Seekers Day 2 — Mathematics; Musical Math

• Songs as Stories, The Mathematics of Music/Musical Mathematics
  • So we've been exploring the role of story in human history as a way to help us better remember as we relay across the deserts of Time—and we know these fragile stories are vulnerable to these sands of time. How might we reinforce a story's staying power—even just a little bit?
  • Does anyone here know what a jingle is? <ever get a song stanza stuck in your head? examples: discuss, play a few: folgers, rice-a-roni, state farm—used largely in advertising to stick in brains>
  • Did you guys know that the first songs and rap songs were traveling bards, messengers carrying a poetic tune from village to village? So yes—a song can help protect and maintain a story through time. 
  • We spoke yesterday of what our songs might sound and feel like—let's take another look at musical measures now. 
  • <You all have sheet music in your folders/desk centers/math baskets>—I want you to mark where you think these beats would fall on a 4 count measure. How many beats did we hit in each measure? That's right * out of 4 beats or */4. Note these beats above each measure in this format. How many beats did we hit total? How many would we have hit if we'd hit all 4 beats in each measure? What's the difference between these two numbers? (Is 4/measure the most we could hit?)
  • Quietly enough to help your friends focus, try out a few beats and note them on your measures of music. If any of your neighbors gets lost in the music, gently put your hand on their shoulder and smile understandingly to remind them. I'll set the timer for 5 minutes to decide on a beat/rhythm for today. When the timer sounds, you'll have an additional 5 minutes to answer the same questions <on the board>. For the next 2.5 minutes we will turn and teach to our side neighbors and then switch. As I see teams that are ready, I will start signaling tables over to the Sharea for Science. <observe, listen + note>