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Every instrument interprets movement to sounds, a simple idea suitable for large groups.
Preparation
It may be done without props but for some of the many variants, you may need a ball, or stick, jump rope, umbrella etc.
Setup
It's best to sit in a circle with a place inside for a person or people showing the movement to interpret.
Gameplay instructions
Simply let players interpret musically everything that happens in the circle. The person in the middle is encouraged to experiment with the movement for how long it suits the person.
Game end
Swap "constructors" inside the circle as long as there are volunteers.
Gamemaster's notes
This activity is not exactly about intentional music shaping, but for spotting unusual possibilities, but you can easily segue it to more typical improvisational conducting.
Untied activity. It's roots reach circus music where such musical illustrations, often percussive, are very popular.
If you want to connect movement and your environment, check out the detailed description for Room Score.
Variants
There are many possible variants, try at least:
- funny walk
- dance
- ball
The ball example is kind of a classic, as it was even performed (in a way) on a big stage with the audience responsible for the ball movement and the band Phish providing musical interpretation. Here is an example from 1993: https://www.youtube.com/embed/jec5dzAx970 — notice the added goal of hitting the ball to "the basket" in the end.
Example
(under the name "Rumble Ball" coined by Kalani Das, restricted to percussion)
Click buttons to add all relevant tags:
draw (art) guess listen memory kids
composers events insert narrative quick random role-play
dimensions rhythm speeding-up timed tonal
found (+preparation) keyboard words
Finish tagging (_game) (regular library entries)
Finish tagging (_non-game) (rare, mostly to hide the above buttons)
alias: Movement for Ears / Rumble Ball / Body Conductor