[gcompris-devel] GSoC Music Activity Proposals

[Beth Hadley]

Hi. My name is Beth Hadley and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to
contribute to GCompris this summer through Google Summer of Code. I am
passionate about open source projects, and I am eager to connect with the
GNOME and GCompris communities. I am an undergraduate at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA and I'm studying
Computer Science. I have a special passion for music, and I have actually
spent a year working on an open source project to analyze symbolic music,
so my skills and interests are best suited to developing music education
activities for GCompris.

Music education, especially for kids ages 2-10, is a difficult task,
especially via computer software rather than real musical instruments.
Nevertheless, many fundamental music concepts can be introduced and
developed through computer activities at a young age. The goal of my
activities will be to provide a stimulating learning environment for kids
to learn about and develop a passion for music.

I have proposed the following activities, although I am eager to receive
feedback from the community to learn about exactly what types of music
activities might be most desired by children or as an educational tool in
classrooms. I look forward to questions and feedback from the community.

*Name that Note*
Goal: children will learn the basics of music notation based on duration
(preparation for rhythmic exercises)
Intended age group: middle (5-8)
·     A note (eight, sixteenth, half, whole, etc.) is displayed on the
screen, and a sound clip of the note duration is played.
·     The student must identify what type of note it is (half note, quarter
note, eighth note, sixteenth note)
*Get Your Groove*
Goal: children will develop an intuition for beat by practicing listening
to and repeating rhythms
Intended age group: all ages
·        A rhythm is played aloud and can also be seen visually as a stick
strikes a drum and the notated rhythm is displayed
·        The student then repeats the rhythm by pressing the spacebar in
time
*Reading Rhythm*
Goal: children will learn to associate a sequence of beats with the correct
musical notation
Intended Age Group: older (8-10)
·        quarter note beat is played so students understand timing
·        a rhythm is played and expressed visually
·        the student must choose the correct rhythm from choices (very
basic rhythms for basic levels)
·        help page & tutorial provided to help students learn the rhythms
- basic rhythms taught: eighth notes, quarter notes, whole notes, half
notes. Possibly a few triplets.
*Ear Training*
Goal: introduce students to the concept of listening to a pitch and seeing
the pitch notated on the staff
Intended Age Group: older (8-10)
·        A note will be played, full duration for students to hear
·        The student must choose the correctly written note from two choices
·        For basic levels, the two choices are very distinct (high and low
options). For high levels, the two choices become more similar.
*Musical Awareness*
Goal: help students develop a better ear for types of musical compositions
and the instruments they hear
Intended Age Group: all ages
·        A piece of music is played
             o   Level 1: only one instrument is played (concerto)
             o   Level 2: several instruments (string quartet, duets,
trios, etc.)
             o   Level 3: many instruments (band, orchestra, choir)
·        Student must identify
             o   Which instrument is being heard
             o   What type of piece it is (concerto, duet, trio, quartet,
symphony, etc.)
·        The piece’s title is displayed on the screen for the student
(picture and name of instrument choices are given on screen)
*Music Around the World *
Goal: children will learn about different types of music from around the
world
Intended age group: all ages!
·     World map is displayed, student must visit each location to complete
the game
·     At each location, a sample of the music at that location is played. A
short description (very basic) is displayed on the screen.
·     The student must answer a question about that location’s music
- this activity will be developed as a template activity for GCompris,
making it easy for other devleopers to make similar activities about
"something" around the world...such as "landmarks around the world" or
"foods around the world", etc.
*Piano Player*
Goal: allow kids to play with a digital piano to develop an understanding
of pitch and notation
- a virtual keyboard will be displayed, and students can click the keys
- when the key is clicked, the corresponding note is displayed on a music
staff (either treble or bass) and the note is heard
(I have developed this activity as a prototype and posted a screencast of
me playing the activity on my blog,  http://bethgsoc.blogspot.com/   )
*Simple Music Notation Editor*
Goal: allow kids to experiment with writing music. Display staff on screen
and provide panel of notes & rests for students to drag and drop onto the
staff, then play the music back. This activity promotes creativity and
exploratory learning.

Please feel free to visit my blog, http://bethgsoc.blogspot.com/  , for
posts on my progress as well as two screencast videos of my work so far
with GCompris.

I encourage all comments and feedback, and I look forward to becoming an
active member in the GCompris and GNOME communities.
Thank you,
Beth
IRC: bhadley