Sound and Music

As I'm set to build an installation for kids in the asylum-seekers-centre here in Utrecht, The Netherlands, I've been researching into other installation art and playful ways for kids to interact with music.

Went to the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam two days ago, to the "Klankspeeltuin" or "SoundPlayground". (http://www.muziekgebouw.nl/klankspeeltuin/)

There are five installations in which kids can creatively interact with music without knowing a whole lot about composition or notation.

This rather old video demonstrates most of the installations; http://muziekgebouw.shared01.basicorange.nl/klankspeeltuin/video.asp

The one installation which I absolutely LOVED (called the Xenax, after Xenakis, by Edo Paulus) is the one where up to four kids (or eight if in pairs) can "explore" an A4-sized space with a digital pen, and then draw with a real pen on a piece of paper which is lain over the space, so you can really create a vocabulary.

The kids find sound they like, draw them, so they can recreate them with the digital pen by tracing their drawings. Really easy to let them find sounds and create a performance with the drawn material in the end.

There's a very good video here; http://www.eude.nl/projects/xenax/

I've found out that good practice in installation art for kids is all about depth in interaction, rewards, and creating a space that leaves something to the imagination. You definately don't need cutting edge technology or a lot of HD screens.