Title: Music Along the Great Rivers – An Exploration of the Music of China

Abstract

Through singing and instrumental playing, the third graders will be introduced to some simple melodies indigenous to China. The study of pentatonic scales will be the theoretical focus of our melodic exploration. This five session unit of study will integrate geography, music, art, and story-telling. By “traveling the great rivers of China,” the students will be introduced to major geographical areas drained by these rivers in Eastern Asia, the peoples that live in these areas – their music and art which reflect their lives and religion.

Description & Time Frame

This unit of study will take place in the music room – two third grade classes will each study Chinese melodies for five thirty-minute sessions. The classes will be structured in a variety of ways: (1) power-point lecture outlining the geographical regions of China – its place in Asia – its geographical relationship to other Asian countries – its oceans and other bodies of water. (2) exploration of simple Chinese melodies through singing and playing on the barred instrument (3) introduce the concept of luogu ensembles to study “texture” in music through accompanying given melodies and self-composing purely instrumental music. The students will experience these concepts through listening, exploring and experimenting with the sound vocally and instrumentally, composing, writing, and performing. Hopefully, this variety of learning approaches will reach students having a wide range of abilities/capabilities.

Curriculum Goals

Following the primary years of singing and performing many songs in pentatonic, third grade actually uses these scale types to both read and write music. Third graders begin to accompany their singing and instrumental works with ostinati, and pedal-point and/or drones. Social studies in third grade deals with continents, oceans, and land mass types around the world; we will place our musical explorations and performances within the broad geographical framework of East Asian China.

Standards (MENC)

1. Singing with others a variety of music
2. Performing on instruments a varied repertoire of music
3. Improvising melodies and accompaniments
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines (pentatonic scale structure)
5. Reading and notating music
6. Listening to and describing music
7. Understanding relationships between music and social studies
8. Understanding music in relation to culture

Lesson Activities

Session 1: Power-point presentation of the geographical and pictorial sites of China

Each child will be given a red “China” folder in which to assemble the learning tools of this unit

* China title page (in Chinese characters) + Chinese flag

* Map of China – identify the continent, Pacific Ocean, Yellow Sea, South China Sea, Yellow River, Yangtze River, mountain ranges, neighboring countries

* What Do You Know About …………China?

* Melodies to the learned

* Vocabulary “list” of musical and geographical terms

* Pictures from China

Session 2: Listening to examples of Chinese singing and instrumental works

* Classification of sounds heard and broad instrumentation

* Singing “Wang U Ger” SHARE 3 p144 (pitches used/pentatonic scale)

“Yangtze Boatmen’s Chantey” SHARE 3 p312

Session 3: The Luogo Ensemble & Accompaniment possibilities

* Instrumentation in the luogu ensemble (drums and gongs)

* Use of Orff xylophones in this ensemble

* Creating melodic and rhythmic ostinati to accompany given melodies

Session 4: The Luogu Ensemble as purely instrumental performance

* “Long Wu: Dragon Dance” – THE LION’S ROAR p29-31

* “Huangu Ge: Flower Drum Song” – THE LION’S ROAR p48-50

Session 5: Continue session 4

Session 6: Putting to all together

* The script/story

* The music

* Simple costuming (Chinese hats, name tags written in Chinese characters, red shirts)

* The pictures of various locations in China – particularly those on the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers

Performance Day

Assessment Plan

There will be several assessment planes on which this unit will be graded.

1. Singing the song material accurately and “on pitch”

2. Create and perform a simple accompanying ostinato for one of the above songs

3. Ability to play musically in a luogu ensemble

4. Is able to work cooperatively in small groups to create accompaniments, etc.

5. Performs his/her assigned tasks during the performance

6. A short written test of basic Chinese musical as well as geographical terms

7. A reflection questionnaire will be administered after the performance

References

Books

Cotterell, Arthur. Eyewitness Books: Ancient China. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1996.

Rutherford, Scott. Insight Guides: China. Singapore: Apa Publications GmbH & Co, 2002.

Dutemple, Lesley A. The Great Wall of China. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company,

2003.

Flaherty, Thomas H. Lost Civilizations: China’s Buried Kingdoms. Alexandria, Virginia:

Time-Life Books, 1993.

Han, Kuo-Huan and Campbell, Patricia. The Lion’s Roar: Chinese Luogu Percussion

Ensemble, 2^nd ed. Danbury, CT: World Music Press, 1996.

Pollard, Michael. Great Rivers: The Yangtze. Tarrytown, New York: Benchmark Books, 1998.

Yolen, Jane. Favorite Folktales from Around the World. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.

Compact Discs/Recordings

Phases of the Moon: Traditional Chinese Music. Produced by the China Record Company for CBS Records, MK36705.

Treasure of Chinese Musical Instruments: Wind Instruments, Stringed Instruments, Plucked Instruments, Traditional Instruments. China Record Company Guangzhou CCD89:33,34,35,36.

Music from the Tea Lands. Putumayo World Music: PUT 180-2, 2002.

Songs and Sounds of the Orient: A High Fidelity Guide to the Enchantment that awaits you in Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. Recorded by JAL (Japanese Air Lines), 1966. (This is really old – but it has a lot of goodies i.e “Coal Miner’s Song,” “Sakura,” and “A-ri-rang.”)

Videos

Concert from East Asian Conference, July 30, 2003.