Saturday, October 10, 2009

PLN Resource 7 (TEDtalks Performances)

TEDtalks Performances
URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/browse


Last week, as I was researching my PLN resources, I found the resource “TEDtalks” to be an extremely valuable resource containing video presentations on a variety of topics including music. As I was searching my PLN resources this week, I was once again drawn to “TEDtalks” (http://www.ted.com/talks/browse); however, not for lecture presentations, but for videos of musical performances. On the “TEDtalks” website there is a section devoted to musical performances, and included are performances from a wide variety of musical genres, ranging from classical music, to jazz music, to world music and more. As I searched the site, I was able to see many interesting performances. For example, I saw a performance of Indian music by Vishal Vaid called “Hypnotic Song” (http://www.ted.com/talks/vishal_vaid_s_hypnotic_song.html). I was intrigued by this piece because it was a different piece with a nice groove, and a “hypnotic,” ethereal melody performed on ethnic instruments. In addition, I experienced a smooth and upbeat guitar piece with vocals performed by South African singer, Vusi Mahlasela (http://www.ted.com/talks/vusi_mahlasela_s_encore_at_tedglobal2007.html).

As a music educator, I am always looking for ways to expose my students to a wide variety of music, and to help them to develop an appreciation for all types of music. From my experience, students are usually comfortable with popular music or another type of music that they enjoy, and they do not typically leave their comfort zone to experience different types of music. That is why I believe the site “TEDtalks” is such a valuable resource. The site contains music from numerous musical genres. Therefore, the “TEDtalks” performances can be used to expose students to a wide variety of music, including world music performances as I saw this week. This may lead students to discover different types of music that they may enjoy, and it would even help them learn about different cultures of the world and the various types of music that people listen to and create. In addition, having a resource with videos of world music and other music performances could lead to cross-curricular activities where students may learn about world cultures along with hearing their music.
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4 comments:

  1. G. E. CouchOctober 12, 2009 at 7:58 AM

    Mark, thank you for posting this. I checked it out and I can see a definite use for this in a classroom setting. Many young people find it difficult to explore things outside their normal area of comfort. But, as you pointed out, students wouldn't necessarily have to leave their comfort zone for this.

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  2. tkuntzOctober 12, 2009 at 11:26 AM

    This is a great way to meet those interdisciplinary benchmarks. Students can use this for projects assigned by social studies teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 20, 2009 at 8:43 PM

    Mark -

    My name is Daniel Sacks and I'm looking for my old friend Mark Awad. You he?

    Thanks,
    Daniel Sacks
    dmsacks@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. damonharveyOctober 21, 2009 at 9:20 AM

    Hi Mark,

    Thank you so much for telling me about "TEDtalks." I will certainly add it to my PLN as I agree that students are motivated to explore popular music in the classroom. I think that there are aesthetic qualities in the music of the media today and that learning more about this style is helpful for educators because we will better relate to our students. It is particularly difficult to get students hooked on world music and the videos you mentioned in your post seem to bring an element of exciting popular style to a music of a foreign culture. I'll keep an eye on this site.

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