Cabot’s multimedia performance troupe, Shadows In Passage,  will be embarking on a short tour in early June.  The group landed a gig at an amazing NYC venue called The Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

The Shadows in Passage multimedia performance art troupe is comprised of 22 high school musicians, artists writers and activists from Vermont under the direction of music director Brian Boyes.

Using shadow puppetry, live art,  digital imagery, spoken word, electronic music, jazz, traditional Arabic music and Javanese Gamelan the troupe will explore issues of energy, globalization, trade and imperialism, as it relates to the complex responsibilities young people face today.

Vermont newspaper Seven Days has hailed the Cabot music program stating that our work  “should be handed out to educators nationwide as an example of quality music education. Kudos to Boyes for understanding that if you give kids the chance to shine, they’ll rarely disappoint you.”

New England Secondary Schools Consortium

Conference 2012:  High School Redesign in Action

Many people have asked for a copy of our slide presentation,  Making It Meaningful: Performance Based Teaching and Learning.    

We are happy to do so.  Plese note: to save file space, all of the videos are linked to external websites.

Cabot_League of Innovative Schools Slide Keynote

We have upgraded our Haiku account which will let us integrate seamlessly with Google Docs.  Please use this address to access the new Haiku Page.

You should log in with your Google Account.

PLEASE DO NOT use the old Haiku page or use your old log in.

https://cabotschool.haikulearning.com/do/account/login

Disclaimer to any visiting experts of Indian Classical Music:  :-)

Cabot High School music students are exploring the diversity of Indian music and much of what you will find below is an attempt to distill certain concepts of raga down to a basic understanding for American high school musicians.   We welcome any constructive thoughts or corrections in the comment section.  Thank you. 

***

Here is a clip from an old Bollywood film called Sangeet Samrat Tansen (1962).

The song, Badli badli duniya hai meri, is in the raga we have been studying:  Rag Jhinjhoti.  Strictly speaking ragas in their most authentic state should be enjoyed in classical Indian music.  However, many Bollywood film composers will use ragas as the tonal framework for songs.

When translated into our western tonal framework, Jhijhoti employs the same tones as a dominant scale.  However, the similarities pretty much stop there.  The approach to how melodies ( gat),  are constructed is defined by the rules of the rag.  There are particular sequences of notes and note patterns that are used to help structure the feeling of the raga.

Here we have a contemporary Bansuri player performing in Jhinjhoti.   Although he is using reverb and a little digital delay,  this modern performance is much like a classical Indian improvisation.   You will notice the fast tempo of his playing.  This is called Jhala,  it this exciting, fast-paced style is often heard at the end of an extended improvisation.

This clip from an Emory University class is entitled “Understanding The Basics of Indian Raga Music.” It is a good overview of how raga works within the framework of a performance.  The musician explains the different sections of a piece:

Alap – the opening exposition of the raga.  This is slow and does not require a precise rhythm or tempo.

Jor/Jod - this section is characterized by a slow to medium utilization of rhythm, but still does not follow a strict cycle of beats.

Gat – This section is often referred to as the “fixed composition” of the piece.  It adheres to a time cycle, and is where the tabla comes in.

Jhala – As mentioned above this is the section of a piece that is more fast paced and leads to the ultimate conclusion of the piece.

Again, please note that these are very rough approximations of the Carnatic musical terms so that we can just begin to wrap our minds around how the music works.  There are of course, much more subtle and nuanced meanings to all of these terms.

Finally we have another classical performance in Jhinjhoti.  This excerpt is another demonstration of the fast-paced  Jhala section of Anupriya Deotale’s violin improvisation.  Although the violin is a western instrument, it’s lack of frets allows the player to achieve the sliding sound between notes, the meend,  found in much of Indian music.

Your assignment is to read and listen to all of the above and then respond (via Google Docs and Haiku) to the following questions.  When writing, be sure to use the above mentioned musical terms and concepts.

In what ways does the music seem familiar to you and/or similar to Western music?

In what ways does the music differ?

Are there aspects of the music that you find perplexing?

Finally, be curious and wonder.  What about raga and Indian music do you want to know more about?

I just published two different practice resources for high school musicians to practice with.  Just click on the newly minted Resources page to check them out.

One is an mp3 of the Jai Ho arrangement on midi.

The other is a shruti box drone in C.  You will use this to start practicing the different ragas we will be studying in class.   Get a head start and check it out now.

We are pleased to announce the official program for Cabot’s Playing For Change Day Event!

Admission is free.

$5 and $10 Playing For Change currency packets ($1/token) can be purchased at the event that can be used to buy items, food, drinks,  play games etc.

Activities include:

One Day:  group performance of The Global Citizen arrangement.  Singers and musicians of all stripes (and no stripes!) encouraged to participate.  Lyrics and music available here.    Check out The Global Citizen version here. 

Games of the World:  students will present their research on a variety of fun children’s games from the planet.  For one PFC token you can try your hand at the games.  

Sculpture Bottle Drive:  student designed sculpture that will be populated by bottles brought in by participants. 

Creative Acts!  :  creative activism from students

Junk Jam: student designed and composed junk jam performance. 

Brazilian Samba Drumming Ensemble: Brian Boyes and friends performing infectious South American dance rhythms. 

Javanese Gamelan Workshop for All:  Did you know that Cabot School is one of only 110 organizations in North American to own a gamelan from Indonesia?  Gamelan music is a wonderful group activity that allows for a wide range of musical aptitudes.  Join us to learn an easy, centuries-old Javanese composition.  All are welcome. 

West African Drumming Workshop for All: 

Ethiopian and Chinese Food Samplers: Jiaozi (vegetarian Chinese dumplings),  Injera and Wat (vegetarian sponge bread and stews). 

Kris Gruen: Vermont singer-songwriter Kris Gruen will perform songs from his recent critically acclaimed CD release.  

And much more to come.  Stay tuned . . . .

We are so pleased to announce that Kris Gruen will be performing a set of music at Cabot on Playing For Change Day.   SEPT 17 .    Kris will also be joining us for the large group performance of “One Day.”

Son of rock photographer, Bob Gruen, this music video is about Kris’ experiences growing up in New York City in the 1970′s rock scene.  Yes – those are actually shots of baby Kris hanging out with Alice Cooper and Tina Turner!