Music of the World

Music of the World College Prep 2 .5 credit

This semester long course is designed for the student who is interested in music and socially conscious. Students will explore different cultures through music listening, performance, instrument construction, games, reading and discussion. Cultures to be studied will be, but are not limited to, South African, Native American, and Middle Eastern. Students will learn about the musical contributions of different cultures to American music and discuss current events related to each culture.

Prerequisite: none

Semester course, open to all grades.

Projects

The Music of my people

Students will research the traditional music of the cultures that contribute to their individual cultural and ethnic identity. Research will be presented to the class via a Google Slides presentation.

Folk Tale

Students will work collaboratively in small groups to research folk tales from one of the following cultures, South African, Middle Eastern or Native American. They will then present the folk tale to the class through a reading of the story, a Google Slides presentation, a short skit, a dance, a song, or a comic strip.

Students read various folktales before choosing

Instrument Construction

MakerSpace

Students chose between constructing a tube drum or a shekere. The design of each instrument was guided by a Native American, South African or a Middle Eastern folktale of each student's choosing.

Drum Circle

Students participate in regular drum circle activities where they examine beat, time signature, dynamics, and tempo. In addition, students experience playing music as ensemble that is at times facilitated or organic in nature.

Curation

This is the final project for the course. Students will design and organize a display case to feature the student made instruments. The class will discuss the overall aesthetic and decide how they will incorporate each of the three cultures represented in the instruments.

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