The Orff Echo Winter 2017: The Art of Silence (submission deadline: May 15, 2016)
Consider the following quotes:
“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.” Leopold Stokowski
“…there is a connection between sound and silence. I sing a note… and when I have no more air, the note goes. Where does it go? Into the silence again. Sound has a relationship with silence not unlike the law of gravity.” Daniel Barenboim
“When a music student is asked what is heard during a musical rest, frequently the response is ‘nothing.’ This is incorrect. The response should be ‘silence.’ Silence is something. It is something very special and it is becoming harder and harder to find. Silence needs to be cherished and preserved both in music and in the world around us.” Linda O’Donnell
Every sound we produce exists in relation to silence: the silence before, after, and underneath, as well as the constant temporal interplay between sound and silence. Yet we rarely teach or even address the power and value of silence explicitly – as an expressive tool, teaching tool, disappearing art, or simply as an increasingly rare experience. For this issue, The Orff Echo seeks articles that explore the role music teachers can and should play in teaching, preserving, and celebrating the critical role of silence in our lives and music.
Article topics might include, but are not limited to:
• Silence as the foundation for music; the musician’s “canvas”
• Silence as the frame for musical performance
• Silence as the frame for music class itself: entering & exiting, beginning & ending, etc.
• Silence as the complement to sound; positive & negative
• Silence in improvisation and composition
• The difference between notated rests and silence
• The difference between “quiet” and “silence”
• The difference between “nothing” and “silence”
• Silence as a teaching tool: management, non-verbal communication, etc.
• Helping children become comfortable with silence, both in general and in music
The Orff Echo is always interested in original research and informative, lively articles covering all aspects of Orff Schulwerk such as movement, improvisation, play, and singing. Our new format allows for submissions dedicated to your area of interest in addition to our featured topic.
Please contact Richard Lawton (richard@richardlawtonmusic.com), Michelle Przybylowski (musicharp4@gmail.com), or Nick Wild (nick.wild@comcast.net) with submissions, proposals, and questions regarding the Winter 2017 issue: The Art of Silence.
