Widening Participation in Electroacoustic Music: The EARS 2 pedagogical initiatives

Abstract

This articles sketches the history, vision and implementation of the ElectroAcoustic Resource Site 2 (www.ears2.dmu.ac.uk), also known as the EARS pedagogical site. EARS 2 was originally intended to act as a miniature version of the original EARS site (www.ears.dmu.ac.uk), created specifically for young people, thus a site introducing vocabulary and relevant publications. However, after careful consideration, it proved much more valuable to create an entire pedagogical environment introducing primarily, although not exclusively, children aged 11 to 14 to electroacoustic music in terms of its concepts, repertoire and creative practice. The Compose with Sounds software (www.cws.dmu.ac.uk) package has been specifically developed for this initiative and is introduced in this article along with the EARS 2 project. The contextual discussion focuses on the issue of making innovative music accessible to inexperienced audiences, and includes a discussion of the project goal of enhancing learning through technology behind this new initiative.

Acouscapes: A software for ecoacoustic education and soundscape composition in primary and secondary education

“…In contrast to countries such as England where pedagogues and researchers such as Dennis (1970), Paynter and Aston (1970) and Savage and Challis (2002) helped to create a rich context linked to musical composition and the development of creativity in school environments. This context, and the need to provide solutions for access to experimental and electroacoustic music, inspired initiatives such as EARS2 (ElectroAcoustic Resource Site 2), a pedagogical environment that has enabled children aged 11-14 to become familiar with the concepts and practice of electroacoustic music (Landy, Hall and Uwins 2013). The Compose with Sounds software (Pearse et al 2018) was developed specifically for this initiative and has provided a robust framework for intervention in electroacoustic creation processes in school settings.…”

Technique, Creation, Perception and Experience in the Learning of Electroacoustic Music: Some practical proposals

“…Perhaps the most significant current project, due to the collaboration of six important institutions from various different countries (MTI/DMU – UK, INA/GRM – France, NOTAM – Norway, ZKM – Germany, Miso Music – Portugal and EPHMEE/Ionian University – Greece) is the project Electroacoustic Resource Site 2 (EARS 2.0) ‘an entire pedagogical environment introducing primarily, although not exclusively, children aged 11 to 14 to electroacoustic music in terms of its concepts, repertoire and creative practice’ (Landy, Hall and Uwins 2013). This is a multilingual resource site with an extraordinarily organic design, thanks to the holistic connections between its creative and perceptive aspects, as well as those regarding knowledge and technique.…”