Lincoln Center Moments At Home

Exploring Timbre with Tcheka

Goals

Experience batuku-inspired rhythms from Cape Verde
Deepen the experience through reflection and sound-making.
Explore themes of timbre in music.

Scroll down for a video and corresponding activities. You can replay the link for reference as you experience the activities below.

Video

In this video you can use your mouse to move the screen around the room!

You can click on the screen and drag the view to look around the stage or turn the camera towards the audience.

Cape Verdean musician, Tcheka showcases his distinct, batuku influenced guitar playing and singing in this intimate 360° video experience.

Something to know:

Batuku is a genre of music and dance that incorporates traditional African rhythms, including call-and-response, which developed its own style in Cape Verde.

It is one of the oldest musical traditions in the region, originally brought by slaves to the islands.

During colonialism the Portugese prohibited the tradition, but after independence, attempts to research and revive Batuku inspired many musicians, including Tcheka.

Something to listen for:

Listen to the ways in which Tcheka uses the guitar and his voice to express emotion.

Listen to the moods, textures, and colors Tcheka’s performance produces.

Think of adjectives you could use to describe these sounds and the emotions you get from the music.

Tcheka, a man with short hair and medium-dark skin tone, sits behind a microphone playing guitar on stage with bluish-purple lighting. He smiles at the camera.

Warm Up

A group stands in a circle a brightly lit room, holding hands with their arms outstretched over their heads.

Photo Credit: Kevin Yatarola

Listen to the music

Sit up or stand up with your feet on the ground. Connect to your breath. Close your eyes if you like.

Take a deep breath in for two counts and out for two counts.

Take a deep breath in for four counts and out for four counts.

Continue breathing as you stretch your arms above your head to make a circle, bring your arms back down.

Bring your arms out to your side to make a line, then bring your arms back down.

Continue to breathe and stretch in any way that feels good to your body.

Reflection / Discussion

1. What did you notice about Tcheka?

How does he move his body and how do his facial expressions change throughout the performance?
How did he interact with the crowd?
How does his voice change throughout the performance?

Tcheka, a man with short hair and medium-dark skin tone, sits behind a microphone playing guitar and singing on stage with bluish-purple lighting.

2. What did you notice about the music?

How would you describe the guitar throughout the song?
What words would you use to describe how the music makes you feel?
What did you think about as you were listening to the music?

Tcheka, a man with short hair and medium-dark skin tone, sits behind a microphone playing guitar and singing on stage with bluish-purple lighting.

3. What did you notice about the setting?

What do you notice about the audience?
What do you notice about the lighting?
What do you notice about the way the video was filmed?

Tcheka, a man with short hair and medium-dark skin tone, sits behind a microphone playing guitar and singing on stage with bluish-purple lighting.

A group of people seated in several horizontal rows looking towards the camera. The room is lit with bluish-purple lighting.

Sound-Making and Timbre Exploration

Tchecka uses the simple instrumentation of guitar and his voice to great effect. He utilizes a wide palette of colors on the guitar alone, achieving an almost “orchestral” approach.

In music, we use the term ‘timbre’ to talk about the specific quality of tone, and characteristic of an instrument or voice.

Today we will explore timbre in two parts:

Part 1: Using our voice

Part 2: Using a household object

Activity Video

This video will take you through the extension activity below with a facilitator.

You can choose to watch the video and do the activity along with it. And, you can also read the activity and participate by scrolling down.

Part 1: Using your voice

We’re going to use our voice to explore different timbres while saying the same syllable, “AH” in different ways.

1. Here is a list of adjectives used to describe different timbres.

Try saying the syllable “AH” in different ways to illustrate these different timbres….

Bright
Dark
Mellow
Harsh

Close-up of Laura, a white woman with long brown hair wearing a red tee shirt, looking at the camera with her hands pinching her vocal chords.

2. Now try changing your expression while you are saying “AH”...

Change the shape of your mouth
Restrict your vocal chords
Raise and then lower your head
Raise and then lower your voice

Close-up of Laura, a white woman with long brown hair wearing a red tee shirt, lowering her head with her left arm raised.

3. Reflection

How did your movements change the timbre of your voice?
Did you have a favorite timbre?
What are some different adjectives you would use to describe your timbres?

Part 2: Using a household object

Materials: Glasses of various sizes, metal utensil, water (optional)

You can use different household objects for this activity. I chose to use glasses because I can explore the same material in a variety of sizes and shapes.

1. Using glasses of different sizes and shapes, tap on them with your metal utensil.

Listen to the different timbres and describe them.

Three glasses of water in different shapes and sizes on a white paper with the words "Dull" "Clear" "Warm" written in black marker.

2. Fill your glasses with different amounts of water.

Tapping with your metal utensil, listen to how the sound changes depending on the amount of water and size of the glass.

What words would you use to describe the sounds?

Try this again using the same size glasses with different amounts of water.

Three wine glasses holding different amounts of water on a white paper with the words "Dark" "Mellow" "Bright" written in black marker.

3. Reflection

How did the size of the glass or the amount of water change the sound?
How did you describe the different sounds?
Did you have a favorite timbre?

Explore More

Extension Questions:

What were your favorite timbres to create with your voice and your household object? Why?
Can you think of a singer that has a bright voice? Can you think of a singer that has a dark voice? Mellow? Harsh?
How else can you explore timbre using your body?
Do you associate certain emotions with certain timbres? If so, what emotions come up for each timbre we’ve explored?

Additional Links:

To learn more about Tcheka, click here.
To watch more videos from Lincoln Center at Home clips, click here.

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Click below for a printable copy of these activities

Tcheka_Digital Activities

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