Te Taiao Soundscapes!
Engage tamariki with a whole lot of good listening, mindfulness, working with peers, noticing te taiao and having some fun too. It’s a Te Taio Soundscape that your tamariki can create.
Firstly, the science...
In 2019, Chorong Song, an assistant professor at South Korea’s Kongju National University, worked on a study that involved playing high-quality audio of forest and urban sounds for participants. Her team found that the forest sounds led to not only self-reported feelings of comfort, but also decreased heart rates and other physiological indicators of relaxation. A separate study from October found that seeing and hearing birds led to daylong increases in self-reported measures of well-being and positive moods, for both healthy participants and those with depression.
Why this activity?
Creating an opportunity for tamariki to connect with te taiao and get creative!
You'll need
Our Soundscape guide and your creative tamariki
What to do
You might like tamariki to first watch (and listen) to this incredible soundscape from the Christchurch Schools' Music Festival 2017 'Africa'.
Kōrero about what they noticed and how the sounds of te taiao were created.
Ask tamariki to form small groups of no less than 4 people, giving them each a Soundscape guide.
Let them know to go outside and use only their taringa, note down what they hear, and kōrero how they might recreate the sounds.
Ask tamariki to come together, discuss the sounds they discovered and how different groups would recreate them. Practice some of them together.
Allocate each group one significant sound from te taiao to practice. Bring all the tamariki back together and sit closely together, but surrounded by their group. The rule is, no kōrero! As you point to each group they make the sound they have been allocated, see if it works to create your te taiao soundscape.
Keep practising to make this an assembly piece. As the weather changes through the season, create new soundscapes.
Whānau engagement
If you have tamariki from Pacific or African cultures, it’s likely they are used to making sounds using their bodies, or recreating sounds from te taiao. They might like to share their knowledge and skills!
And to add to this...
Te taiao is a great inspiration for ways to be mindful and tune in. Try Manu of a Feather to continue this journey.
Curriculum Links
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Music – Sound arts: Developing practical knowledge
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Music – Sound arts: Developing ideas
