This week, I listened to youtube versions of the pieces of music in our textbooks because I have not yet received my textbook. I found versions of most of the music on youtube, and I delighted in nearly all of it. I was not able to read the backgrounds or further information of the music that I listened to since I have not yet received the textbook, and I am looking forward to doing that this week, when, Amazon assures me, I receive it on the 14th.
I teach elementary general music and beginning band, and I have been very excited to do popular music units with my students, particularly American popular music, for several years. I have no formal education in popular music, however, so I have been at a stopping point while trying to figure out how I could go about teaching it accurately, appropriately, and meaningfully for children. I have such a deep understanding of music, and I have studied lyrics for years, and I have studied instruments and harmonies and the music business, so there is great depth to my understanding of popular music that I simply cannot figure out how to meaningfully communicate to my students. I was relieved when reading the Woody PDF that the author said this is a common reason why music educators do not teach popular music.
It is unrealistic for me to allow my students to create their own rock bands, as was sort of suggested in the Woody text, although I would enjoy overseeing that if it was a possibility, but I can certainly expose them to and let them explore music of America from different centuries. With youtube easily accessible on my school computer and with my projector, I can realistically show videos and discuss the backgrounds of the music, particularly with my third and fourth graders.
The first few pieces I listened to were very Appalachian sounding. Again, with no formal text, I cannot be sure that I am speaking accurately, so I am generalizing from my previous knowledge of American vernacular music. First, I listened to a haunting rendition of "Barbry Allen" by Jean Ritchie. She had a clear, bright voice, and sang the piece completely a capella, maintaining the same musical key throughout. She added small yodels and ornamentations, particularly cascading on downward movement. The piece was strophic and very repetitive tonally. I wanted to listen to the lyrics, but I had a hard time focusing on them, as I was distracted by my aching wish to be able to sing like that. Following Jean Ritchie, I listened to two arrangements of "Soldier's Joy," one by Gid Tanner, and one by Tommy Jarrell. The first was sung in a group with lyrics and solo trade-offs. The second was completely solo with fiddle playing harmonies with itself, with no lyrics. Following those, I listened to several that seemed to be similar categorized, including Dink Roberts singing "Roustabout," which was an interesting experience. It seemed that Dink Roberts made music primarily for the joy of making music. This performance seemed to be on his front porch or the like, on a somewhat out-of-tune banjo. The watcher could easily see the hard times he had experienced as his face lit up while singing, highlighted by missing front teeth and watery eyes. It was a strange kind of beautiful to watch him enjoy making music, and I was surprised to read that the recording was made in 1983, because the music and the person seemed much more 1930s to me. Next, I listened to my favorite, "Stack O Lee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. The recording was labeled as being from 1928, but it sounded so very modern. This makes me think that perhaps there is a fad to reflect that type of music again. Mississippi John Hurt performed so sweetly and gently, and the harmonic transitions were simple but divine. I thoroughly was moved as I listened to the performance.
Here are links to those videos, in order of discussed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l3VePGR-QA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p952jSLddg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWMZ2dP0Eas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvo1OP1OJ0c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlniDmj10u8
Next, I listened to several very different sounding pieces. First, what seemed like a work song, I listened to Lightning Washington Long John (I am not sure which of this was the song title and which was the performer). The piece was extremely repetitive, and the steady beat was kept with a noise throughout. The piece was call and response, with the leader singing a line, and the group repeating it exactly. The form of the song was verse, refrain, verse, refrain, and so forth. I would like to delve more into work songs, as I think it could be an excellent unit for children that directly relates to American history.
Here is the link to that video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5KtQynWvc
There was also one mariachi piece that I could access: "Son de la Negra." It was different from most mariachi pieces I've heard. There were lots of tempo and meter changes throughout, which would have made it a very fun but complex piece of music for dancing. There was singing a few times throughout, but it was mostly instrumental. The singing seemed to be at least a four part men's chorus.
Here is the link to the mariachi video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKEm19lMjuQ
Shifting gears completely, the next piece was a Stephen Foster folk song performed by an obviously classically trained singer, Thomas Hampson, with the Jay Ungar Trio. He performed the piece beautifully, with accurate pitch and light changes between register. The piece was "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair." My second graders did a world music Folk Concert last year, and this was one of the pieces they performed for American folk music. I know this type of music is very realistic for the study of children, but I do not think my students would react well to this classic performer. I am wondering how I could go about finding a more folk-sounding performance, since this one sounds so classical. I can just hear them giggling as they listen to the "opera singer." My other attempts at legitimizing opera music for them have been in vain. (An interesting tidbit: one of the youtube commenters says that Stephen Foster wrote this piece about a real girl named Jeanie who ended her relationship with him because he was an alcoholic. This is not a fact I'd share with my students, but I am interested to delve further into it, just the same.)
Here is the link to Thomas Hampson performing "Jeanie":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMfgZJ5de_k
I finished my listening this week with two pieces mentioned in our discussion board. One is the piece my classmate Kaylin Kava mentioned. She remembered driving around while a teenager goofing off in the car to the song "Temperature" by Sean Paul. I did not recognize the song title, and I wanted to see if I knew the song. I had never heard it before, although I had heard many songs like it. Apparently it was released in 2006 and was one of the biggest hits. 2006 was my sophomore year of college, and I was very busy into the world of classic, choral, and vocal jazz music at the time, so I did not listen to any pop music. I suppose I missed the release of the song. I found myself getting frustrated that the very fast paced lyrics left me in the dust. I do not generally like music when I can't understand the lyrics. I did, however, find myself dancing several times, because the music moves me physically. This is something I noticed recently in my 2.5 year old nephew. He "rocks out" to modern rap music that has a good dance beat. I wonder if it is natural or learned, especially after watching him instinctively enjoy fast-paced rap at his age.
Here is the link to Kaylin's piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMfgZJ5de_k
Last, I listened to my own piece from the discussion board, as it makes me nostalgic. I listened to several versions. The first was the classic "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys from Pet Sounds. The second was a version where someone edited the accompaniment to be very soft so it appears that the vocals are a capella. I delighted in that, as the instrumental sometimes covers the complexity of the vocal harmonic line. The third was a live performance in rehearsal sung by Carl, which was also very enjoyable as it was more raw and less polished than the other versions. I mostly listened to the other versions because I haven't done that before, and I was very interested. It was mostly for my enjoyment's sake.
Here are the links to those videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPy18xW1j8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvNXPkK7JY8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EgAhLs1Epg
I enjoyed listening to the different music. I look forward to reading its context this week when I receive the textbook and expounding upon it.
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