Primary School Year 3 Sound Composition Workshop

This is a project I was asked to do at my son's school in Hackney.
I asked the children in his class (7-8 year olds) to bring in a sound made either with an object or their body.
I recorded each sound individually in groups of 5 or 6 children, and then composed a short piece of music using these sounds.
I used examples such as John Cage and The KLF to explain how music can be thought of in lots of different ways, and also to how we should appreciate the sounds around us.
While we were recording in a separate room, the rest of the class listened to Holst's 'The Planets' and drew amazing coloured pictures in response to the music. They also drew a picture to represent each of their individual sounds.

Please check out the Facebook page to find out more: http://www.facebook.com/GrasmereSounds

Also check out this great John Cage resource at Artsy.net

You can have a listen to the five short pieces of music here: