INTRODUCTION
Origin of the BASCHET Instrumentarium
The origin of the BASCHET Instrumentarium is linked to the educational programme lead towards so-called « underprivileged » places in 1977, within the Guggenheim Institute in New-York.
In the tradition of concret music (interior and individual treatment of a sound source, nature of the sound), the large musical field induced by the creation of a new instrumental family, « the BASCHET sound structures », has in this way found a response in terms of musical pedagogy.
The BASCHET brothers' efforts to turn their findings into a play and educational tool, took shape thanks to the collaboration of a team always enriched with skills, intuitions, experiences, for a plurality of public, and this in many different circumstancies.
The 1970s are influenced by an overthrow of musical teaching, first attempts by Mrs Angélique FULLIN to place musical instruments at users' disposal in order to encourage spontaneous expression, then a structuring of language; in other words re-introducing pedagogical methods based on the user's activity, looking at Musical Teaching conservatism.
In his book « Reading music by intervals », Marie-Claude ARBARETAZ noted « the trainee-musician must first of all familiarize himself with sound phenomenoms, isolate them, be able to imitate them then to use them, before being able to transcribe them. » Words recorded by
Marcel LANDWSKI, in 1975, then general inspector of music at the ministry of National Education: « learning to like musci before learning its codes ».
The BASCHET's instrumentarium was immediately honoured by the pedagogical community. Bernard BASCHET expresses a correspondance between the contribution of these instruments and the introduction of abstract painting in apprenticeship. Example taken from human evolution, bringing the Homo-Faber from the Homo-Ludins to the Homo-Sapiens, he engraves his educational will in the mists of time.
This forever renewed succession : discovery, exploration, production, composition, coding and interpretation will be the fundamental thread pursued in the use of the instrumentarium.
Following a study phase lead with close collaborators including Michel DENEUVE, Bernard BASCHET fixes the keyboard organisation and found in 1981 the Sound Structures and Pedagogy association, which will be the melting pot of the development of sound games specific to the BASCHET instrumentarium.
The sound games
These sound or musical games are « restricted game spaces around a structure », according to the terminology used by Brigitte PREVOST. Pierre CUFIGNI specifies that these settings « are not recipes, instructions are built, become more complex » according to the contribution of participants. Sophie CHENET points out that « circumstances produce extensions, bring back the creation of new game settings ». Often the findings meet in infringement to the setting defined by the given instructions for the activity.
« We are making music! » says Alain LABARSOUQUE, it is a demanding activity in terms of result. It is a play and diversified work. There is pleisure to play, desire and acuteness are aroused by the surprise. Constraints are not systematically given in terms of cycle, beating use... the activity develops , putting to the fore sound gestures, timbre associations, musical inventions, dynamics.
Listening to oneself, to others, by watching and hearing, every one's participation are the foundations to this work. This apprenticeship enables a structuring of the user : perceptive reactions, intermodalities of perceptions (vibratory, tactile, auditory, visual), awareness of one's sound environment, building of representations, expression of mental images, integration of knowledge through the transversal side of knowledges.
The intrinsic characteristics of the BASCHET instrumentarium – sound range stemming from a new acoustic principle (framed rod), thus a new instrumental family (rods, plates, strings) – imply a large vision of the sound world, like a general rule of which one grasps the shades, by curiosity, will, effort and will to share.
The sound structures offer a preformed sound (timbre and frequency) enabling the intrumentist to immediately obtain a harmonious sound in response to a musical gesture of an innacurate nature. Thus a great freedom towards the instrument and its playing appears. In other respects, because of the instruments' plastic, some activities are in adequacy with the programme objectives of Plastic Arts (graphics, colours, visual memory) at primary school.
A brief presentation aimed at discovering the work of Bernard and François BASCHET, rich in documents (films, websites, records) is welcome. The creativity and originality of their works will arouse enthusiasm and a taste for creation (aesthetic and sense).
Notes for the organizer
During the games, the organizer notices every one's abilities, he concentrates in revealing them, in emphasizing them, to make them evolve. This goes through the commitment of each one to comment on one's own work and to observe the effects produced. Simple auditions (bindly), can be encouraged in order to get a triple reading, of the performer, the observer, and the listener. A reminder of previous creations is justified at the beginning of the session, just like a synthesis of the activity at the end of it.
Bracing and reactivity govern the digressions in relation to the frame, recalling rigorously the original instructions – the first instruction being to respect the instruction (!) - and starting off again with the application of new ideas.
Some game settings imply a strong stimulation. Also, it is good to have practised before leading a session, in order to judge the instructions' and the sound game's pertinence in a pedagogical development.
Finally, watch over the use of both hands, the holding of the hammers being the subject of possible specific technical exercises.
The level of the game will be defined in accordance to the least sonorous instrument, once spotted.
Nota :
The development of game settings is officially carried out within the pedagogical council of the Sound structures and Pedagogy association, although each user has the freedom to appropriate the instrumentarium use.
A calendar of BASCHET training courses, linked around a great variety of themes (discovery, investigation, action in specialised environments, percussive approach of the sound structures, coding) is drawn up every year. I encourage you to enter in contact with this network and to renew the knowledge of your pedagogical temas in order to use your structures.
