We are taking TRANSPLANTED to a new audience, the music and the wild plants that inspired the project have proven to be a great education resource. We are grateful to have received support from the Glasgow Natural History Society GNHS and help from Enterprise Music Scotland EMS to create a pilot education project based on this material and are working over a 5 week period with P5 & P6 at Carntyne Primary School.
The Project:
Plants are vital to human existence; from the air we breathe to the food we eat, medicines, cultural identity and creating a sense of place. Plants also provide great inspiration for the creation of art.
Our aim is two-fold:
1. To inspire children to engage with the natural world around them by encouraging them to look more closely at plants, explore their different uses and symbolism and thus highlight the importance of plant conservation.
2. To enable children to enjoy and experience live music, to learn about composition and performance and experience how music can be used as a tool to express ideas and emotions.
Each workshop will be carefully structured, using live performance, slide shows, storytelling, discussion, and group activities to explore the background of the plants and the music. The workshops will culminate in the performance of a new collection plant pieces created, notated and performed by the children alongside us.
Intended learning outcomes for the children involved
PLANTS:
Explore the diversity of Scotland's native plants, including fungi, lichens, wildflowers, bog dwelling plants and trees.
Explore the many different Scottish ecosystems that are home to these plants with a particular focus placed on the Celtic Rainforest to align with Plantlife Scotland's education work
Explore how a plant functions; how it eats, grows and lives
Explore the historical folklore, beliefs and uses of different plants
MUSIC:
Explore how plants, and all the different elements mentioned above, can be described using music.
We will listen and learn about how 9 composers write with entirely different musical languages and celebrate the diversity of each composer and their own individuality by explaining their musical backgrounds
• Compare the diversity through performance
• Look at how the composers structure their works to tell a story
• Look at how music evokes different atmospheres and moods
• Learn how to notate music using graphic scores
Image: Louise Wallace