Week 2
In my 7th and 8th grade chorus classes, we are working on a version of Jingle Bells that switches time signatures almost every other measure (focusing on 6/8, 4/8, and 3/8). I chose this arrangement because I wanted to challenge them to understand a sense of time outside of a single three or four beat pattern. Most of the music that my students listen to falls within the four-beat pattern, so it is difficult for them to access music outside of that classification. As we know, music (especially in other cultures) is not solely classified into groups of four or three (or even a single steady beat pattern in a piece).
When preparing to teach this piece to my students, I immediately had flashbacks to my undergrad world music class when we were learning South Indian Tala and Solkattu and bouncing around different beat patterns back to back. We also read about this in chapter 3 of the Wade (2013) text. Although I have not approached my students with the solkattu syllables (I used numbers), it is very reminiscent of the same concepts.
The video I am sharing this week is of students learning solkattu and approaching different rhythmic patters in a different way than they have previously been taught. While this is not a performance of a specific piece, I do think it has value for music educators as it shows an authentic way of introducing South Indian tala. I do think that by approaching different rhythms from a South Indian perspective is a great way to connect students to another culture, and apply that knowledge to any musics they encounter.
When preparing to teach this piece to my students, I immediately had flashbacks to my undergrad world music class when we were learning South Indian Tala and Solkattu and bouncing around different beat patterns back to back. We also read about this in chapter 3 of the Wade (2013) text. Although I have not approached my students with the solkattu syllables (I used numbers), it is very reminiscent of the same concepts.
The video I am sharing this week is of students learning solkattu and approaching different rhythmic patters in a different way than they have previously been taught. While this is not a performance of a specific piece, I do think it has value for music educators as it shows an authentic way of introducing South Indian tala. I do think that by approaching different rhythms from a South Indian perspective is a great way to connect students to another culture, and apply that knowledge to any musics they encounter.
- Workshop by Myranda Harris presented at the 2015 Society for Ethnomusicology National conference in Austin, TX, during the Day of Ethnomusicology
- Myranda Harris and students
- India
- Vocal
Nori, I think this is a great example that directly correlates with Chapter 3 in Thinking Musically. You are absolutely right when you say our students are not exposed to different beat patterns, especially at an elementary level. I know my general music teacher uses this approach in her classroom and it works wonderfully. She actually gave me a little tutorial on it this week as she has attended various workshops and conferences on how to approach this method in the classroom setting. It truly helps break rhythms down for the students learning and I am noticing that my students are better at identifying rhythms when it comes to their playing instrumentally. Although they struggle with playing the various notation especially when they are first learning new music, they are able to chant and clap the rhythms presented and I think it is highly due to the general music teacher setting them up for success by the time they are introduced into the instrumental program. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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