Celtic MusicLESSON 3

LESSON OBJECTIVE: Students will learn about key characteristics in Celtic music including instruments and unique rhythms. LESSON AT A GLANCE

DURATION: 50 minutes or one class period

MATERIALS: Handout 7: Musical Multiple Choice, Handout 8: Celtic Instruments

STANDARDS: ELA Speaking and Listening Grade Seven: SL 7.1 Students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own. CA VAPA Music Grade Seven: 3.4 Perform music from diverse genres and cultures. CA VAPA Music Grade Seven: 3.5 Identify instruments from a variety of cultures visually and aurally.

CONCEPTS/VOCABULARY: Bagpipes: Wind instrument with two or more single or double-reed pipes. Bronze Age Irish Horn: Ancient instrument from Ireland made of bronze and sounds like an Australian didgeridoo. Compound Time: Musical rhythm or meter in which each beat in a bar is subdivided into three smaller units. Drone: A pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone. Didgeridoo: An Australian Aboriginal wind instrument in the form of a long wooden tube, traditionally made from a hollow branch, which is blown to produce a deep, resonant sound. Jig: A form of lively Irish folk dance tune in compound signature or 6/8. Lamellophone: Family of musical instruments whose sound is generated by plucking flexible tuned tongues of metal, wood, cane, or other material attached at one end to a small board or resonator and plucked with the thumbs or fingers or activated mechanically. Percussion: Musical instruments played by striking with the hand or with a handheld or pedal-operated stick or beater, or by shaking, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and rattles. Pitch: The quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone. Reel: The most common type of dance tune played in Irish traditional music that is in a simple time. Rhythm: Combination of long and short, even or uneven sounds that convey a sense of movement in time. Scottish Trump: A lamellophone instrument played by the teeth and plucking of the springy piece in the middle. Simple Time: Musical rhythm or meter in which the beat of a piece of music can be broken down into two part rhythms. Common examples of simple time signatures are 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8, and 2/2.

GUIDING QUESTIONS: What are the distinguishing qualities of Celtic music?

Before delving into the listening activity, give students 2 minutes to write an answer to this question, What do you listen for when you listen to music? Students can write their answers on Handout 7: Musical Multiple Choice. After writing, ask for a few students to share their answers to the class.

Review music vocabulary from Lesson 1 including rhythm, beat, and composition. Review the new term pitch together, and ask students to keep these vocabulary words in mind while listening to the following segments of music.

Using their answers from the quick write and vocabulary words, have students listen to short segments from the instrumentations below. While listening, ask students to identify where the music is from and key characteristics on Handout 7. Ask students to quietly write their answers on the handout and to wait to discuss until all pieces of music are listened to.

1. Asia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBOKeVsiJho 2. Celtic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDMtspVZ_jE 3. Americas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tl7DCbClOE 4. Middle East https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkjNROBu6l0 5. Africa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXV39pybgJU&t=1s

After listening to all pieces of music, review the answers as a class. While discussing, answer the questions below together about each piece of music.

What were your thoughts as you listened to each piece of music? What characteristics from the music told you that it was from that part of the world? Identify the instruments you heard. What do the selections tell you about music from around the world? Based on your prior knowledge, what role does music play in various cultures?

Part 1: Celtic Instruments Before going to The Broad Stage to see Wicked Tinkers, watch this curriculum video with Wicked Tinkers bagpipe player, Aaron Shaw, and learn more about Celtic instruments and the instruments being played during the performance. Celtic Instruments with Aaron Shaw of Wicked Tinkers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5RmvjsEP88 After watching the video, ask students to complete Handout 8: Celtic Instruments with a partner and review what they just learned about the bagpipe, bronze age Irish horn, and Scottish trump. NOTE: The answer to the Bronze Age Irish Horn section’s question “What other instrument is the Bronze Age Irish Horn related to?” is: Australian didgeridoo

Tell students that another important aspect of Celtic music is the rhythmic patterns and dances. There are two main types in Celtic music, jigs and reels. Watch the curriculum video with Aaron Shaw below to hear the difference between the two rhythmic patterns. Clap to the beat of the music to get more familiar with jigs and reels.

Jigs and Reels with Aaron Shaw of Wicked Tinkers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClaHBaq65xc

After watching the video, review compound and simple time together as a class. Ask students if anyone can explain the difference from their own musical experiences.

The jig rhythm is in compound time (6/8, 9/8 or 12/8), meaning the beat is in three part rhythms. Ask students to tap their foot while saying, po-ta-toe, po-ta-toe, po-ta-toe.

The reel rhythm is in simple time (2/4, 4/4 or 2/2), meaning there are four beats in the signature. Ask students to tap their foot while saying, hot po-ta-toe, hot po-ta-toe, hot po-ta-toe.

Main Activity

TASK: Write a set of lyrics in the rhythmic pattern of jig and reel.

To deepen understanding of jigs and reels, have students work in small groups to write a set of lyrics to each rhythmic pattern about the same theme. The theme could be drawn from what they wrote about in Lesson Two, or a new group theme.

For the jig pattern, the syllables of the words are in sets of 3. For the reel pattern, the syllables are in sets of four. Read the example of a jig lyric versus a reel lyric below in the theme of the changing seasons.

Jig Example (6/8) Off we go, to the snow. Summer’s gone, winter’s glow!

Reel Example (2/4) Adventure starts, snow is falling. Summer’s over, let’s go sledding!

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: • Lyrics follow the jig and reel patterns. • Lyrics are inspired by the same theme. • Students work collaboratively in a group.

After writing, ask groups to perform or share their jig and reel songs to the class. Ask “audience” members to clap the beat so the group can find the rhythm.

PURPOSE: To better understand the difference between a jig and reel rhythmic pattern.

Student Reflection As a class discussion or pair-sharing, ask students to reflect on these questions. Which rhythmic pattern, jig or reel felt more natural when either tapping the beat or writing a lyric? When listening to Celtic instruments, which sounds were you drawn to and why? What does the sound of Celtic music tell you about their culture?