BOOMWHACKERS: A PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE FOR MUSIC TEACHERS IN THE PUBLICSCHOOL SYSTEM IN OSLO, NORWAYAuthor(s): Ann KunishSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 57, No. 3, Special Topic: Public Libraries (July-September2010), pp. 291-295Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23512150 .

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BOOMWHACKERS: A PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE FOR MUSIC TEACHERS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN OSLO, NORWAY

Ann Kunish1

English Abstract The music department at the Oslo Public Library (Deichmanske bibliotek) has recently developed a new package for music teachers in the Norwegian public school system. The service is based on Boomwhackers, a set of coloured plastic tubes that play various notes of the scale when struck.

Children quickly understand the simple notation system based on colour, and under the guidance

of a teacher begin quickly to play and even compose music. The package not only includes a set of

Boomwhackers, but also a detailed guide for teachers based on requirements outlined in the

Norwegian national teaching plan of 2006, and a set of large-print sheet music of simple, well-known tunes. The department also holds courses for teachers, in cooperation with the library's Section for

School Services, which is part of the "Young Deichman" department.

French Abstract

Le département musique de la médiathèque publique d'Oslo (Deichmanske bibliotek) a récemment

développé un nouvel ensemble de services pour les professeurs de musique enseigant dans le sys

tème scolaire public en Norvège, basé sur Boomwhackers: des tubes en plastique colorés qui jouent

les notes de la gamme quand on les frappe. Les enfants comprennent rapidement le système de

notation simple basé sur les couleurs et peuvent vite commencer à jouer et à composer de la

musique avec l'aide d'un professeur. Le pack proposé par la bibliothèque contient un ensemble de

Boomwhackers ainsi qu'un guide imprimé pour les professeurs, basé sur les indications données

par le plan de pédagogie national en Norvège en 2006, et un ensemble de partitions d'airs connus

en grands caractères. Le département propose aussi des cours pour les professeurs, en coopération

avec la section des services scolaires appartenant au secteur jeunesse de la Deichmann bibliot.ek.

German Abstract

Die Musikabteilung der Stadtbibliothek Oslo (Deichmanske bibliotek) hat kürzlich ein neues

Angebot für Musiklehrer an norwegischen Schulen entwickelt. Es basiert auf sogenannten Boom

whackers, einem Satz bunter (und gestimmter) Plastikröhren, die verschiedene Töne erklingen lassen, wenn sie angeschlagen werden. Kinder verstehen die einfache, auf Farben basierende Notation ganz schnell. Unter der Anleitung eines Lehrers beginnen sie umgehend Musik zu machen und sogar zu erfinden. Das Angebotspaket der Bibliothek umfasst nicht nur den

Boomwhackers-Satz, sondern auch eine detaillierte Anleitung für Lehrer, die sich nach den

norwegischen Lehrplänen von 2006 richtet. Außerdem ist ein Satz Noten einfacher und bekannter

1. Ann Kunish is Head of the Music Department at the Deichmanske bibliotek / Oslo Public Library, Oslo,

Norway.

291

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292 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 57/3

Melodien im Großdruck dabei. In der Musikabteilung werden in Zusammenarbeit mit der

Abteilung für Schuldienstleistungen auch Kurse für Lehrer abgehalten.

Norwegian Abstract

Musikkavdelingen ved Deichmanske bibliotek i Oslo har nylig utviklet et nytt tilbud for musikklaerere i grunnskolen. Tjenesten baserer seg pâ sâkalte Boomwhackers, fargede plastror

som er stemt i de forskjellige notene i skalaen. Barn oppfatter lett den enkle notasjonen som baserer

seg pâ farge, og med hjelp av laereren begynner de raskt à spille og komponere. I tillegg til et sett

av Boomwhackers, inneholder tilbudet ogsà en detaljert veiledning for laerere, basert pâ den

nasjonale laereplanen for 2006, samt et sett med fargede «noter» til kjente melodier, i stort format.

Musikkavdelingen holder ogsà kurs for laerere, i samarbeid med bibliotekets avdeling for skolet

jenester, som inngâr i avdelingen «Unge Deichman».

The Oslo Public Library (Deichmanske bibliotek) has had a cooperative agreement with the city's Department of Education since 1999, whereby the public school system pur chases services from the public library. The national education plan of 1997 set somewhat unrealistic goals for music teaching in the public schools, and the library's music depart ment attempted to offer services that could help teachers reach these goals. In 2000 we concentrated on computer-assisted composition, and invited classes to the library to a

computer lab where we instructed the students in the use of a free online program devel

oped in Norway. We also set up a single-user station in our department so that students could come alone or in groups of two during their free time.

The program was however not a success. We had assumed correctly that few music teachers had the time to learn the computer-based techniques, and that few schools had the budgets to invest in the necessary tools, but while teachers were enthusiastic about the content of the service, they found it hard to get their classes to and from the library

during the short periods allocated for music teaching each week. Incorporating the work

shops with the department's regular services for patrons also presented a challenge. It was clear that something else had to be done, but we were at a loss to determine the

next step. In 2006, the education plan was revised, and in late 2008 an opening on our staff

gave us an opportunity to change how we worked. We chose to recruit a music teacher, not a librarian. Bringing new groups of professionals into the library has been a trend in Oslo for the last several years, and we felt that a pedagogue working with librarians would be the best way to go about building up our services to music teachers. In addition to a

general wish to strengthen the department's collection in regard to materials that could be used in teaching, we had a specific, three-fold goal: to create a service for music teach ers that is compatible with the national education plan, to show music teachers that the li

brary is a natural partner and resource in the field of music education, and to create a ser vice that other Norwegian libraries can emulate. It was this last goal in particular that we wanted our new staff member to help us achieve.

When planning our new service for music teachers, we turned to the new education

plan, established in 2006, where, once again, specific goals are outlined for music in struction at each age level. In order for a new service to be truly useful for music educa

tors, activities involving warm-ups, imitation, improvisation, composition, playing with oth

ers, and building listening skills (recognising melodies, rhythms, tempi, and form) all had to be adaptable to various age groups and the teaching goals, and had to be able to be used with groups of various sizes in a flexible classroom environment.

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BOOMWHACKERS 293

Anne-Line Sandegren, the consultant from the Music Department charged with creat

ing the service, suggested that it be based on Boomwhackers.2 Boomwhackers are plas tic tubes in various lengths. When the tubes are struck, or "whacked", on the back of a chair, on the shoulders, hips, or legs of the performer, a pitch sounds. The pitch is deter mined by the length of the tube, and each tube (and therefore each pitch) is assigned a

bright colour, easily identifiable by even the smallest children. The printed music is

colour-coded, so no music-reading skills are required. Simple rhythms are indicated by bars of colour on a chart. Young students are intrigued by Boomwhackers, and even those who tend not to excel in traditional classroom instrument teaching are eager to try and find that they are able to participate in music making and creating. The sound quality pro duced by the tubes is such that mistakes are not as obvious, and the group sound is pleas ant from the very beginning, which of course adds to the students' motivation.

ILLUSTRATION 1 Boomwhackers

The idea was good, the materials were partially available (Boomwhackers are a

commercially-available product and already well-integrated in some schools in the US).

2. The teacher's site is http://www.boomwhackers.com/teachers.htm (accessed 10.05.2010)

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294 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 57/3

The challenge was to create a program that fit well with the Norwegian teaching plan, in the Norwegian language, and last but not least, to get the word out.

Anne-Line contacted her former colleagues to create a reference group of teachers, and worked with this group to test teaching methods. Finding times convenient for busy music teachers to meet - teachers who are often responsible for other courses as well -

was a challenge. She collected the teachers' reactions and opinions, and used her own ex

periences in the field to develop and improve the program. Materials had to be ordered and created and prepared for circulation. The Boomwhackers themselves were purchased through a local distributor. Anne-Line created colour-coded versions of melodies familiar to Norwegian children, and these were produced at a local print shop. Boomwhackers

vary in size from about 30 to 100 centimetres in length, and a set with enough tubes for an entire classroom takes up quite a bit of space; something as seemingly simple as find

ing good cases for transportation was harder than one would have thought. We ended up with plastic storage boxes on wheels, with removable lids. These are available locally and can therefore be replaced quickly if necessary, are easy to handle, and can be stacked in the vans that transport material between the library and the schools.

The greatest challenge was the curriculum; Anne-Line had to produce a teaching guide that would cover all grade levels. Warm-up exercises touch on rhythm, harmony, melody, and require the students not only to master a specific tube or tubes but also to play in relation to each other. The guide has been designed in such a way that the students are assured an even progression, advancing on to more complex pieces and exercises. Exercises designed to be the goal for a young class can serve as warm-up exercises for an older class.

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ILLUSTRATION 2 Children reading colour-coded music

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BOOMWHACKERS 295

Anne-Line designed courses for teachers ; an entire Norwegian curriculum had to be

developed. Above all, Anne-Line had to make sure that the courses and teaching aids con tained concrete and varied examples (including pictures and videos, as well as sheet mu

sic) that teachers could incorporate into their own teaching. Although Anne-Line's teaching background gave her a definite advantage when creat

ing a network of teachers, a determining factor for the project's success has been a solid

cooperation with the library's section for school services.3 This section is part of the li

brary's "Young Deichman" department, and has many years of experience working with

teachers, providing them with library materials for use in the classroom and inspirational workshops that bring teachers together. The library also maintains a transportation system for materials to and from the schools, so teachers can contact the library with an order and have it delivered a few days later.

The cost of the program is absorbed by the Music Department. The staff position was not new; we simply chose to recruit a teacher rather than a librarian or an assistant when a position became available. We routinely earmark a portion of our budget each year for

learning materials; this year, the funds were allocated to the Boomwhackers project, in

cluding the instruments themselves, transport cases, and the cost of printing sheet music and guides for teachers. The library's Section for School Services already had an estab lished tradition for courses for teachers held during working hours; we simply cooperated with them on the course content.

Although the program is still young, it has been a resounding success. Courses for teachers have been held, a program for classes is now fully developed, and the loan of sets

of Boomwhackers with accessories is now a fact. Enthusiasm and interest on the part of

teachers has been great, and other patrons seem interested as well. During the library's annual Culture Night in September, for example, the Music Department staff performed on Boomwhackers, and a subsequent workshop open to the public that evening was filled

to overflowing with eager adult visitors who wanted to learn. Inspired by our experiences that evening, we plan to hold Boomwhacker courses for our regular adult patrons during 2010, and a scaled-down program is also being developed for preschool children.

We hope this program will bring more music teachers to our department, and demon strate to them that library resources - both staff and collection - are useful in their work.

3. The library's Section for School Services is an integrated part of the publically-funded library. Its services

include a collection that consists of class and groups sets of literature and other media, a service for the trans

portation of materials between schools and the library, and courses for teachers and school librarians. It also of

fers consulting services in regard to collection development and practical issues in school libraries, literature

choices that harmonise with curriculum etc. The services are free-of-charge for schools.

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