Introductory Workshop
Introductory Workshop: Music of the Plants with Christian MICHAEL and Elisabeth Traunbauer
We drive through rolling countryside dotted with uniquely designed houses and Swiss flags, and arrive at a building whose colorful pennants adorning the porch strongly remind us of Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla:
The school principal, Ms. Marianne Wey, warmly welcomes us along with her dog “Shany” and guides us through the enchantingly designed school building. We get to look at the creative classrooms and find artistically designed blackboard illustrations by the teachers to prepare the students for our workshop:
She then shows us the room for the workshop, located under the roof of the annex.
In the attic, which otherwise serves as an eurythmy hall, we find about 30 children aged 10–12 (grades 4–6) sitting in a circle of chairs:
8:30–9:00 a.m. Christian MICHAEL, equipped with two larch wood discs and visual aids, presents the latest research findings in Swiss German on the carnivorous Venus flytrap, chameleon vines, and how trees interact with one another in the forest. We learn that plants can even communicate with the world of fungi. Then it’s time for the children to do some research:
9:05–9:25 a.m. Research group “ei’s”
Each research group of 7 or 8 children experiments with the TreeMuse device, newly developed by Friendship with Nature and the Human Research Institute in Styria (Weiz, Austria). Each participant gets a few minutes to try it out on their own, while the others are surprisingly present: listening, observing, and holding the space for the interaction between the music of the plant and the child or young researcher in their midst.
9:25–9:45 Research Group “zwoi”
Meanwhile, the other research groups processed their experiences and impressions on the floor below. A plant music device plays there on a houseplant, while the children and adolescents paint their impressions or write poems about what they experienced.
9:50–10:10 Break (Swiss: “z’Nüni”)
Lively discussion between the workshop leader and the educators.
The children run around in the courtyard, swing under the beech tree, or play on their own sports field. In the schoolyard, upper-grade students sell homemade rosemary bread and spinach puff pastry rolls.
10:15–10:35 “drü” research group
10:35–10:55 Research group “via”
 | After some initial skepticism as to whether these were merely pre-recorded music programs, the children were enthusiastic about exploring, with each child spending about 3 minutes in contact with the plant. Singing, speaking, clapping, drumming, and making music in interaction with the music of the living beings in the flower pots. Spontaneous improvisations, rhythmic variations, and funny “interjections” from the two orchid plants, as well as the aloe vera that a teacher from one of the classes brought in, eventually convinced even the last skeptic. |
During the experimental phase, the young people came up with ideas:
To tear off the orchid’s head To stroke
the plant To tear off a leaf from the plant To water
the plant To scold the plant To say kind Express feelings of rejection Play music for it
Intervention by Christian M.: “You can’t actually pluck a flower or a leaf. But you can imagine it very vividly, think about it, get into the feelings, and observe how the orchid reacts.”
One teenager wanted to insult the plant, and it fell silent again.
Thoughts of harming the plant, as well as spoken insults combined with destructive intent, caused it to fall abruptly silent. Thereupon, loving feelings for the plant, communicated honestly and truthfully, brought it back to life.
This deeply impressed the teenagers and the observers in the room.
Communication with the plant as a reflection of how we interact in the human world, in everyday school life, and with classmates was clearly experienced several times during the workshop.
11:00–11:45 a.m. Joint conclusion *Listening to the music of the beech tree in the school garden *The educators embrace the tree; we observe a change in the music, with deeper tones 1. Attempt to create a closed loop between the children and the school beech tree: The children stand in a circle, holding hands, around the 200-year-old beech tree in the school garden. 2nd experiment in the classroom: On the dry wooden floor, back under the roof, it became quite clear that as soon as one child let go of another’s hand, the circuit was broken and the plant fell silent. Experiment successful! *Each child was allowed to share a final thought about the workshop: everything from “so-so” to “exciting” to “Wow!” was mentioned. |  |
Two saplings from the 200-year-old beech tree in the schoolyard as a thank-you gift from the Rudolf Steiner School in Langnau for the Friendship with Nature kick-off workshop.
