Switched-On Melodies

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The difference between the two pieces above was a difference in technology.

• Were you able to hear?

Human beings have a complicated relationship with technology. We are the makers of technology, yet in so many ways technology makes us.

Technology has shaped our music as well; not only the instruments we use to perform it, but our very way of defining, composing, and listening to music.

As you listen to this piece by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, consider these questions.

• Would you consider this music? Why or why not?
• What kinds of technology were involved in creating this piece?
• What role do you think technology played in shaping this composer's understanding of "music?"

Whether Stockhausen's music appeals to you or not, technology has had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on the world of music in our times.

Refelct on questions with an adult or older sibling if possible.

• What new musical instruments have developed in our lifetime?
• How have music composition, performance, or listening modalities changed?
• How many of those changes could be attributed to technology?

Continue to the Got It? section to examine some maybe-not-so-familiar instruments!