MusiClon – Music Classes Online

MusiClon essentially pursues two goals: 1)the creation of a pool of materials and methods on a digital platform 2) the establishment of a professional network for teaching Renaissance music. Throu...

MusiClon essentially pursues two goals: 1)the creation of a pool of materials and methods on a digital platform 2) the establishment of a professional network for teaching Renaissance music. Through the development of suitable material and appealing teaching formats, the musical and aesthetic potential of Renaissance music for music education is to be optimally realised. Children and young people of different abilities can immerse themselves in the world of the Renaissance, the cradle of modern thought and modern Europe. The second aim of the project is to establish a professional network for teaching Renaissance music: as platform for collecting examples of best practice, forum for sharing relevant experiences and input from professional musicians and dancers. A professional and multinational network is developing that is designed for constant exchange and active utilisation and is highly sustainable. It is intended that the pool of materials will also lead to further training events at national level - for example via the state educational institutes - and thus have a multiplier effect across professions. In this respect, MusiClon is a flagship project that provides a blueprint for the dissemination of professional knowledge.

Two transnational workshops were held to develop and implement the project objectives. The first workshop took place in Berlin, as this is not only the location of the Capella de la Torre ensemble, but also a place that is easily accessible by public transport for the project participants, both from Zgorzelec and Freiburg. The project partners from Germany and Poland as well as invited experts took part in this workshop in order to establish a basis of trustful collaboration, experience Renaissance music and dance, understand the challenges and experiences of all project participants and jointly define realisable goals for the project. The second workshop was organised at the school in Zgorzelec, where the focus was on experiencing Early Music and Dance together with children and young people with and without disabilities. This workshop ended with a joint public concert in the Dom Kultury. At the end of the project, the materials developed in the workshops and the experiences with these in music school and school lessons were compiled and published on the project website in the form of teaching concepts. These consist of a illustrative material and downloadable teaching and sheet music material on selected Renaissance pieces.

The essential output were three concepts for instructional designs, two of which can be applied by special needs schools, and one which is intended for music schools teaching kids with and without special needs respectively. These materials are easily accessible via the project’s website, either in Polish or German. Moreover, online video tutorials could be developed in cooperation with the participating experts: be it the instruction of the choreography of “Galliarde” and “Pavane”, the use of percussion instruments such as the sanding block, wooden sticks and drums to tap the rhythm of “Une jeune fillette”, or the experience of techniques like “Musical Massage” and “Sound Painting” which are particularly helpful for people with severe physical and/ or mental disabilities. Furthermore, polyphonic scores of four Renaissance music pieces suitable for beginners as well as advanced musicians have been arranged, added by arrangements for the modern instruments as used in most of the music schools. All the scores can be downloaded from the project website. Special attention was given to the artistic approach to Renaissance music and dance, in particular to methods that address the practical handling in different educational environments