Monster Music Improv

Acclaimed jazz vocalist and improviser Lauren Kinsella, outstanding guitarist and technology-whizz Shane Latimer and inventive cartoonist Patrick Sanders join forces in this music performance with a difference.

The musicians instantly create funky jazzy melodies on-the-spot, while Patrick draws cool cartoons of the music that are projected live! Expect lots of spontaneous music fun, some well-known tunes, fantastic cartoons and strange spooky sounds thrown in for good measure.

This show is an ideal opportunity to explore the Listening & Responding strand of the Music curriculum demonstrating ways of visually and aurally responding to music. The performance also complements both the Composing and Performing curriculum strands, whilst giving pupils a unique opportunity to hear high quality Irish musicians performing jazz inspired arrangements made for children. This will significantly broaden the range and quality of their music listening experiences and understanding.

In addition, pupils will be exposed to new songs and up-to-date music approaches including use of electronic sounds and music technology in performance.

Section 1: For Junior Infants to 2nd class (age approx. 5-8) contains:

Introductory Activities:

• 3 warm-up activities introducing the Monster theme
• The Noisy Monster Song
• Monster Talk

Learning Activities:

• Class discussion
• Draw a Monster & Sing me a Monster
• Purple People Eater Song
• Rhythm exercise on beats 2 and 4
• Monster Soundscape
• Closing Exercise: Goodbye Monster!

Section 2: For 3rd to 6th classes (ages approx. 9-12) contains:

Learning Activity 1:

• Jazz Beats
• The Purple People Eater Song
• Developing our own rhythms for the song

Learning Activity 2:

• Monster Soundscapes
  

Learning Activity 3:

• Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Song Singing
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Performance with Instruments
• Cross-curricular activity Science Experiment – Make a Rainbow

Section 3: Appendix, contains:

• The lyrics, melody and simple chord charts for 2 songs used in this pack
• A handy tonic-sol fa reference showing the hand-signals for each pitch and the corresponding standard notation in the key of C
• A list of all the audio links used throughout this pack in one place.

If you prefer, as part of The Ark @ Home, we have adapted some of the activities in the classroom pack specifically for home use, which may be simpler for children to engage with on their own or with family members in their homes. Find out more here.

Lauren Kinsella is a contemporary vocalist, composer, bandleader. Named ‘Vocalist of the Year’ at the JazzFM Awards (2016) and Winner of the 2013 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize, her work has been reviewed in several countries including the USA, Germany, the UK, France, Norway, Switzerland and Ireland and she regularly appears on many international radio stations.

Belfast-based performer and illustrator, Patrick Sanders specialised in using cartoons and live drawing in performance as well as to document conferences, discussions and events. He devised most of his performance work for young audiences and involved elements of interactivity and improvisation. Patrick sadly passed away in 2017.

Shane Latimer is a guitarist, composer and teacher based in Dublin. He plays 6 and 8 string guitars using not only conventional techniques but also preparations/manipulations and other extended techniques. He also works with sampling, analogue and digital synthesis and electronic processing and is a keen percussionist.