The “Do Re Mi … File” objective
The “Do Re Mi … File” objective was to carry out a research-action activity aiming at experimenting a new method of raising music interest of children thanks to the use of computerised tools, in particular multimedia.
The use of computers gives many opportunities for music learning process, possibilities of innovation and creation complementary to traditional teaching methods. The partners of the project have committed themselves to carry out a common exploration and research process on these issues.

The constitution of a European partnership in the framework of this project gave the opportunity of comparing pedagogical approaches, different didactical needs, impacts on pupils on the ground of cultural diversity and of national teaching systems variety, as well as it increased the experience through a fundamental European multicultural added-value.

The project aimed at disseminating the experience on a European scale, in order to give concrete and useful results to other educational institutes or free time associations from several European countries for the renewal of music teaching methods.

The collaboration with the Garamond company
In order to achieve this ambitious objective the partners of the project set up a collaboration partnership with the multimedia training and publishing house Garamond. This had created a new system for sound and music exploration for children, called “The Theatre of sounds”, that the partners of “Do Re Mi … File” project chose as experimentation ground thanks to its characteristics in coherence with the project pedagogical objective foreseen.
Thanks to this system it is possible to create a sound interactive space where children can play with sounds through body expression, as movements can transmit messages that are immediately transformed into sound through a system of sensors/mats (shaped like a Daisy) linked to the computer. The system gives the possibility to use pre-existent but also to create new “Interactive Sound Environments” (ISE), which are formed of several sound sequences (sound, music, sound effects) that, interrelated, give life to a story, an environment, a melody etc. Children become actors and give life to animating sounds as if they were the performers of the show: that’s why the system refers to the metaphor of “Theatre of sounds”.

System experimentation
At first, the system was used with the “Reader” function, allowing to run pedagogical proposals already set up by Garamond. Then teachers and educators used it with the “Author” function that gave them the opportunity to create new Interactive Sound Environments (ISE) with children. It was the occasion for them to elaborate a personal approach of system use which remains a tool that should help developing fantasy and creativity with the aim to open new horizons to music approach.
Differentiated experimentation proposals were carried out by the partners, on the base of age, countries and culture, scholarship or non-scholarship contexts. Teachers and educators communicated regularly through the reserved area of the project web site in order to exchange experiences and proposals.

“Theatre of sounds” development
The collaboration with the Garamond company foresaw also the development of the previous system version, with the aim of setting up a version n° 2 through the meeting of competencies between the teachers and educators involved in the project and Garamond consultants. Through the synergy coming from this collaboration it was possible to improve the previous version from the technical point of view. This new version was then tested during the second experimentation phase. It allows to register the performance of an ISE and then to hear it again and see the graphical representation.

Steps of the project

March 2001 – July 2001. Mutual presentation between the partners, exchange of opinions and experiences with special regard to the philosophical approach to music, to the results expected through the project, to competencies and knowledge to transmit to other participants in the framework of the present project.
Research of a multimedia production/publishing pedagogical society able to propose a software in coherence with pedagogical and technical expectations of the partnership: research closed with the agreement signed with Garamond society.

August 2001. Formal collaboration agreement between “Do Re Mi … File” partners and Garamond company.

September 2001. Training seminar for the use of the “Theatre of sounds” system at Modena for a duration of three days, addressed to educators and teachers participating to the project, and highlight of elements to be improved for the version n°2 system.

 

   

October 2001 – February 2002. Experimentation phase of the “Theatre of sounds” version n°1 with the following elements: carrying out of activities with children and mutual exchange between the partners on pedagogical approaches implemented; technical and pedagogical evaluation of existing system; continuous collaboration with Garamond society for the setting up of development elements leading to the version n°2 of the system.

March 2002. Definition of the “Theatre of sounds” system version n°2 by the Garamond society and up-dating of teachers’ competencies in the system’s use.
First evaluation of the experiences carried out by the partners.

April 2002 – October 2002. Further experimentation of the “Theatre of sounds” version n°1 and first experimentation of the second version, with the following elements: carrying out of activities with children and mutual exchange between the partners on pedagogical approaches implemented, with a special use of up-dating elements and functions of the system; technical and pedagogical evaluation of the system’s version n°2 .

November 2002 – January 2003. Final project’s evaluation and dissemination of results.
Organisation of the “Music education and technologies” conference in Modena on November 30th 2002, with the presentation of the "Do Re Mi… File" project results.
Making of the CD ROM of the project , to present the main results, and updating of the web site.
Final evaluation of the experiences carried out by the partners and external evaluation by an independent consultant, Isabelle Meyer.