flexible and can respond to the students needs in an improvisatory away.
Sections
- Abstract sounds to arrive, settle and evoke an atmosphere. Making any sounds, students and staff.
- City sounds begin to emerge and we begin to make sounds of cars, diggers, river thames, sirens; in a very improvisatory and sensitive way.
- The group start to sing the song and use makaton signs “Sounds of the city, what will we hear? sounds of the city where will we go? Listening, is listening listening”
NAME SONG
As a group we sing our name song and students tell us their favourite thing to do or favourite city sound. (this will be composed with the group)
SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS
Each week we will develop new symbols made from the children’s sounds so we can build a graphic score and a set of signs to make sounds with. I will use my iPad connected to the big screen to draw a sound and we will develop them together. How do we draw the sound of a car.
SOUNDS OF THE CITY (this weeks theme is the local area)
I play the group certain sounds to see if they can guess what they are. The group can tell us their favourite sounds. We will imagine the type of sound and then make our sound and then draw it.
Students making their sounds
- Xxxxxx likes the London bus and trains. xxxxxx chooses the sound of the purple train district line doors opening.
- Xxxx likes to laugh and smile.
- Xxxx like the ambulance sound saving people.
- xxx likes the car vvvvvvvv.
- xxx likes the traffic lights stop, get ready, go.
- xxxxx likes the truck. Turn the key and the engine starts.
- xxxxxx (we need to find out what he likes)
IMAGES & FILM
I will project pictures and films of the local area for us to explore.
What can you see, what might it sounds like. Can we draw it?
I created a film of the local area for us to watch in class and develop our ideas about local city sounds. The first half of the film is the local area. The second half of the film is pictures with a soundscape and song I’ve created to help the group arrive and leave each workshop, explore ideas and use to help us when we visit the Docklands museum to feel safe and comfortable in a new environment.
SCENARIO
From our theme we will create a little scenario to act out and move around the room to with sounds. This will be very experimental. I will record any sounds the children make and take them away to add to our soundscape.
END
To close the session we will replay the project sounds scape and song to finish in a calm restful way.
Examples of symbols for sound that we will create in our sessions
Untitled_Artwork 13Untitled_Artwork 8Untitled_Artwork 5
Our graphic scores library for sounds this week: walking pedestrians, car, van, bicycle bell, traffic lights, ambulance & police siren.
I have made our sounds symbols into single symbols so we can build a library of Sounds from the City over our 5 sessions. The symbols can be held up to create a soundscape improvisation each week and when we visit the Docklands Museum.
Untitled_Artwork 6Untitled_Artwork 5Untitled_Artwork 4Untitled_Artwork 3Untitled_Artwork 2Untitled_Artwork
Session two.
The tube. DLR. building sites
ARRIVAL
Play abstract soundscape to settle group into the beginning of the session. Playing sounds explored and developed in last session. The soundscape starts in a very meditation style way and then develops into a city soundscape and then moves on into the song.
PROJECT SONG
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city. Where will we go?
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city Where will we go?
Listening
Listening
Listening
NAME SONG
In the first session we developed a name chant. We perform the chant to help everybody arrive in the imaginary city and get ready to explore our theme for this week
The children chant
Who is in the city?
Who is in the city?
Who is in the city today?
Xxxxx in the city
Xxxxx in the city
Xxxxx is in the city today.
Everybody says helloXxxxx how are you today
SOUNDS OF THE CITY
(this weeks theme is tubes, trains and cranes)
I play the group certain sounds to see if they can guess what they are. The group can tell us their favourite sounds. We will imagine the type of sound and then make our sound and then draw it.
Last week we asked the group their favourite things to do and their favourite sounds. We then developed the sounds into practical performance sounds and graphic scores. This week we will play the children sounds and asked them how the sounds make them feel. The idea is that we begin to go into the imagination and the body through our feelings.Then we will play a film and see if they can find the sounds in the film.
IMAGES & FILM
We will watch a film I have made exploring the tube and DLR and local building sites including Canary Wharf in its building phase. The film will also include pictures and film from the DLR and London tube exhibits in the Docklands Museum. We will look at some historical knowledge about when things were developed and built.
SCENARIO
From our theme we will create a little scenario to act out and move around the room to with sounds. This will be very experimental. I will record any sounds the children make and take them away to add to our soundscape.
SOUNDSCAPE IMPROVISATION
Using the first weeks graphic symbols we will a improvise a soundscape. We will relax into the sounds and enjoy them with cued messages from me helping to go into our imagination we will choose percussion to add to our soundscape.
SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS
Using pencils and paper we will take the sounds we have found and made, and possibly the movements, and begin to draw them to add to our library of sounds of the city.
END
To close the session we will replay the project sounds scape and song to finish in a calm restful way. We will use ambient sounding percussion: eggs and ocean drums etc.
We improvised a building site story and percussion piece:
Sounds of the city building site story.
Everyone on the building site was making noise (all students play)
Everyone stopped.
Xxxx was the digger (drum)
On the floor there was mud everywhere
Xxxx was the mud sloshing (cabasa)
Everyone went slosh slosh slosh
The big red truck had its engine running (tambourine)
The crane moved around errrrrrrrr stop
Xxxx and Xxxx
At the back of the building site there was a big pile of rubble (ocean drum)
Xxxx
And in the middle of the building site there was a man (say man xxxxx)
In the sky it was cloudy so the eggs had a shake and everyone went shhhh shhhh shhhhh
Our graphic score sound library is growing. The building site: Digger, slush, truck, rubble, man.
Session three.
Docks, dockers and Indian goods.
Story, emotions and motion.
ARRIVAL
Play abstract soundscape to settle group into the beginning of the session. Playing sounds explored and developed in last session. The soundscape starts in a very meditation style way and then develops into a city soundscape and then moves on into the song.
(Try the symbols from weeks one and two, on iPad. In film)
SONG WITH SIGNS
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city. Where will we go?
Sounds of the city. What will we hear?
Sounds of the city Where will we go?
Listening
Listening
Listening
IMAGES & FILM
We will watch the film I have made exploring the docks and the dockers and Indian trade (Kaycee loves India) We will look at some historical knowledge about when things were built and existed.
What can you see?
Can we show its energy?
Close your eyes and feel the energy.
Make the sound of the energy
Open your eyes and have another look.
As we watch the film the students can shout out anything they notice I will write it down. Later we will make sounds for the things we notice.
What can you see?
How do you think the people in the pictures are feeling?
Can you describe the things people are doing?
GUESS THE SOUND
I will pay pre recorded docks sounds
What sound is it?
FEELINGS
Feelings and mood sounds
Can we be the mood of the sounds?
- Bell waiting to ring for dockers to get work that day.
- Group happiness team work
- Tired from all the lifting
(The idea is that we begin to go into the imagination and the body through our feelings)
MOTION
- Lifting
- Turning
- Passing
- Pushing
- Pulling
CREATE A VOCAL SOUND
(FROM OUR LIST OF WORDS)
We go through our list of things we noticed about the docks, dockers and India, and make sounds.
Make a sound for your city object/activity
Record and play back.
PERCUSSION PLAYING
Choosing percussion for your sound
What would you like to choose from the percussion box for your docks and dockers sounds.
STORY TELLING & PERFORMING
A little improvised story dockers (‘in and out’ experiment)
- Some children be the scenario
- Some children make the sounds at the side
- Swap over
Listen back to our story looking at the picture of the dockers
DISSOLVING
Dissolving floor exercise (lay down symbol)
Descends voice
Now try dropping something into the body
Normal
Lower
More relaxed
DANCING
BOLLYWOOD STYLE ON THE DOCKS
(dockers waiting for the ship and unloading) to the Bollywood dance music.
From our theme we will create a little scenario to act out and move around the room to with sounds. This will be very experimental. I will record any sounds the children make and take them away to add to our soundscape.
SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS
Using pencils and paper we will take the sounds we have found and made, and possibly the movements, and begin to draw them to add to our library of sounds of the city.
We will imagine the type of sound and then make our sound and then draw it.
We created: sugar, people at work lifting (dockers), shovelling (sugar and pepper), checking, wind, up up up up (lift machine).
WEEK ONE FILM
SOUNDSCAPE IMPROVISATION 1
traffic lights scenario. A sensory story for the traffic light scene massage story.
Using the first weeks graphic symbols we will a improvise a soundscape. We will relax into the sounds and enjoy them with cued messages from me helping to go into our imagination we will choose percussion to add to our soundscape.
List of sounds, symbols & percussion.
WEEK TWO FILM
To prepare for museum visit.
Words from last week put in film
SOUNDSCAPE IMPROVISATION 2 DLR & tube soundscape
Using the first weeks graphic symbols we will a improvise a soundscape. We will relax into the sounds and enjoy them with cued messages from me helping to go into our imagination we will choose percussion to add to our soundscape.
List of sounds, symbols & percussion.
SOUNDSCAPE IMPROVISATION 3 building site improv story (building site could become a much more physical movement type story)
Using the first weeks graphic symbols we will a improvise a soundscape. We will relax into the sounds and enjoy them with cued messages from me helping to go into our imagination we will choose percussion to add to our soundscape.
List of sounds, symbols & percussion.
NAME SONG
In the first session we developed a name song which is a chant. We all think the chant helping everybody to arrive in the imaginary city and get ready to explore our theme for this week.
The children chant
Who is in the city?
Xxxx is in the city?
Xxxx is in the city today?
Xxxx in the city
Xxxx in the city
Xxxx is in the city today.
Everybody says hello Xxxx how are you today
ENDING THE SESSION
To close the session we will replay the project sounds scape and song to finish in a calm restful way. We will use ambient sounding percussion: eggs and ocean drums etc.
Sing the song and then the children all rested their heads on the table and close their eyes. I walk around the table playing very long, slow, quiet bassoon tones. Bring the session to a calm end. Some calm breathing to finish.
Session four. Our sound story is emerging.
We will use this week to run through all our ideas. Next week we will go to the docklands museum to bring our story to life.
We have lots of symbols for the sounds we have discovered, and lots of props and sensory things to help go on our journey.
Here is our film which is a shortened amalgamation of all three films from each session. The class can use this as a film to get ready for our sound and sensory story enactment at the museum next week.
Here are the four scenes that will take us around the museum exploring the objects that relate to our discoveries in the school sessions.
Traffic and street
| ONE STUDENT SAYS | ALL STUDENTS RESPOND | Sensory prop | Massage | |
| “The people are rushing” | Feet rushing on floor | Pat | ||
| “The van” | Van. | Steering wheel | Tap knees. | |
| “The bike sounds its bell” | Everyone dings | Bell | Two quick squeezes. | |
| Car. | Tap chest | |||
| “Bus 277 & D7 go past” | brrrrrrrrr | |||
| “The traffic stops at the light” | Stop -get ready – go. | Lights | Press. tap, swipe across. | |
| “The ambulance goes past” | Everyone goes o o o o waving their ribbons | Ribbon | Swirls on body |
Ships and Docks
| ONE STUDENT SAYS | ALL STUDENTS RESPOND | Sensory prop | Massage | |
| “Ship ahoy! | Ship ahoy | Rope to moor | ||
| “The sails blow in the wind” | shhhhhh | Sheets | ||
| “The ship sails on the waves” | shoo shoooo | Sticks and flags | ||
| “Ships whale!” Jada. | Ahhhhhhh | Whale toy | ||
| “The sugar comes from the West Indies” | ch k ch k ch k ch k | Sugar | ||
| “The pepper comes from East India” | pepper dance Bollywood | Pepper & coloured scarf. | ||
| “hook the sugar” | ||||
| “Carry the sugar” | oooooooo aahhhhh uuughhh | Sack | ||
| “Up the lift into the warehouse” | up up up up up | Rope | ||
| “Shovelling the sugar and spices” | Choo Choo Choo chooo | Spade | ||
| “Check the goods” | check check ch ch check | Clip board, pen, book |
Tube DLR
| ONE STUDENT SAYS | ALL STUDENTS RESPOND | Sensory prop | Movement | |
| Movement | ||||
| “Digging tunnels to build the tube” | K k k k k k (digging holes building the tube) | Black cloth | Dig action | |
| “Bank” (arrive) | Bbbbbb “Mind the gap” | Stretch over | ||
| “Mind the doors” (DLR) | (realky high) b b b b b b- Ch ch- chccccccc | Body closing | ||
| “Mile End” | Bbbb “Mind the gap” | Stretch over | ||
| “Mind the doors” (DLR) | (realky high) b b b b b b- Ch ch- chccccccc | Body closing | ||
| “Mind the doors” (Tube) | de da | Open body | ||
| “Please touch in and out” | Beep beep | Oyster cards | Body dancing |
Sounds of the city building site story.
| Everyone on the building made lots of noise (all students play) | Nuts and bolts | ||
| Everyone stopped. | |||
| Xxxx drives the digger (drum). | Drum | Digger. | |
| On the floor there is mud everywhere Xxxx is the mud sloshing (cabasa) Everyone went slosh slosh slosh. | Cabasa | Water mud. | |
| The big red truck had its engine running (tambourine) The crane moved around errrrrrrrr stop Xxxx and Xxxx. | Tambourine | A toy truck/crane. | |
| At the back of the building site there is a big pile of rubble (ocean drum) | Ocean drum | Rubble. Sand. | |
| And in the middle of the building site there is a man (say man xxxxx). | Builder jacket. | ||
| The sky is cloudy. | Eggs shake and everyone sounds “shhhh shhhh shhhhh” |
Tuning In 