Purple Constructionism: Prince in the Makerspace
Constructionism is a process in which people create their own unique ways of knowing with prototypes, devices, and tools that others can use and critique. Seymour Papert and others who study constructionism usually look at machines that compute but I’m adding machines that produce content (i.e., sounds, visuals) such as drum computers. Artists, as early adopters, did really interesting things with the Linn LM-1 drum machine that became a staple of 1980s pop music. This includes Prince who passed away four years ago.
In 1982, the song “777–9311” was recorded at Prince’s Kiowa Trail home studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. It was the second track and lead single from The Time’s second album, What Time Is It? and it was produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince with Morris Day later adding the lead vocals. The song is known for Prince’s innovative use of the Linn LM-1, the first machine to use digital samples of acoustic drums.
Educators can use these examples when teaching students how to make things. Methods such as design concept mapping and modular prototyping can help students think creatively and solve problems. Modular prototyping includes separating and combining components. Students can use digital prototyping tools such as MaKey MaKeys or Arduinos to add electronic components to their projects or create machines that act like the Linn LM-1.
Prince’s early and heavy use of the Linn Drum, one of the first programmable MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) devices, played a critical role in engaging Boston Arts Academy students. BAA students learned the process of making art in their classes and, in the STEAM Lab, they made things that were meaningful. MIT’s Mitchel Resnick talks about meaning-making in an article:
There can be a problem if you go to the other extreme where you focus on process, and not on creating something meaningful. Once you make something, it’s something you can reflect upon, share with others.
Some BAA students visited the Lab to make their own MIDI sound controllers using 3D printers, soldering and circuitry to create the interface, then programmed circuit boards to operate the device. For them, focusing on non-music tasks was a challenge as was the experience of failure while learning something new. This where Prince helped them. I was playing his music in the Lab because he had just passed away. One of the students asked me to play something different, so I played “777–9311” and this happened:
In this video clip the music is blasting (at their preferred level) over the ventilation system overhead and they were laser-focused on soldering: this is the first time they had soldered anything. To make the MIDI sound boxes these students encountered many “firsts” and they were also discovering Prince and his unique way of programming drum computers. The music helped them focus: they asked me to play “777–9311” over and over.
This Aha! moment happened just as I was preparing to write a book about the unique ways that people from communities underrepresented in STEAM were engaging technology. In this Lab, I made the link between culture and innovation (Prince) and making (Lab). The student who crossed the finish line and programmed his MIDI device also performed with it at his senior recital the following year.
Note: The other song frequently requested by the students was “Housequake.”