Assignment 4.2 - Reading Responses

Response to "Twenty Things to Do with A Computer" (link to blog post) 

Response to "Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom"

    This video was a delight to watch! It was clear that the students were really engaged in the project, because it was their information and feedback that laid out the content of the video, which is self-referential in that it was using the medium of digital storytelling to tell a story about the process of digital storytelling. In other words, the video itself is an example of digital storytelling integrated the elements of that were discussed in the video: sound effects, editing, pictures, and script writing, and told a story of this 2nd/3rd grade class's experience with digital storytelling. The audience could be any number of people from administrators looking to showcase their innovative programs for grant money, parents, or other teachers who are looking to incorporate digital storytelling into their curriculum. 

Response to "Music: Fundamentals and Educational Roots in the U.S"

    This article was actually a great set-up to the Katie Gately video about sound art, which I'm unsure I would have categorized as music. By going over the basics of music theory, this article has laid the groundwork of understanding the structural elements of what music is, and what it can be. According to the definitions set forth that range from the more concrete to the more philosophical, however the basic working definition is that music is "intentionally organized" sound and silence. I haven't taken a music theory class since high school, so it was really refreshing to revisit the fundamentals of music, and notations. I used to be able to read music and play the piano – it's not like riding a bike. It's knowledge that I lost over the years, but this article brought a bit of it back. 

Response to "Katie Gately: How much can you feel?"

    Sound is an admitted blind spot in my knowledge of contemporary art media, in spite of being a music nerd. I draw this dichotomy between sound art and music a bit tongue-in-cheekly, because one of the major takeaways from this video was that sound art and music is, in fact, a false dichotomy - especially since Gately is bringing in conventional music theory to inform how she makes her work. She quoted her professor, "if you can't make it, you can't break it." Sound art arguably lives in the world of "breaking it," but it ascribes to the same rules and definitions in the above essay. The sounds she makes, the interactions and the recordings are all driven by her own innate curiosity and desire to explore her surroundings and the sounds they produce. Katie also said, "the most interesting sounds are in front of you" as she goes on to describe her desire to capture the familiar sound of her front gate. This reminds me of an improvised recording of the Dixie Cups (of "Going to the Chapel" fame) singing a traditional New Orleans song, Iko Iko. Their percussion was stripped down, only clapping and playing ash trays. The only difference, arguably between sound engineers recording the Dixie Cups playing an ash tray and Kaitie Gately recording herself interacting with her gate is the rhythm structure.