Resonance has been a recurring theme for me over the past year, and this particular piece of music has afforded so many possibilities. Music is more than just sound. Music can be seen, heard, and felt and I’ve made that a tangible reality.
A year ago I developed the cymatics for the two movements of Resonance, making the music seen. Since then, bone conducting speakers have enabled teh music to be felt. The music’s composer Jill Jarman and I worked with 60 children (aged 5/6 and 11/12) and a dozen teachers at the Frank Barnes School for the Deaf and Kings Cross Academy in May 2023 to give all sorts of children a full experience of music.
For many they were able to feel and comprehend music for the first time. The interaction of the visual, aural, and tactile inputs complimented and related directly to one another, and allowed for an understanding of what is a complex contemporary piece of music for the solo cello.
In short, children were wowed. By valuing and prioritising the perception of each of the senses, especially for the deaf children, each child was afforded a full opportunity to take in the music – experientially, conceptually, aesthetically.
As an experience for me and Jill it was mind-blowing and incredibly moving to see an awareness of the music spread like sunshine dissolving the shade.
