Garage Jams are my #TMC13

Divisible by 3 is usually used for math talk. It's summer and this post has nothing to do with math. It's just a post about something I love to do, play live music. While so many fun people are enjoying their time in Philadelphia at Twitter Math Camp (#TMC13) this week, I've had the pleasure to jam with my nephew and edit some of the video we captured. For those of you looking for math stuff, my next few posts will definitely be filled with math... trust me.

I set my Flip camera on a tripod in the corner of my garage for capturing my nephew on drums and I taped a GoPro camera (thanks Karim) to the headstock of my guitar for those guitar licks. Here's a quick soundcheck:

My nephew and I get together every so often to jam. We mainly rock out to songs by our favorite artists or songs from the bands I was in during college. Last summer, he added drums to my PEMDAS song. Between the two of us, we'll choose a few songs, practice them individually, come together, talk about a few transitions or endings, count off, and then rock out! Everything here is our first take. I'll start you off with Jimi Hendrix's Spanish Castle Magic found on his album Axis: Bold As Love.

As you can see, we're not trying to nail these songs note for note. We enjoy adding our own style, sound, or feel to the songs we cherish while maintaing the integrity of the original. It's just drums and guitar in case you're wondering why there isn't any thumping bass or screaming vocals. I'm using the audio from the GoPro camera which ended up capturing the sound decently. As for the following songs, the camera definitely picked up more drums than guitar in the mix. That's okay because we're not out to release this stuff for a record deal. This is just pure fun and I'm using this creative space to post it. Up next, Rage Against the Machine's Guerrilla Radio found on their album The Battle of Los Angeles.

Tom Morello comes up with these simple, yet powerful riffs while adding some slick effects to his overall sound and solos. It's always fun and challenging for me to figure out what he's actually using and playing. We had a few other jams on 2013-07-23, but this will be the last one I share here. You'll find updates inside this Vimeo Album. We both enjoy Incubus and have jammed to many of their songs. This last song was a last minute decision, but I think it turned out alright. Here's Blood on the Ground from their Morning View album.

It's always a blast getting together with my nephew. He's off to college in the Fall and our opportunities to get together and jam will be fewer. Maybe we can jam via Google Hangout! It's been a pleasure to watch him improve at drumming over the years and really have a wonderful ear and talent for music. As promised, this post has nothing to do with math. I'm not rambling about how jealous I am of those at Twitter Math Camp because live music truly has a special place in my heart. I'll return in a couple of days with some thoughts as I prepare for my CMC South presentation in November.

Jam,
1203

Guest Blog Posts at Estimation 180

Today, at Estimation 180, I posted some guest blog posts I collected from the beginning part of this year. I'm grateful, honored, and inspired by the stories they (or their students) shared. I hope you have time to check them out and share your story too.

Read their stories here. 

Snail's Pace

Last post, I shared a lesson (Woody's Raise) that included both Act 1 and Act 3. I asked you all to collaborate and design Act 2. Many of you came through like champs in the comments.
THANK YOU!

For this post, I only have an Act 1, leaving Act 2 even more open-ended. I'll admit, I only have Act 1 because I haven't invested the time necessary for Act 2 and Act 3. Here's my current Act 1.

I thought of this lesson many months ago while out walking in the morning, but wanted to capture it on video... no joke. So until that time actually comes along, I'll give you what I envisioned for Act 1, the video version. We start with Bill Conti's Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) as we take a couple close-up shots of the snail. The camera pans out to a bird's eye view of the snail starting at one side of the sidewalk, letting time elapse for about 15-20 seconds.

Back to the picture of the snail who has an increasingly long road ahead of him. I notice that he isn't taking the shortest path to the other side. I notice that there aren't any other snails to avoid. I notice the sidewalk is wet. I wonder what his path will be. Will his path be linear? curved? circular? other? I wonder what his rate will be. I wonder what the dimensions of the sidewalk are. I wonder if the Pythagorean Theorem could be used here. What do you wonder?

Head over to Dan Meyer's 101qs.com and enter a question (or skip it) so you can see my Teacher Notes for Act 2. You might need to log in. Thanks to Ignacio Mancera for linking a site with Speed of Animals. This will help assist our Act 2 adventure.

Here's what I have so far if you can't get into 101qs.

What initial conversation(s) would you have with students?
How would you have students work with Act 2 information (dimensions, rate of snail)?
Is this a waste of time?
Should we (I) shelf this idea for now? (or even toss it in the trash can?)

Slowly,
333