The Little Bush Buddha

Beginning to 15

Koalas are vulnerable. The greatest threat to their continued existence is us (human beings) and the way we urbanise their home (native bushland).

Watch this clip (below) to experience first-hand just how foreign cars, roads and human-built suburbs are to the native koala.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME?

Have you ever been in a foreign environment? Maybe you’ve been the new student in a new school, or have joined a sports team as a new member? Maybe you’ve tried something new with a group of people you’ve never met before? Think about a time when this has happened to you.

Now download this mind-map of words. Circle which ones mean something to you, or add your own.

Think about koala in the video and compare that to your own experience.

ADDING EMOTIONAL MEANING TO THE MUSIC

From the beginning of the work to B, pre-recorded tracks of Australian bushland have been captured by the composer using a 3DIO binaural microphone and Zoom F3 field recorder.

Sounds from the band emerge from the bush recordings to represent the abrupt and dramatic impact human beings are having on the natural landscape (particularly when they start building a new suburb).

IMAGINE that the AUDIENCE are the koalas, the birds and other native species happily living their lives UNTIL human beings arrive and start destroying their home to build one of their own. You, the band, are the human beings.

The first notes to emerge from the Electronic Track come from a recording of a car driving past. Notes then build and become more and more dissonant. THEN they become loud… UGLY loud.

HOW do you change the way you play your instrument to make it sound UGLY LOUD?

WHAT aspects of playing your instrument change when making UGLY sounds?

WHY do you think the composer has asked the band to sound ugly here?

Rehearsal figures: 16 to 53

There is a glimmer of hope. If human beings make a pledge to live sustainably with native bushland, and provide corridors of bushland for Australian fauna to move through safely, then the slow moving, highly vulnerable koala can be not only be saved, but thrive.

At rehearsal mark ‘B’, the music changes mood. It isn’t angry, loud or harsh. It is slow moving, as if waking up from a deep sleep.

Koalas are very slow moving creatures. They have low energy mainly due to the lack of nutrients in their diet and the music written here is designed to sound hopeful, gentle and reflect the slow bodily motions of the koala.

Watch this video to gain an appreciation of just how slowly the koala moves:

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME?

How do you feel when you first wake up from a deep sleep? Write it down, draw an image or talk about it with a friend.

Now consider how you reflect this with your instrument. How does you approach each sound? How do you use your breath? What does the tone of your instrument sound like?

Remember to consider that the koala isn’t bored or disinterested. They are simply slow moving creatures content with a peaceful, still and fairly uneventful day-to-day life.

A BAND IS LIKE AN ECOSYSTEM

Watch these two videos below to learn about Ecosystems.

How do you think your band is like an Ecosystem?

Download this simple chart and consider WHICH INSTRUMENTS are the PRODUCERS, and then where everyone else fits in the music written between B and D.

ADDING EMOTIONAL MEANING TO THE MUSIC: What can YOU DO during B and D to play your instrument as part of an ECOSYSTEM?

Rehearsal figures: 53 to 78

What koalas need most are protected corridors of bushland through our urban areas. Landscape corridors with “kiss points” will enable the koala and other Australian wildlife to move more freely between pockets of natural bushland nestled within our urbanised areas.

There is hope.

Hope lies in living together in a balanced and harmonious way. “Kiss points” help to provide this balance, as well as the need for an Australian Koala Protection Act.

From D to H, the change in time signature to triple metre is done so to create the feeling of a gentle lullaby. Imagine a time in the future when human beings live alongside our native flora and fauna in harmony, ensuring that each species can thrive and survive in a balanced and sustainable way. It is possible. There is hope.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME?

Do you know any lullabies? Did anyone ever sing to you gently to help you fall asleep? Perhaps you have sung to someone yourself to soothe them when they are unwell, frightened or very tired (a younger sister or brother, a cousin, a friend, a Grandparent)?

What music/sounds help you fall asleep?

• A melody sung by someone in particular?

• A favourite song?

• ASMR (Auto Sensory Meridian Response) textures and sounds?

• Silence?

• Talking/Television or radio?

• Something else?

ADDING EMOTIONAL MEANING TO THE MUSIC: Whatever it is that makes you sleepy, think about how being sleepy feels in your body. What can the band do to make their sound more comforting between D and H? AND how do you make the music sound more “Sleepy” at letter G?

m. 78: Windy Soundscape

The final section invites you to create a windy soundscape to accompany the electronic recording of the morning bird calls. These bird calls represent the start of a new day, a new beginning, and a time in the future when human beings learn to live sustainability with the environment in order to protect the precious balance each ecosystem requires.

Watch and listen to this piece called “Lessons from Mother Earth” for inspiration. It contains three windy soundscapes.