Today we conducted a workshop introducing music technology at Crumbles Castle for kids aged 6-12!

The children played various sounding objects (steel bottle, plastic sheet, cymbal etc.) with drumsticks and beaters. The objects were amplified using contact mics and processed with guitar pedals to make percussive compositions. These experimental works were recorded using a four track cassette recorder.

Not many of the kids had come across cassettes before and everyone was delighted by the immediacy of the process, rewinding and hearing back what they had just made. It was also interesting to note the associations they had with the sounds: volcanoes, horror movies etc.

The workshop is aimed at children aged 6 years and above. It is focused on teaching the participants about the basics of mixing and recording using a tactile analogue process, techniques which are the foundations of music tech.