The Sounds of a Classroom

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the Orientation 2021 FE Reflection. As GCE moves back into in-person learning, Field Experiences become available. Recently the school went down to Millennium Park and listened to different sound pieces in the Sonic Pavilion Festival. Of the six installations I listened to two and was very impressed by them. These pieces were played in the Pritzker Pavilion which is built like a dome with speakers all around to let sounds travel and move throughout the space. Each of the installations are twenty minutes long and use a variety of instruments to display imagery in the listener. By experiencing the installations we can work towards our Action Project to make a good classroom.

In this reflection we had to choose one installation to talk about and investigate. The piece I chose is called Sonorous Admittings by Kioto Aoki. This piece uses taiko drums to create an "acoustic resonance" that flows around the pavilion. The taiko drums are a range of Japanese percussion drums including the odaiko which is a larger taiko drum also used in the piece. While listening to the piece I imagined an imperial ceremony or signaling an entrance for someone of royalty.

I believe this is a good experience for a classroom to have because it can inspire different ideas for designing a classroom. To create a good classroom sound needs to be able to travel around the space so everyone can hear or be heard. With the effect of the sounds from the Sonic Pavilion Festival I think certain types of sounds would be better for different situations such as group discussions or independent work. After looking at classrooms from different time periods, their design does not function well to create a good classroom. I think a good learning space should have multiple functions that will help students have a smoother learning experience.

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