Music Club

Over the course of the 2022-23 school year, North Grand Music Club explored a variety of modes of music making: composing, improvising, arranging existing music, using acoustic instruments, and using digital and analog electronics all featured at some point in our work. The year's curriculum centered on the practice of listening, and was structured in part around three performances. 

The group, consisting of a flexible roster of 9th-12th graders, began in the fall by examining their current listening habits. What kinds of sound or music were we listening to? What things resonated most deeply with us about those sounds? We brainstormed a broad range of songs and began learning how to play them on our respective instruments. While many of the songs we learned (or started to learn) in the fall were ultimately put away unfinished, this time period was a crucial part of developing our group musical identity and interests. Additionally, several of our students had their first forays into musical composition and improvisation during this time-- everything from structured activities that teaching artist Nick Meryhew brought in to student led workshops on musical ideas (e.g. students would come up with bits of music at home and ask, how can we expand it as a band? This practice grew robustly throughout the year!). 

The group's fall explorations culminated in a performance at North Grand High School's winter band concert. The group performed two covers (Feel Good, Inc by Gorillaz and No Surprises by Radiohead) and the first iteration of an original song, A Cosmic Wonder. Video of our original song, A Cosmic Wonder, can be found to the left. 

The experience of preparing for and performing at this concert was inspiring and challenging for students. Students were pushed to listen in new and different ways as they learned and wrote music, sound checked for the performance, and performed for their peers and community. After the fact, students expressed excitement at what they'd accomplished, as well as a clearer idea of what and how they wanted to rehearse in order to prepare for future concerts. 

In January, the club reconvened and decided to write and record a four song EP by the end of the year. Thus, emphasis was placed on composition and improvisation for the first months of 2023. Students learned how to improvise on pitch collections, practiced changing dynamics and textures as a band, and almost every student brought one piece/motif/musical snippet to the group for workshopping.

As March approached, we moved to prepare for a concert at CAPE's exhibition space. Students decided that we would play an updated and more involved version of A Cosmic Wonder, a structured improvisation titled So Random, and a cover of 12 Fractures by Pierce the Veil (one of the favorite bands of the club). Preparation for this concert was similar to the first, but with added emphasis on communication across the band-- who cues what? What sonic cues can we give? Can we make more eye contact, and can we open our ears further? As such,  each individual was being challenged to listen more intently and assume more musical responsibility. Video of our complete set can be found to the left.