how Can We Connect What We’ve Learned and Understand ......• Complete the maze that takes them from Little India to Harlem on our imaginary trip. Preparation 90 Harlem Little India

unit 4

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Lesson 1

how Can We Connect What We’ve Learned and Understand it More Deeply?activities for SG46

From Little india to harlem (SG46)

The Conductor will now take us on a journey from Little India to Harlem to meet the third featured singer, Gregory. Have students turn to SG46 and help them:

• Find Falu in Little India, Manhattan.

• Find Gregory’s picture on the map in Harlem, Manhattan.

• Complete the maze that takes them from Little India to Harlem on our imaginary trip.

unit 4 Preparation

90

The Weill Music Instituteat Carnegie Hall



Harlem

Little India

From Little India to Harlem Now we’re ready to meet our third singer. We’ll leave Little India and make our way to Harlem. Find Falu’s picture.

Now find Harlem, where my friend Gregory lives. Complete the maze and let’s go!

SG46

Gregory

Falu

Start

FInISH

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unit 4 Lesson 1

AIM: To meet our last singer.

MATERIALS: Musical Explorers Student Guide and CD; CD player; pencils, markers, and crayons for students; chart paper; Musical Word Wall

STANDARDS: US 1, 5, 6, 9; NYC 1, 2, 3, 5

SUMMARY: So far, we have explored how music can represent the spirit of a com-munity. Students have met artists from different cultural and musical traditions and have explored:

•Their own neighborhoods, classrooms, and homes.

•How music can tell a story and create distinct moods.

•The idea of music as a language, focusing on details such as patterns and ornamentation.

In this final unit, featuring Gregory Rahming, we will review some of these ideas and deepen the students’ connection to these concepts.

VOCABULARY: celebration, church, gospel music, mosque, synagogue

Warm-Up and activities for SG47–49 •Warm up students’ singing voices with the Yawning Kittens, Bouncy Ball, or the Sirens

exercises, Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5.

•Sing one of the following songs as a warm up: the “Musical Explorers Song,” Track 1;“O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog,” Track 6;“Johnny’s Gone for Soldier,” Track 7; “O Lal Meri,” Track 37; or “Rabba,” Track 46.

Meet Gregory! (SG47)

We will explore Gregory’s musical tradition and background through his neighborhood, Harlem, Manhattan, which has historically been an important center of African American culture and business. Harlem is known for its many famous buildings, such as the Apollo Theater and Strivers’ Row, and its residents, including the writer Langston Hughes. Harlem is also a destination for spiritual seekers; it is the location of many mosques, synagogues, and large churches.

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Lesson 1




LISTENING

Listen to Gregory’s recording of “Total Praise” composed by Richard Smallwood, Track 52. Tell your students that this song is an example of gospel music. Gregory

will perform it at Carnegie Hall, but gospel music is also used for worship celebrations in church. Ask students:

• How is this song similar or different from the music you are familiar with from your own cultural celebrations or worship services?

• What are some words that can describe his voice? (Possible answers: soft, loud, clear, relaxing, mellow, smooth, high, low.) Be sure to refer to and add to the Musical Word Wall.

• Does his voice remind you of a place or a person you know?

• What else do you notice about his singing? (Possible answers: clear tone, vibrato, and lots of feeling.)

My Letter to Gregory (SG48)

LOOKING

On SG48 is a postcard to the students from Gregory. The front includes a collage of photos from Harlem. Ask students:

• “What do you notice about the pictures of Harlem?”

•“What kinds of places are shown?”

• “What kind of music might you imagine hearing at these places?” (Explore what types of music students might imagine hearing at the Apollo Theater or a neighborhood church.)

•“ Consider the places you might celebrate religious or cultural events with your families. What kind of music do you hear at these celebrations?” (Possible answers: chanting, singing, organs playing, bands.)

•Notestudents’responsesonchartpaper.

• “Do the places look similar to or different from places in your neighborhood?”

Next, have students look carefully at the pictures of Gregory and document what they notice. Ask students:

• “What do you notice about Gregory?”

• “What kind of clothing is he wearing?”

• “What about the other people in the pictures—who do you think they are?”

• “How do you think Gregory’s voice sounds? Do you think he sings high or low? Why?”

Read Gregory’s postcard to the students. Ask students:

•“What does he mention about the Harlem neighborhood?”

• “Are there any similarities between the students’ answers and Gregory’s words about Harlem?”

unit 4

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Lesson 1

Singing “total Praise” (SG49)

CREATING

•Warmupstudents’singingvoiceswiththeYawningKittens,BouncyBall,ortheSirensexercises, Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5.

•Sing the “Musical Explorers Song,” Track 1, as a warm-up exercise.

As a class, review the other songs students have learned so far in the curriculum:

•“O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog” (chorus), Track 6

•“Johnny’s Gone for Soldier” (chorus), Track 7

•“O Lal Meri” (repeating part), Track 37

•“Rabba” (repeating part), Track 46

Ask students:

• “What do you remember learning when we met Anne-Marie, Falu, and Gaurav?”(Possible answers: mood, “add-on” songs, scales, rhythms, patterns, instruments.)

• “What has been your most memorable experience so far on our trip? Why?“Students can share their thoughts with a partner before opening up to class discussion.

On SG48, your students can write a letter to Gregory. Ask students:

• “What kinds of pictures could we include with the letter?”

• “What has been your most memorable experience on your trip so far?”

• “What would you tell Gregory about our classroom?”

• “What would you tell Gregory about Anne-Marie, Falu, or Gaurav?”

• “What would you tell Gregory about the music you listen to in our classroom?”

• “What would you like to know about Gregory and his music?”

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Now, practice singing the end of “Total Praise” (SG49) with your students. Track 54

Part 1

As they learn this section of the song, ask students:

• “Is the melody moving mainly by steps or skips?”

• “How can you tell?” (Possible answers: by looking at the music and by the feeling of the notes while singing.)

• Practice singing this section of the music with the recording until students are comfortable with the melody. Track 54

Extension: Here is another singing part for “Total Praise.” Track 53

Part 2

You can teach it to your students. Then divide your class into two groups, having one group sing Part 1 and the other group sing Part 2. We will sing both parts at the concert.

unit 4 Lesson 1

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Sustained Amen Part of Total PraiseRichard Smallwood

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Meet Gregory!

Dear Musical Explorers,

Hello from Harlem! I began

singing and playing the piano at

a very young age. As the son of

a minister at a large and popular

church, I often performed

in worship services. Singing

touched something very deep

inside of me. When I was a

little older, I went to school

to study singing and classical

music. Today, I sing all over

the country and the world.

I look forward to singing with

you soon!

Your friend, Gregory

SG47

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My Letter to Gregory

Write a letter to or draw a picture for Gregory. Write or draw about your favorite experience as a Musical Explorer or about the music in your classroom. You can also ask anything you’d like to know about Gregory.

Dear Gregory,

Sincerely,

SG48

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Singing “total Praise”

LOOKInG: Here is our singing part for the song “Total Praise.”

Here is another singing part for the song “Total Praise.”

SG49

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Sustained Amen Part of Total PraiseRichard Smallwood




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unit 4 Lesson 2

AIM: To discuss how we can build a sense of community through music.


STANDARDS: US 1, 4, 5, 6, 9; NYC 1, 2, 3

SUMMARY: Gregory will perform a Spiritual entitled “Every Time I Feel de Spirit” at the concert. Spirituals demonstrate:

•How music can represent the spirit of a community

•The power of music to inspire strength, comfort, and change

In this lesson, your students will learn how the power of music can tell a story by creating an original song to help begin change within their own communities.

VOCABULARY: inspire, Spiritual, struggle, peace, happiness, community, composition

Warm-Up and activities for SG50–52 •Warmupstudents’singingvoiceswiththeYawningKittens,BouncyBall,ortheSirens

exercises, Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5.

•Sing one of the following songs as a warm up: the “Musical Explorers Song,” Track 1; “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog,” Track 6; “Johnny’s Gone for Soldier,” Track 7; “O Lal Meri,”

Track 37; “Rabba,” Track 46; or “Total Praise,” Tracks 53–54.

Improving Our Community (SG50) Our Class Poem and Melody (SG51-52)

LISTENING

Listen to Gregory’s recording of “Every Time I Feel de Spirit” with your students. Track 55 Ask students:

• “What feelings does Gregory express in this song?”

• “What do you think it means when Gregory sings about ‘feeling de spirit’?”

• “What are other words that represent a similar feeling?” (Possible answers: joy, happiness, peace.) Refer to your Musical Word Wall and add to it.

• “Can you think of times in your daily lives when you feel a sense of happiness and peace?“ (For example, spending time with family, at worship, and playing with their friends.)

• Reveal to your students that this song is from the Spiritual tradition, which grew out of the struggle of Africans who were forcefully brought to America as slaves.

• The African Americans developed this genre of music because singing and creating songs was a way for the community to bond, strengthen, find comfort, and bring about change. These songs were learned by listening and repeating.

• Teach your students the chorus from “Every Time I Feel de Spirit, Track 56. As you repeat the words, ask students: “Can you think of some simple movements we could make to this?” (For example, students could create movements for individual words, such as “every,” “spirit,” “heart,” and “pray.”)

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unit 4 Lesson 2

•Practice your movements every time you sing this song.

• Have a student soloist sing the verse while the other students form a choir and sing the chorus part.

LOOKING

Ask your students to:

•Look around the school and their neighborhoods.

•Discuss the problems they see (examples: pollution, littering, unhealthy foods, or bullying).

•Consider some of the improvements that could make their neighborhood a better place to live.

Create a list of problems on chart paper and on SG50.

As a class, select one problem to inspire your composition. Explain what these words mean and add them to your Musical Word Wall.

Extension: CREATING

Review the class’s ideas about improving their community (from previous LOOKING activity).

Then, begin to create short, catchy, rhythmic word phrases that capture important ideas. For instance, if students mention littering, a short, catchy phrase like “Pick it up!” would be appropriate.

Create at least one phrase as a class, and then divide your students into small groups to come up with additional short phrases related to the topic.

Remind the students to keep the phrases very simple.

After your students have gathered several short word phrases, organize them into a pattern. Write down the pattern on chart paper. Repetition is encouraged! The following simple poem can serve as a model:

Pick it up! Clean it up! Pick it up! Clean it up! Reduce, reuse, recycle!




Chant the original class poem together until the students are comfortable with the rhythm of the words. Track 57

Once you have established a rhythm for the words, match a pitch to each syllable—use the five-note scale (C-D-E-F-G) the students have learned in this curriculum.

•Ask students: “Should we use skips or steps to match the words?”

• If possible, try out the students’ melodic ideas on a pitched instrument in the classroom.

Use repeating patterns of notes whenever possible. For instance, the example provided above could be:

• First, say the chant: Pick it up! / Clean it up! / Pick it up! / Clean it up! / Reduce / Reuse / Recycle! Track 57

•Then sing your song with notes, like in this example: Track 58

• When your song is finished, write it on chart paper or the board. Students can notate the song in their books on SG51 and 52.

• Practice singing the song and then perform it for other members of the school community as a way to inspire change within the neighborhood.

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Lesson 2

101

SG5

Improving Our Community

We discussed some problems in our communities. What could we do to make things better?

SG50

102




SG51

Our Class Poem and Melody

My group’s phrase for the class poem is:

The poem our class wrote is:

103

SG52

Our Class Poem and Melody

The melody our class composed is:

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AIM: To create our own version of the Musical Explorers Song.


STANDARDS: US 1, 4, 8; NYC 1, 2, 3

SUMMARY: As a culminating lesson, students will apply some of the concepts and ideas they have explored during the curriculum while creating variations on the Musical Explorers Song.

VOCABULARY: language, translation, variation

Warm-Up and activities for SG53•Warm up students’ singing voices with the Yawning Kittens, Bouncy Ball,

or the Sirens exercises, Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5.

•Sing one of the following songs as a warm up: the “Musical Explorers Song,” Track 1; “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog”, Track 6; “Johnny’s Gone for Soldier,” Track 7; “O Lal Meri,”

Track 37; “Rabba,” Track 46; or “Total Praise,” Tracks 53–54.

translating the Musical Explorers Song (SG54 and 55)

LISTENING and LOOKING

•Read the text of the Musical Explorers Song chorus with your class on SG53.

• Recalling the translation work from UNIT 3, Lesson 1, brainstorm the languages represented by students in the class.

• Ask for four student volunteers (if possible) to translate the chorus into a foreign language (working with a parent as a homework assignment).

• When students have completed the translations of the lyrics, invite individual students to share a line of translated text. The remaining students should listen very carefully and try to repeat the line of text in the new language.

•Try this same activity with the rest of the song. Document the translations in writing.

• Once the translation is complete, try to sing the translated version with your students. Remind them that the meaning of the translated version is the same as the meaning of the original version in English.

unit 4 Lesson 3

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Lesson 3unit 4

Our Own Musical Explorers Song (SG54 and 55)

CREATING

• Using the students’ translation of the Musical Explorers Song refrain, create a few musical variations as a class. Explain that variation occurs when something is changed. In this activity, the Musical Explorers song is being changed or varied.

Select at least two of the variables below to change or add to the music in each variation:

•Tempo

•Dynamics

•Pitch

•Patterns

•Ornamentation

Write the translated lyrics and variables students have selected on chart paper.

Extension (Music Teacher): Students can try creating original variations in small groups.

Allow time for students to practice and perform the variations and decide which ones they prefer.

• From there, document the class song, asking for students’ help and ideas about how to notate the song so that everyone will remember how to sing the song when they look at the notation. Nontraditional notation is encouraged (examples: squiggles to show ornamented words, swoops to notate the melody contour, patterns and rhythmic notation to show rhythms).

• Write down the song using this notation on chart paper. Students can also copy it into their books on SG54 and 55.

Allow time for students to finalize the class’s notated song and practice singing it.

Once they are done, tell students:

• “At the concert, you will hear each singer performing his or her own variation on the chorus of the Musical Explorers Song.”

• “The singers will sing these variations in the different kinds of musical styles and traditions that we’ve been learning about.”

When you are done with this activity, please send your class’s version of the chorus to Carnegie Hall.

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translating the Musical Explorers Song

Here’s a part of our Musical Explorers song in English:

I can sing it,

I can say it,

I can dance it,

I can play it.

Here it is in another language:

SG53

107

Our Own Musical Explorers SongWe created our own Musical Explorers song!

Here’s what our song looks like:

Our Own Musical Explorers Song

SG54




SG4

108

SG55

Our Own Musical Explorers Song

Documents

how Can We Connect What We’ve Learned and Understand ......• Complete the maze that takes them from Little India to Harlem on our imaginary trip. Preparation 90 Harlem Little India