Learning Experience/Unit
Adirondack Music by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES
Course, Subject
Music, The Arts (2017), Computer Science and Digital Fluency
Assessment
Rubrics will be used to assess both the student's written work and the class recording. See attached samples:
Adirondack Music RubricDulcimer Accompaniment Rubric
Learning Context/ Introduction
Students will learn the characteristics of folk music and apply the criteria to Adirondack music. Students will play I, IV, V chords on dulcimers to accompany an Adirondack piece.
Duration
Four 42-minute lessons.
Essential Question
What are some of the identifiable characteristics of Adirondack music that make it folk music? Instrumentation, lyrics, location?
Instructional/Environment Modifications
Students with special needs may need a scribe.
Procedure
Day One (computer lab or similar setting)
Hand out and review the worksheet rubric and the worksheet.
Have students access "Grolier Online" and type "folk music" in the search box.
From the articles, they will answer the questions on their worksheets about the
characteristics of folk music. They will use the rubric to be sure they are
meeting the worksheet criteria.
Day Two (Computer lab or similar setting)
Students will finish their work sheet and listen to a variety
of Adirondack song samples from various Adirondack composer websites. These
sites can be found on the "teacher reference page" which is included in the
Adirondack Music Learning Experience.
Day Three
Listen to various Adirondack songs and show how they fit the
criteria for folk music.
- Explain that in this lesson there will be a review of the
characteristics of folk music. Students will then be listening to various
Adirondack pieces and discussing their characteristics.
- Ask the students to tell you what the characteristics of folk music are.
List the characteristics of folk music on the board. Be sure to include
instrumentation.
- Play the first listening selection. The first example I chose was a song
"Adirondack Memories" by Bill Smith. We listened to just a few bars and then
discussed our first impressions of the piece. Encourage students to listen
carefully and determine the prominent feature of the song. They should
identify the lyrics as the prominent feature. Finish the listening selection
and ask students to list what they learned from the lyrics of this song.
They should notice that the lyrics tell a story of what it was like growing
up in the Adirondacks. They should also note the imagery the lyrics create
and the history they learned through listening to the piece. Discuss the
instrumentation and vocal timbre of the piece as well. Be sure to list the
characteristics they find on the board.
- Play the second listening selection "One With The Water" by Dan
Berggren. List the characteristics of this selection including vocal timbre
and instrumentation. Remember to include the location of these works, as that
is also part of the folk song criteria.
- Play the third and final listening selection "Oswegatchie" by Jamie
Savage. List the characteristics again.
- Review the folk song criteria and show how the listening selections fit
the folk song criteria.
- Listen to "Oswegatchie" again and note chord changes to students by
calling out the changes. I, V,I,V and so on.
-
Review I.IV and V chords on their dulcimers and practice changing chords.
Day Four
"Oswegatchie." Play I, IV, V chords on the dulcimer to
accompany the song Oswegatchie.
- Review the chords and practice a I,V,I,V progression. Play the song "Oswegatchie"
and demonstrate the chord changes on the dulcimer for the students. Count to
show four strums on each chord so that students can begin to hear where the
changes take place.
- Explain that in folk music, which is passed down, musicians often learn
to play "by ear" and that they are learning this piece "by ear."
- Play the recording again and call out the chord changes for students as
they play along. Direct them by showing the changes instead of calling them
out.
- Practice playing the piece with the appropriate chord changes.
- Play the entire piece with dulcimer accompaniment throughout.
Reflections and Feedback
I am amazed that I was able to find Adirondack musicians performing compositions about the Adirondacks. It is a most exciting topic as it encompasses such a vast amount of learning. The songs provide so much information about the present and the past life in the Adirondacks. It's all very exciting. Some of the musicians are nearby.
After the first lesson in the computer lab working with students researching information from the Grolier online data base, I was very surprised at how students tried to find answers. They didn't seem to care about learning anything just finding answers to the questions. When they couldn't find the answers written down somewhere in what they were reading, they began to panic about finishing their work. I had to keep reminding them that it wasn't about being given all the information. It was up to them to read the information and then figure out the answers. They had a really hard time with this. It made me realize just how important the activity was.
Students seemed to really enjoy learning about Folk Music. When we began to outline the characteristics of Folk Music they were able to note all of the important aspects. They could clearly see how Adirondack Music is Folk Music.
Since one of the characteristics of Folk Music is that it is passed on without the use of written music, we worked on our accompaniment "by ear" to get a true experience. Students quickly heard chord changes and were able to play along. They were very excited and chord progressions and their use became clearly understood. Students were very excited about playing and loved the experience. It was very rewarding for me to see their excitement and how quickly they caught on.
I would also like to extend my thanks to Jamie Savage for giving me permission to use his music. It's been a lot of fun.
Student Work
Students will use the school's online database to access "Grolier Online" and find the characteristics of folk music including instrumentation. They will listen to various composers from the Adirondacks perform their original compositions and discuss how they fit the criteria for folk music. They will play accompaniment chords with one Adirondack composition and record their performance.
Student RecordingAdirondack_Music_Student_Sample_AAdirondack_Music_Student_Sample_BAdirondack_Music_Student_Sample_C
Related Resource
Adirondack Music Learning Experience ReferencesOswegatchie LyricsAccompaniment Chords for Oswegatchie
