2 minute read
The Power of Music and Sound
This is a simple but very effective demonstration of the way that music and sound effects tell us how to feel about a scene. Sound is a powerful storytelling tool. We are often so focused on the image or story that we are unaware of how it works its magic on us! You may use the images provided here, or any image that can be interpreted in multiple ways. And you can use any music from any source. Be sure to use contrasting pieces of music – scary, romantic, funny, or suspenseful.
You will need:
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☛ Images and a way to project them. You can copy the images provided in this activity and paste them into Power Point or another slide show. Or simply find an online image that you like. Here are a few potential sources:
“The Images Shed” via The Literacy Shed The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1984) by Chris Van Allsburg, via Mrs. Graves’ Website
☛ A range of music and a way to play it so that all can hear
1. Choose an image from the following examples or from the Internet. Begin with an image that is fairly neutral. As the exercise progresses, experiment with more specific images – a man laughing or a potentially scary image – and see if the addition of music that suggests a contrasting emotion can change your perception of the mood or story. 2. Project your image and ask students to look and listen to the music you are about to play. 3. Play a romantic tune, and ask students what they think might be happening in the picture. Did the music tell them about the mood or story?
4. Using the same image, play a contrasting piece of music, suspenseful or scary. Ask students if they imagined a different situation or mood. Could either soundtrack work with the image? 5. Try a third choice, or let students suggest another mood to try. 6. Project a new image and try several musical choices. Discuss how the image seemed to tell a new story with each new soundtrack. 7. To expand the exercise, you could use recorded sound effects or noise makers you have in your room, to add a sound effect to the musical score. What did students imagine happened?
