Musical element: dynamics
General objective: 3.1.1 develop an awareness of dynamics.
Specific Objectives: 3.1.1.1 demonstrate soft and loud sounds through singing.
3.1.1.2 add symbol to a simple tune to indicate soft and loud parts.
Procedure:
Sing the song Sila sila mile to set the stage for new musical concepts to be derived from the song.
Perform the song using dynamics.
Lead pupils in applying dynamics in the excerpts they extracted from the song.
Ask pupils to compose their own songs with the new musical concept.
Inform learners about Botswana background and geographical location e.g. Botswana is situated in southern Africa, it is bordered by South-Africa to the south, Namibia to the west, Zimbabwe to the east and Zambia to the north. The people of Botswana are called the Batswana and they speak Setswana. The Batswana community used to survive by grinding or pounding corn before cooking, the song which follows is a testimony to their way of life. In the song, the singer narrates a situation where the woman failed to grind corn in order to cook for her lover, so the singer fears that the woman is going to be jilted for failure to exercise her role. Womanhood qualities were partly judged on the basis of the woman‟s ability to cook for her husband; otherwise she became susceptible to divorce if she could not deliver effectively from the kitchen.
.Sila-sila mile-mile Grind some milie-meal
Sila-sila mile-mile ngwana wa batho. Grind –grind some milie-meal my daughter.
Sila-sila mile-mile ngwana wa batho, Grind-grind some milie-meal my daughter, Oh! dalie wa tsamaya lerato le fedile, Oh! darlie is leaving the love has expired, Oh! darlie a tsamaya lerato le fedile. Oh! darlie is leaving the love has expired.
The movement that commonly accompanies the song performance is for children to stand is a semi-circle. The soloist, who always stands in the front row, leads the song, although other voices also come in at the same time. The movement for the song is an imitation of a person grinding some mealie-meal. Since „sila sila mile’ is an imitation of the rolling stone grinding corn, this acts as early rhythm inculcation in children. The song does not only introduce children to Botswana social life, meal, but it introduces pupils to the following musical concepts:
A syncopation note; ta-te-i (a quaver before a crotchet note), in addition to a crotchet note, quaver note, and a minim;
Leap of the 6th from l, to f or E-C is another new element which learners are introduced to.
Pupils are exposed to musical form in this case AB which features in the song.
Teacher needs to introduce the new musical concepts to pupils one after the other extracting
the concept and addressing it separately for pupils to grasp before singing it within the song.
Conduct the song using the gestures which pupils are familiar with, such as palm up to mean forte (loud) and palm down to mean soft (piano). Ask volunteers to take turns in conducting the song showing soft and loud sounds. Ask pupils to go into their groups and practice the technique before performing to the whole class. Finally, help each group in extracting a motif
from the song with which they build on their own compositions. Ask pupils to perform to the whole class showing the learnt expressive sounds „soft and loud.‟
Activity 2 Topic: Pitch
Musical element: different pitch levels.
General objective: 3.4.1 develop an awareness of different pitch levels.
Specific Objectives: 3.4.1.1 use Curwen‟s hand signs to indicate different pitches in the modulator.
3.4.1.2 create short melodic patterns consisting of high and low notes.
3.4.1.3 create a melody consisting of long and short notes.
Procedure:
Re-sing the song Sila sila mile to prepare learners for pitch concept.
Perform the song emphasizing pitch.
Lead pupils in applying Curwen‟s hand signs using the song.
Ask pupils to compose their own songs and apply the new concept.
Teacher leads pupils in singing the song through rote. S/he then uses sol-fa facilitated by Curwen‟s hand signs. A few pupils are asked to demonstrate to the class singing the song using Curwen‟s hand signs. Pupils are then assigned in their groups to accompany themselves using Curwen‟s hand signs, with the teacher‟s help.
Teacher brings pupils „ attention to the major 6th found in the song e.g. s,.s,-s,.s, to m.m- m.m. Children are then taught the difference between high and low pitch and they are asked to sing the song with the new concept in their minds. Pupils are further asked to note the difference between short and long notes in the same song in bar 2 e.g. r.r d.r m:- ( short, short, short, short and long note).
Pupils are asked to go into their groups and create their own melodies using the above motif.
The motif can be written in text plus sol-fa, depending on pupils‟ repertoire of notation. Each group is then required to present to the entire class.
Teacher introduces the concept of the stave using the hand stave. Pupils are then asked to say the notes by reading them with their fingers e.g. small finger is E, first space is F etc.
Fig 5.1 The hand stave
(Conceptualised from Kodály in Sźonyi, 1973)
Finally the fingers concept is transferred into an open stave and pupils are shown how to construct C major only e.g.
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____C_____doh
Basing on Gestalt‟s school of thought (Wertheimer, 1924), who perceives the whole as better than the sum of its parts, it is ideal to draw all the five lines at once. This is good for learners because they get to know that the stave has got 5 lines conceptually and practically. As such, it becomes easier for them to cope easily when the time for them to use the whole stave comes, as they would have already conceptualized it as a whole. This approach is also in line with the African holistic way of thinking. After introducing the stave, ask pupils to draw circles from doh middle C to doh octave.
Activity 3
Topic: Body percussion Music element: rhythm
General objective: 3.3.1 develop an awareness and appreciation of body sounds.
Specific objectives: 3.3.1.1 diferentiate between beat and rhythm by contrasting body movements in simple traditional tunes.
3.3.1.2 use objects from the environment to imitate body sounds.
Procedure:
Sing the song Ba jele tamati to enhance the concept of rhythm.
Perform music with pupils so that they can experience the new concept.
Lead pupils in identifying the new concept of rhythm through activities.
Assist pupils in using body percussion for self expression.
Ask pupils to apply rhythm in their pieces.
Ba jele tamati is a song which is mostly performed by Bangwaketse children in southern districtin Botswana, where it was captured. This song is interpreted as „people have eaten a tasteless tomato‟ and because the tomato is tasteless without salt, it tastes „shaky, shaky.‟ The common way for performing this song, is for children to go in pairs, and face each other when the song starts. The dancers imitate the „shaky shaky‟ part with some jumping and swift turning movements which go rhythmically with the song. In doing this, children twist their torsos and sway their hips to the accompaniment of the song.
Ba jele tamati They have eaten a tomato Ba jele tamati, They have eaten a tomato,
ba jele e senang letswai! (x2) a tomato is tasteless, tasteless!(x2) A baba shake-shake! Because it has got no salt,
E senang letswai! It is shake-shaky tasteless!
Shaky-shaky tasteless cause it has no salt!
Let pupils form a circle. Ask them to sing the song and move to the beat of the song while still moving in a circle. Demonstrate the rhythm in a song by clapping it to express it to pupils as the song goes on. Ask pupils to keep the beat with their feet whilst they clap the rhythm against it. Allow pupils to use varying body sounds in expressing the rhythm against
the beat e.g. whistling, hissing, stroking snapping etc. Ask them to chant the words while still keeping the beat as they go around in a circle. Ask them to keep quite while still keeping the beat.
Turn the clapping into a refrain where one group claps after the other within a space of one or two bars in between. The activity is done as learners are moving to the beat in a circle.
Finally, ask pupils to extract a motif from the song and build their own pieces from it. The piece must show the following:
Effective use of long and short notes;
Expressive marks such as forte and piano.
Pupils then present to the class.