Harmonizing with Scissors

Harmonizing with scissors... When I say that, I think of playing a musical instrument with the aide of scissors. Like banging or piercing a drum with a sharp blade, just for the destructive sounds. Or clanging scissors against a metal surface to hear that screech, clank and bang. Industrial! 


Oh, awesome, on that topic:

Heh-heh... Witty.

Anyway, I have composed a creative activity which can aide children in become aware of their perspectives - emotionally, musically, and visually. I have engaged in such activity whenever I feel nervous, or totally chill with the beats I am listening to. Here's how it goes:

What Does the Song Look Like?

Have you ever listened to a song, and closed your eyes, and just watched the shapes and images that your brain associates with the sounds? They can be obscure clouds, lines, polygons, squiggles; but they can also be like your very own music video, as the music plays, you reminisce a past memory that relates to the lyrics or emotive beat. Well, this activity can allow you to expand on this. 

It's really, very simple. Grab a sheet of paper. It could be any size, but preferably something large, maybe even body sized! Once you've found that, you could set it on a flat surface. 

Find some colours. It doesn't matter what kind of writing utensil it is - whatever you feel -or your kids feel most comfortable expressing with. Paint; Pastel; Chalk; Coal... You know. 

 Get a music player... If you want this to be personal, a headset is totally cool... If you want this performed in a group, you need something that can play for all the ears to catch - a stereo system?

Find some music which will produce an emotive response. Well, THAT'S easy. All songs can do this. You can have children think of their favourite songs, and this way they will feel a sense of individuality, or togetherness, when they get to select a song which represents, them, or their friendships. 

The song's playing, now, right? Okay... Whatever the music's making you feel, in your hands, act it out with your utensil!

The song's soothing... Ooh.. it makes my hand lazy... Can you imagine how your shapes and scribbles would look? Gentle, dragged strokes across a huge page. Swirls caressing the page. What colours would you use? Nothing too bright and exciting, Perhaps gray, pale blues... It makes me think of the rolling sky. 

Oh, but let's change the track. Now it's a samba! Ha-ha! This is exciting! I feel the urge to party and dance! How does that make you feel? *scribble scribble dot dot dot dot jab jab JAB the pencil!* The colours are so festive and exiting - yellows, reds, electric blues! I am thinking of confetti! I will draw confetti! 

As you can tell, the music that you play will have an effect on each person in an individual sense. The activity will also have a cultural value, when you use music of cultural significance. You know what I mean, just a simple tune from a nation's significant instrument, will make you picture you're submerged in that culture? Yeah. :) 

Well, the bigger the page, the more parts of your body you could use! The more messy and intense! You could dance on the page (just make sure the paper and paint isn't of the slippery persuasion)!

The Art Word of the Week that correlates with this topic would design. Really, the artwork that is produced from this activity is a composition of shapes, lines, colours and patterns to create an emotional response to a tune. The design can depict whether the artist was pleased, or displeased; feeling organized, or totally scattered and confused. It's all out, in the open, and debatable.