Unit 2 Music of our place - NSW Department of Education

Transcription

Music
Stage 4
Unit 2 Music of our place
MUM S4 44360
Centre for Learning Innovation
Number: 44360
Title: Music of Our Place
This publication is copyright New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), however it may contain
material from other sources which is not owned by DET. We would like to acknowledge the following people and
organisations whose material has been used:
Extracts from Music Syllabus Years 7-10 © Board of Studies, 2003
Composer Notes logo and Sibelius logo www.sibelius.com/composernotes/
Photo of Ashok Roy © asherbilu.com
Photo of Zulya Kamalova © Ramil Gali www.zulya.com/images.htm
Photo of Victor, Andro and Dauno Martinez found at
www.abc.net.au/midnorthcoast/stories/s1053817.htm
Photo of a kora, front and side view at http://civilization.ca/arts/resonance/images/res1_07a.jpg
Photo of Riley Lee and Matthew Doyle recording in 1993 at
http://www.rileylee.net/photos_gallery01.html
Poem At Our Place by Jack Davis from Breen, Marcus (1989) Our Music Our Place, Aboriginal Studies
Press, found in Aboriginal and Islander Identity, Vol. 3, no 4, 1978
Warumpi Band album cover for Go Bush! at http://www.australienneuseeland.com/australienshop/index.php/cPath/39
Album cover for Yothu Yindi Tribal Voice at http://www.manikay.com/albums/graphics/yytribalvoice.jpg
Photo of didjeridoo from north western Northern Territory at www.ididj.com.au/exhibitions/neal.html;
Photo of didjeridoo from north east Arnhem Land at www.ididj.com.au/exhibitions/ nwNT.html
Photo of clapsticks (bilma) made by Gayili Yunupingu at http://www.hickssticks.com/clapsticks.html
Photo of Yothu Yindi performing in concert at http://www.yothuyindi.com/theband.html
Photo of steel pans by Bruce Damer at http://www.damer.com/pictures/digicamera/pix2001/01TigerTrips/01-08-08-MusicCamp/Image49.jpg
Photo of warup with lizard skin in Florek, Stan (2005) Torres Strait Islands Collection at the Australian
Museum. Technical reports to the Australian Museum number 19
Photo of kulap rattle. Australian Museums & Galleries online www.amol.org.au
Drawing of a lumat or thram © Kathy Fisher in York, Frank A. (1990) Children’s song of the Torres Strait
Islands, Owen Martin, Bateman’s Bay, NSW.
Lyrics for My Kind of Life © Yothu Yindi
Lyrics for My Island Home © Neil Murray
Lyrics for Down River © Wilcannia Mob
Overview pp 3-4
Throughout work
Page 6
Page 6
Page 6
Page 7
Page 9
Page 15
Page 17
Page 17
Page 18
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Page 26
Page 30
Page 41
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Pages 29, 35
Page 48
Pages 58, 67
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Copyright Regulations 1969
WARNING
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New South Wales Department of Education and Training
(Centre for Learning Innovation)
pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act).
The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further
reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection
under the Act.
Thank you to the following contributors who have assisted CLI with this project:
Writer, Performer, Composer:
Margaret Bradley
Audio Recording:
Rhys D. Webb (CD)
All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain copyright permissions. All claims will be settled in good faith.
Published by
Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI)
51 Wentworth Rd
Strathfield NSW 2135
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Copyright of this material is reserved to the Crown in the right of the State of New South Wales. Reproduction or
transmittal in whole, or in part, other than in accordance with provisions of the Copyright Act, is prohibited without the
written authority of the Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI).
© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2006.
Contents — Unit 2
Unit 2 Overview ...................................................................................iii
Outcomes..................................................................................iii
Suggested time ........................................................................ iv
Resources and equipment ....................................................... v
Icons ........................................................................................viii
Glossary ................................................................................... xi
Music in Australia ............................................................................... 1
Musical associations ................................................................ 1
A cultural mix ............................................................................ 6
Spirits Dance: the Wind of Change....................................... 9
Notating pitch ..........................................................................11
Woodwind ...............................................................................12
Capture your place in music ..................................................14
Lets jam!.................................................................................14
Australian Indigenous music ........................................................15
At our place .............................................................................15
Indigenous language and music............................................16
Characteristic instruments .....................................................17
Didjeridoo artistry....................................................................20
Yidaki and bilma .....................................................................24
Yothu Yindi, Yolngu pioneers ................................................26
My Kind of Life ......................................................................28
Chords and harmony..............................................................31
Chords and keys.....................................................................33
i
Motif .........................................................................................36
Lets jam! .................................................................................38
Music of the Torres Strait Islands ...............................................39
Locating the Torres Strait Islands ..........................................39
My Island Home ....................................................................43
Guitar sounds ..........................................................................52
Lets jam! .................................................................................53
Contemporary Indigenous music ................................................55
Recognising Indigenous talent...............................................55
Down River ............................................................................57
Exploring rhythm .....................................................................59
Matching rhythms to words ....................................................65
Rhythm phrases ......................................................................70
Songwriting..............................................................................73
MIDI textures and sequencing ...............................................74
Lets jam! .................................................................................76
Suggested answers – Unit 2.........................................................77
Exercises – Unit 2 .............................................................................87
ii
Unit 2 Overview
In this unit, Music of our place, you will explore the music of Australia
and in particular the music of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples, including the important role music plays in their culture.
You will use your voice and body to make music and explore the
rhythm of words as you create your own rap. You will also learn
more about aerophones or wind instruments including woodwind
instruments of the orchestra.
During the unit, you will have the opportunity to explore Composer
Notes, a computer resource about instruments and composing. You
will also have the chance to develop concepts and skills you have
studied by jamming along with a recorded backing track.
Throughout this unit you will have the opportunity to:
•
•
•
•
•
listen and respond to a range of music
perform music composed by other people
compose and record your own music
use your own ideas to play music
explore activities on the Internet.
Outcomes
By completing the activities and exercises in this unit, you are
working towards achieving the outcomes of the Music Years 7–10
syllabus as listed below.
A student:
4.1
performs in a range of musical styles demonstrating an
understanding of the musical concepts
4.2
performs music using different forms of notation and different
types of technology across a broad range of musical styles
4.3
performs music demonstrating solo and/or ensemble
awareness
iii
4.4
demonstrates an understanding of musical concepts through
exploring, experimenting, improvising, organising, arranging
and composing
4.5
notates compositions using traditional and/or non-traditional
notation
4.6
experiments with different forms of technology in the
composition process
4.7
demonstrates an understanding of the musical concepts
through listening, observing, responding, discriminating,
analysing, discussing and recording musical ideas
4.8
demonstrates an understanding of musical concepts through
aural identification and discussion of the features of a range of
repertoire
4.9
demonstrates musical literacy through the use of notation,
terminology, and the reading and interpreting of scores used
in the music selected for study
4.10
identifies the use of technology in the music selected for
study, appropriate to the musical context
4.11
demonstrates an appreciation, tolerance and respect for the
aesthetic value of music as an artform
4.12
demonstrates a developing confidence and willingness to
engage in performing, composing and listening experiences.
Source:
Music Years 7–10 syllabus, June 2003
< http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/index.html#music>
© Board of Studies.
Suggested time
This unit has been written to take approximately 23 hours. The
following breakdown is a guide to the time spent on each section.
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Music of Australia
Indigenous Australian music
Music of the Torres Strait Islands
Contemporary Indigenous music
4 hours
8 hours
5 hours
6 hours
Your teacher may suggest a different way to organise your time as
you work through the unit.
iv
Resources and equipment
To complete this unit you will need the following:
•
Unit 2 Music of our place printed learning resource and audio CD
•
the Composer Notes CD-ROM (Distance Education students) or
suitable alternative resources (other students)
•
access to the internet or other sources of information
•
equipment (including microphone) to record audio, such as
– a portable digital recorder such as an MP3 recorder
– a computer (with appropriate software and hardware)
– an audio cassette or MiniDisc recorder
•
a computer or CD player to play the Music of our place audio CD
•
a computer on which to install music-related software and which
has access to the internet
•
sound sources from the environment around you, as indicated in
the activities
•
MIDI sequencing software such as Logic or ProTools (optional).
About Composer Notes
At times you will be asked to complete Composer Notes activities to
support musical concepts and learning in this unit. Composer Notes is a
resource about performing and composing. It is no longer available
(although Sibelius distributes two similar products).
If you are a NSW Distance Education student, your teacher should
be able to provide you with a copy of this resource.
If you do not have access to the resource, talk to your teacher about
using other resources or completing different activities.
Installing Composer Notes
Refer to the previous unit, Unit 1 Why Music?, for information on
installing Composer Notes, including:
•
a list of what you will need for installation
•
minimum computer system requirements
•
brief notes on the installation process.
v
Recording audio on computer
There are several ways you can make audio recordings (see the
previous page for some ideas). One way is to use your computer.
To do this, you need appropriate computer hardware and software.
You can download the following audio program for free from the
Internet. It is available for Mac OS X, Windows and other operating
systems. You might also have access to other audio programs.
Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/>
Depending on your computer, you may also be able to use Audacity
to record what you can hear through your computer speakers.
To do this, first go to the ‘Mixer’ toolbar and choose an appropriate
input source (for example, ‘Record what you hear’ or ‘Stereo mix’).
Audio CD
Inquiries regarding the audio CD accompanying this unit should be
directed to the Music Advisor, Curriculum K–12 Directorate:
<www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/
creativearts/contact>.
Listed below is a summary of the tracks that relate to each section.
Track details and acknowledgements are found at the end of the
unit.
Music of our place CD
vi
Tracks 1–3
Music in Australia
Tracks 4–10
Australian Indigenous music
Tracks 11–30
Tracks 31–39
Websites
The following websites or pages (accessed 1 September 2006) are
suggested during this unit in order to complete activities and other
learning tasks.
Other suitable websites or pages may also be used. If you do not
have access to the Internet, use other sources of information such as
books or ask your teacher for help.
Australian Music Centre <www.amcoz.com.au/composers>
MusicAustralia <www.musicaustralia.org>
The Viva Zone <www.mva.org.au/vivazone/instruments>
Riley Lee’s website <www.rileylee.net/shaku_about.html>
Manikay.com <www.manikay.com>
Yidaki Making with Djalu' Gurruwiwi
<http://gingerroot.com/oztrip/yirrkala/yidaki/>
Didjeridu Virtuoso Alan Dargin
<www.didjeridu.com/wickedsticks/voices/dargin.htm>
Adrian Ross website <www.adrianross.com/>
The Didjshop <www.didjshop.com/shop1/>
Yothu Yindi’s website <www.yothuyindi.com>
Garma Festival <www.garma.telstra.com>
Jah Pan <www.jahpan.com/musicsamples.php>
OzOutback <www.ozoutback.com.au>
My Island Home
<www.neilmurray.com.au/pages/song_islandhome.html>
Bush Mechanics <http://www.bushmechanics.com/>
San Francisco Symphony Kids’ Site <www.sfskids.com/>
vii
Icons
Here is an explanation of the icons used in this unit.
Use a computer for this activity.
If you do not have access to a computer, contact your teacher.
Access the Internet to complete a task or to look at suggested
websites. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact your
teacher for advice.
Write a response or responses as part of an activity. An answer is
provided so that you can check your progress.
Listen to an audio file.
Record as an electronic sound file (for email or CD) or onto an
audiotape.
Think about information or ideas. You need to pause and reflect.
You may need to make notes.
Compare your response for an activity with the one in the suggested
answers section.
Perform a practical task by clapping or using other body percussion.
Perform a practical task with sound sources around you.
viii
Perform a practical task using your voice.
Perform a practical task using your voice as you listen to a track
on the CD.
Use the resource Composer Notes.
Compose your own music.
Notate sounds from recorded examples or from your
imagination.
Go to the exercises section and complete an exercise for return to
your teacher.
ix
x
Glossary
The following words, listed here with their meanings, are found in
the learning material in this unit. They appear in bold the first time
they occur in the learning material.
accent
to stress or emphasise a note often by
making the sound stronger
aerophones
wind instruments; instruments which are
blown, producing sound by vibrating a
column of air
anacrusis
an incomplete measure at the beginning of
a section of music
arpeggio
the notes of a chord played one after
another rather than simultaneously
bar
a segment of time containing a specified
number of beats (for example 2, 3 or 4
beats) of a given duration; sometimes also
called ‘measure’
beat
the regular pulse of music
cadence
the final notes or chords of a musical
phrase, section or piece that give a feeling
of pause or conclusion
chorus
a repeated section or refrain within a song;
a group of singers performing together
coda
closing section of a piece of music; an
ending section or concluding ‘tail’ passage
drone
a note or chord repeated or held
throughout a piece, usually below other
melodic layers; usually sets the key of the
piece
duration
refers to the length of sounds and silences
in music
dynamics
the loudness or softness of sound
xi
xii
genre
here: refers to the type or kind of music
such as choral, orchestral or film music,
jazz, classical or country music
gig
a job for a musician performing at a venue
harmony
two or more sounds occurring at the same
time (refers to the vertical structure of
music)
homophonic
a musical texture featuring a main melody
with accompanying harmony
improvise
create music spontaneously as it is being
performed
interval
the distance in pitch between two notes
jam
the act of coming together with other
musicians for the purpose of playing
music, often by improvising
key
the tonal centre and scale upon which a
piece of music is based
lyrics
the words of a song
MC
master of ceremonies (also, sometimes,
microphone controller); name given to
main rapper (for example, MC Wire, MC
Hammer)
melody
succession of sounds (involving patterns of
changing pitch and rhythm)
metre
the organisation of beats into a regular
pattern of stressed and unstressed beats
motif
a distinctive musical idea or theme, usually
consisting of only a few notes, which is
developed in a composition
notate
write music down
octave
the interval or distance from one note to
the next of the same pitch name; one sound
is half or double the frequency (vibrations
per seconds) of the other
ostinato
a repeated rhythm or melody; a musical
pattern which is repeated over and over
again
percussion
instruments which are struck or shaken to
produce sound
phrase
a coherent section of music (often four bars
long) ending in a cadence; a phrase may
include one or more motifs
pitch
the lowness or highness of a sound
(as determined by the frequency or
number of vibrations per second)
rap
an element of hip-hop, which emerged in
the 1970s among African-Americans in
New York; rhyming lyrics are ‘rapped’ or
chanted to a background accompaniment
rapper
a person who raps
riff
a musical pattern which is repeated
scale
a series of musical notes in order of pitch,
either ascending or descending
sentence
a passage of music containing two or more
phrases and having the feeling of a
complete statement, question or idea
staff
the five lines on which notes and other
musical symbols are written
tempo
the speed of the beat in a piece of music
timbre
the quality of a musical tone, for example,
thin, thick, light, dark, sharp, dull, smooth,
rough, warm, cold (also see tone colour)
time signature
two numbers placed on the staff to indicate
the metre of the bars which follow
xiii
xiv
tone colour
the distinctive quality of a given sound
which distinguishes it from other sounds
of the same pitch, dynamics etc., for
example, the violin which is plucked or
bowed, or the clarinet which is blown with
a reed; each instrument has a unique tone
colour which allows us to distinguish the
sounds it makes from those made on other
instruments (also see timbre)
tremelo arm
a lever attached to an electric guitar that
can temporarily loosen or lengthen the
strings, changing their pitch and creating a
vibrato effect
tonic
the first note of a scale; the pitch to which a
given piece gravitates; gives its letter name
to the key of a piece
up-beat
unaccented syllables or sounds (especially
the last beat of a bar) which begin a
musical phrase (also see anacrusis)
vibrato
rapid, small fluctuation in pitch creating a
pulsating effect
Music in Australia
The power of music to transcend as well as mark time and place is
remarkable. Just think of the variety of music from different times
and places that you have already listened and responded to.
In the first section of Music of our place you will begin to explore the
music of Australia and hear how music reflects its origins.
You will:
•
•
•
•
•
•
listen and respond to examples of music from Australia
compose a rhythm using body percussion
listen to wind instruments from Australia and Japan
conduct research using the Internet
explore the sounds of other common woodwind instruments
plan a composition about your place and experience.
Musical associations
Many styles of music began in one particular place and then spread to
other parts of the world. Some styles continue to be strongly linked to
their place of origin. For example, reggae music is still closely
associated with the West Indies and the sound of pipe bands with
Scotland.
Like most people, you can also probably recall music that you
associate with certain places and events in your life. This can be very
personal depending on where we first heard a style of music and
what was happening at the time.
Think about the kinds of music that you associate with events and
places in your life as well as with places around the world.
The following list of styles or genres may help you think of different
kinds of music. You can read about each one on the next pages.
a cappella, ambient music, art music, bluegrass, blues, choral music, classical music,
contemporary music, country music, electronic music, film music, flamenco, folk
music, funk, hip-hop, house music, jazz, musical theatre, orchestral music, pop, rap,
reggae, rhythm n blues (R&B), rock, salsa, world music
Music in Australia
1
Musical styles or genres
Below is a brief description of 26 musical styles or genres. If you
would like to find out more about any of them, you could conduct
your own research, for example, on the Internet.
2
Style or genre
Description
a cappella
vocal music or singing without accompaniment from
other instruments
ambient music
type of music with overall atmospheric mood, drawing on
various musical styles
art music
Western art music refers to church, concert and art
music of roughly the past 1 000 years spanning the
Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic
and 20th century art music periods
bluegrass
a style of folk music featuring acoustic banjo, fiddle, and
guitar, a fast tempo and finger picking style; associated
with southern areas of the US
blues
a style which emerged out of the era of slavery, evolving
from spirituals, work songs and chants of AfricanAmericans
choral music
music for choir or group of singers
classical music
broadly applied to Western art music (although the
Classical period of Western art music is 1730–1820);
commonly seen as distinct from pop music
contemporary
of the present; modern or up to date
country music
a style of popular music with roots in traditional folk
music; also known as country and western
electronic music
music that uses electronic equipment or devices to
produce sound
film music
music written to accompany a movie
flamenco
style of music and dancing originating in Spain often
featuring flamenco guitar, handclapping, foot stomping
and castanets
folk music
music associated with a people or an area; a kind of
popular music derived from traditional folk music
Style or genre
Description
funk
a style of African-American music evolving from
jazz/blues traditions; often with a heavy bass line that
accents the first beat of the bar (for example, music by
James Brown)
hip-hop
a style emerging in the 1970s among African-Americans
in New York; consists of rapping, DJing, breakdancing
and graffiti
house music
electronic dance music originating in the US in the 1980s
jazz
style originating among African-Americans and in its
development drawing on Western art music; relies on
improvisation, syncopation and strong rhythms
musical theatre
a form of theatre combining song, music, dance and
spoken word, usually to convey a story
orchestral music
music performed by an orchestra
pop
popular music; music designed to appeal to a wide
audience
rap
an element of hip-hop, which emerged in the 1970s
among African-Americans in New York; rhyming lyrics
are rapped or chanted to a background accompaniment
reggae
style of music from Jamaica, West Indies, with
syncopated rhythms emphasising beats 2 and 4 and a
heavy bass line which often improvises a melody
rhythm n blues
(R&B)
a style of music drawing on jazz and blues which
emerged among urban African-American musicians in
the US in the 1940s
rock
a form of popular music usually featuring vocals, electric
guitars, drums with a strong beat and simple melodies
salsa
up-tempo, hot, Latin American music and dance
incorporating jazz and rock elements (from Spanish
word for sauce)
world music
coined by the music industry to describe music from
anywhere in the world; combines traditional sounds of a
place with more modern pop elements
Music in Australia
3
Activity 1
Write the styles or genres of music you associate with each of the
places listed in the table below. Three examples are given. Change
the examples if you associate these places with other kinds of music.
Choose from the styles and genres listed on the previous pages or
include other kinds of music that you know. You may list more than
one for each place.
Places
Styles of music
The kitchen
Pop music
Your bedroom
The cinema
A park
A concert hall
Orchestral music
Australia
Latin America
Salsa
New York
England
Spain
Check your response by going to the suggested answers section.
Music can strongly reflect the time and place at which it was first
composed. When composers or musicians decide to make music,
they are in a particular place at a particular time and this can often
affect the way the music sounds.
Think about what you know about music in Australia.
The television show Australian Idol has brought many singers and
pop styles of vocal music into our living rooms. However this
represents only some areas of vocal expertise. There are many styles
of popular vocal music alone.
4
Discover the names of Australian composers by visiting the
Australian Music Centre website. Click on a composer’s name to
read about their experiences.
Australian Music Centre <www.amcoz.com.au/composers>
You may also find it useful to explore Australian musicians and
composers on the MusicAustralia website. Limit your searches to
‘online only’ and ‘people’.
MusicAustralia <www.musicaustralia.org>
Use the knowledge you gathered from the websites and your own
previous knowledge to complete the following activity.
Activity 2
1
List some well-known Australian musicians and composers.
You can list names you found on the Australian Music Centre
and MusicAustralia websites, include others that you know, or
search for more names on the Internet.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2
List some styles of music that you think may have originated in
Australia.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3
List some styles of music that have come to this country from
overseas and to which Australian musicians and composers have
contributed a unique Australian sound.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Music in Australia
5
A cultural mix
Australia is home to people from many different cultural
backgrounds. It is a multicultural society where you can find music
from all over the world.
Living in Australia are renowned musicians such as the Martinez
Brothers, Ashok Roy and Zulya Kamalova. Their music adds to the
rich variety of music created here.
The Martinez Brothers are a guitar trio from South America featuring
Andro Martinez and his two sons, Victor and Dauno.
Ashok Roy is a famous sarod player who came to Australia from
India. The sarod is a 25-string instrument that is shaped like a lute.
Zulya Kamalova has lived in Australia since 1991. She performs
traditional and original Tatar (or Tartar) songs from her homeland in
Central Russia.
Listen to ‘Saginou’ sung by Zulya Kamalova (Track 1 of the Music of
our place CD). Slap your thighs to the beat as you listen.
Map of the world. Ashok Roy from India, Zulya Kamalova from Central Russia and
the Martinez Brothers from South America have enriched the culture of Australia
<http://asherbilu.com/texts/sarod.htm>
<www.zulya.com/images.htm>
<www.abc.net.au/midnorthcoast/stories/s1053817.htm>
6
Activity 3
1
_Listen to ‘Saginou’ again and list the instruments in the order
they begin playing. The first instrument is already listed for
you. It is the kora, a string instrument from West Africa.
1 kora
2 ______________
3 ______________
4
5 ______________
6 ______________
______________
2
Circle the percussion instruments in the list of instruments above.
3
Listen to the kora melody at the start of the song. Does it move
up or down in pitch?
_______________________________________________________
4
In ‘Saginou’, Zulya sings in her native Tatar language. The word
‘saginou’ means yearning. What do you think Zulya might be
yearning for and how does the music capture this feeling?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
In the next activity, you create your own two-bar rhythm to
accompany ‘Saginou’.
A kora from Mali, West Africa
<www.civilization.ca/arts/resonance/images/res1_07a.jpg>,
<www.civilization.ca/arts/resonance/images/res1_07e.jpg>
Music in Australia
7
Activity 4
1
Improvise body percussion rhythms as you listen to ‘Saginou’
(Track 1) again. For example, you can click your fingers, slap
your thighs, stamp your feet and clap.
2
Write a two-bar ostinato rhythm to accompany ‘Saginou’. Write
the rhythm in the grid below using crosses to show each sound.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3
Decide on the body percussion sounds you will use to perform
your rhythm. Choose a pattern that you think works well with
‘Saginou’. Listen to the track as you decide which sounds to use.
4
Write your rhythm again using symbols to show the pattern of
body percussion sounds you used. Fill in the table underneath
to show the meaning of each symbol.
1
2
3
Symbols
5
4
1
2
3
4
Explanation
Practise your body percussion ostinato and then perform it with
‘Saginou’.
Self-assessment
Did your body percussion ostinato work well with ‘Saginou’? Why
or why not?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
8
Spirits Dance: the Wind of Change
The composition ‘Spirit’s Dance: the Wind of Change’ is a
collaboration between two Australian artists, Matthew Doyle and
Riley Lee. Their composition features wind instruments or
aerophones from two different cultures: the didjeridoo of Indigenous
Australia and the shakuhachi (pronounced shakoo-hatchee) of Japan.
Listen to ‘Spirit’s Dance: the Wind of Change’ (Track 2) performed by
Riley Lee (shakuhachi) and Matthew Doyle (didjeridoo).
Listen to the track again as you follow the pitch and movement of the
shakuhachi melody. Notice how it contrasts with the low tones of the
didjeridoo. Matthew Doyle’s didjeridoo provides a drone below the
melodies that Riley Lee creates on the shakuhachi.
•
•
Trace the melody of the shakuhachi with your hands.
Move to the shakuhachi or didjeridoo pattern.
The photograph below shows Matthew Doyle (left) and Riley Lee
(right) during the recording of Wild Honey Dreaming, the CD from
which ‘Spirit’s Dance: the Wind of Change’ is taken. In front of them
are several more didjeridoos and shakuhachis of different size.
Riley Lee recording Wild Honey Dreaming with Matthew Doyle,1993
<www.rileylee.net/photos_gallery01.html>
Lee and Doyle usually perform with more than one didjeridoo and
shakuhachi. The smaller or shorter the instrument, the higher the
pitch. The larger or longer instruments have a lower pitch.
In the next activity you find out about the shakuhachi and didjeridoo.
Music in Australia
9
Activity 5
Learn more about the didjeridoo (also spelt didgeridoo) and
shakuhachi by researching answers to the following questions.
1 What is the origin of the instrument?
2 What is the instrument made from and what does it look like?
3 How is the instrument played?
The two Internet sites below contain useful information. You may
also like to do your own search on the Internet.
The Viva Zone <www.mva.org.au/vivazone/instruments>
Riley Lee’s website <www.rileylee.net/shaku_about.html>
If you do not have access to the Internet, use other sources of
information such as books to complete your research.
Write a paragraph on what you discovered about each instrument.
The didjeridoo
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
The shakuhachi
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
10
Notating pitch
The song ‘Saginou’ began with a melody played on the kora. The
melody descended in pitch.
Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of a sound. A common way
that musicians notate the pitch of sounds is by placing the notes on a
staff. The higher up the staff, the higher the pitch of a note.
On the left of the staff above is a treble clef. A clef is drawn at the
beginning of each staff to indicate the exact pitch of the notes.
Another common clef is the bass clef. Notes in the bass clef are lower
in pitch than notes written in the treble clef.
The first seven letters of the alphabet are used to name the pitch of
notes: A B C D E F G. After ‘G’, the next note is ‘A’. There are eight
notes from any note to the next one with the same letter name, for
example, from one A to the next A. This interval is called an octave.
Beginning from the bottom line, the names of the notes on the treble
staff are: E F G A B C D E F.
Activity 6
1
Write the letter names under the notes on the treble staff above.
2
Circle the note that is highest in pitch.
3
What is the letter name of the note after ‘G’ going up in pitch?
_______________________________________________________
Music in Australia
11
Woodwind
In this unit you have listened to the sound of two wind instruments,
or aerophones, the didjeridoo and shakuhachi. Now become familiar
with the sound of other common woodwind instruments by
completing the following Composer Notes activity.
During this activity you will see music notated on the treble staff.
Many of the notes are written above and below the staff using extra
lines called ledger lines. These lines extend the staff so we can notate
sounds that are higher or lower in pitch than those written on the staff.
Notes written on ledger lines continue the same letter-naming
pattern (A to G).
Activity 7
12
1
Open Composer Notes and click on the Instrumentation icon to
go to the ‘Instrumentation guide’.
2
Click on the Woodwind icon to go the ‘Woodwind instruments’
page and then select ‘Comparison of Woodwind Instruments’.
3
On the page ‘Common Woodwind Instruments’ complete the
following steps.
a Look at the drawings of the flute, oboe, tenor sax, alto sax
and clarinet and compare the instruments.
b Click each speaker icon to hear examples of the instruments.
Listen to each example more than once. Compare the tone
colour of each instrument.
c Click on the name of each instrument to go to a related page.
– Look at the range of the instrument shown on the staff.
– Click on the speaker icons to listen to the range of the
instrument played upwards and downwards.
– Click the up arrow in the right-hand corner to return to
the ‘Common Woodwind Instruments’ page and select
another instrument.
4
Return to the menu page ‘Woodwind Instruments’.
(Click the Navigation button at the bottom of the page and
select ‘Instrumentation’ then ‘Woodwinds Main Menu’.)
5
Click on ‘Register, Articulation and Breathing’ and from the
drop-down menu select ‘Woodwind Pipes + fingering’.
6
Work through the next three pages:
a
b
c
7
Read the information.
Click on each musical example next to the pictures of the flute
and clarinet to hear the sound quality of each instrument.
Follow the notation as you listen to each example three times.
When you have completed step 6, exit Composer Notes.
Before going on, check that you covered the activity material.
In this activity in Composer Notes, I:
looked at the drawings of five common woodwind instruments and
compared the instruments
listened to the example of each woodwind instrument more than once
and compared the tone colour of each instrument
looked at the range of each woodwind instrument written on the staff
and listened more than once to the range played upwards and
downwards in pitch
read about how sound is produced on woodwind instruments
listened more than once to four examples of the flute and clarinet and
followed the notation.
Activity 8
1
Which instrument has a higher pitch range: the alto sax or tenor sax?
_______________________________________________________
2
List two ways a wind player can produce sounds of different pitch.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Music in Australia
13
Capture your place in music
During this section, you have listened to two examples of music from
Australia. Now imagine that you are an Australian composer who is
writing a composition that captures the sounds that represent your
place and experience.
Think about your place and the experiences that you have had.
List down your ideas below.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Go to the exercises section and complete Exercise 1.
Lets jam!
Select one or more body percussion sounds for this jam session.
Choose one of the rhythms you improvised as you listened to
‘Saginou’ or create a new rhythm. Perform it as you jam to Track 3.
Remember to improvise during the two solo breaks. These are the
bars when all other body percussion sounds stop and you only hear
the constant rhythm of the shaker and the sticks beating on the first
beat of the bar.
In this section you looked at some types of music from Australia.
In the next section you will discover some examples of Indigenous
music from Australia.
14
In this section you explore the music of the original inhabitants of
Australia and discover how storytelling underpins Australian
Indigenous music. You will also discover how contemporary
Indigenous music reflects its origins.
You will:
• listen to examples of Australian Indigenous music and listen to a
variety of didjeridoo players
•
•
•
•
•
•
research how the didjeridoo is made
use the Internet to learn about the band Yothu Yindi and other
Indigenous performance groups
listen to the song ‘My Kind of Life’ and learn to sing the chorus
learn about chords as well as about keys in music
play a body percussion part with the bass line of ‘My Kind of Life’
explore motifs in music.
At our place
In the previous section you read about how sounds and music come
out of a place. Our place is Australia.
Jack Davis, a Western Australian Indigenous poet, actor, dramatist
and author, summed up his attitude to music of our place in the
following poem.
I live in Australia,
I would hate to live anywhere else
but our place.
I would miss the sounds
the beautiful mingling musical sounds
of my people’s voices.
At our place.
Breen, M (1989) Our Place Our Music, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, p3.
In this poem, Jack Davis is referring to the voices of Indigenous
Australia — the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
15
Activity 1
1
List the styles of music you associate with Australian Indigenous
music.
______________________________________________________
2
Name some Indigenous musicians and groups.
(If you do not know any musicians, search the Internet or other
sources of information.)
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Indigenous language and music
Read the following story about language and the importance of
storytelling, song and dance to Australian Indigenous culture.
The Indigenous Australian cultures are the oldest living cultures in the
world. For millennia, Indigenous languages were spoken and sung; they did
not need to be written down so storytelling, song and dance became ways
that knowledge, traditions and law were passed from person to person,
generation to generation.
In 1788, there were about 250 to 300 languages in Australia, with 500 to 800
dialects. Now Indigenous languages are used in varying degrees across
Australia, reflecting the level of destruction of Indigenous cultures since
European invasion. Many of them are no longer spoken at all.
Extract from brochure accompanying ngaramang bayumi: an exhibition about
Indigenous Australian music and dance, Powerhouse Museum, 1997
Language and music are both forms of communication and
expression. Many contemporary Australian Indigenous musicians
also use their own local languages in the lyrics of songs so that these
languages continue to survive.
Dance and music, particularly singing, have always been an important
part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life and continue to be
with many Indigenous artists performing their music throughout
Australia and the world.
16
Indigenous music gained a strong profile in the popular music charts
with hit songs by bands such as Warumpi Band, Mixed Relations,
Coloured Stone and Yothu Yindi played on mainstream radio
stations. Yothu Yindi’s rise to fame in the 1990s did much to increase
awareness of Australian Indigenous music in the wider community.
The music of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
encompasses a variety of styles, from country to rap, but the sounds
particularly indigenous to Australia can be identified by the
characteristic instruments and singing found in the music of
Warumpi Band, Coloured Stone and Yothu Yindi.
Traditional Indigenous music making (centre); album covers of Warumpi Band and
Yothu Yindi
<www.australien-neuseeland.com/australienshop/index.php/cPath/39>,
<www.logosfoundation.org/etnische_muziek/ETNISCHE%20CULTUREN/
aborigines_didjeridu.jpg>, <www.manikay.com/albums/graphics/yy-tribalvoice.jpg>
Characteristic instruments
Traditionally, Australian Indigenous music features solo and group
singing accompanied by the drone of the didjeridoo and the sharp
click of percussion instruments such as clapsticks and boomerangs,
or the thud of thigh slapping. Instruments and singing styles vary
depending on the area and its people.
The sound of the didjeridoo and the clapsticks are most easily
identified with Indigenous music.
17
The didjeridoo
In the previous section you researched the origins of the didjeridoo.
You probably discovered that it was originally heard only in
Arnhem Land, northern Western Australia and Cape York but has
now travelled south into other areas and across the sea into other
countries.
The didjeridoo, often also spelt didjeridu or didgeridoo, is made
from a branch or trunk of a tree hollowed out by termites. It is
blown with vibrating lips to produce the sound.
By using circular breathing, players can produce long continuous
sounds. They breathe out through the mouth and breathe in through
the nose with a reserve of air in the cheeks. By varying their lips and
breathing, players can also produce higher notes as well as calls and
cries to mimic dingoes or bird sounds.
Top: didjeridoo from north-western area of Northern Territory
Bottom: didjeridoo from north-east Arnhem land, home of the Yolngu people
<www.ididj.com.au/exhibitions/neal.html>
<www.ididj.com.au/exhibitions/nwNT.hmtl>
Clapsticks
Clapsticks are two lengths of wood (usually hardwood) that are struck
together rhythmically to accompany the didjeridoo. Usually in
Central Australia two boomerangs are hit together for a similar
purpose.
A pair of clapsticks (bilma) made by Gayili Yunupingu of the Gumatj clan, northeast Arnhem Land
<www.hickssticks.com/clapsticks.html>
18
Activity 2
Use the Internet or other sources of information to find out how a
didjeridoo is made. After you have completed your research, write a
paragraph describing the process.
Useful information can be found by clicking on the link ‘Yirdaki
Making With Djalu Gurruwiwi’ at the following webpage:
Manikay.com <www.manikay.com>
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
19
Didjeridoo artistry
Many Australian Indigenous musicians have become well known for
their didjeridoo playing. The dawn of the millennium was heralded
by Matthew Doyle playing didjeridoo from the top of the Sydney
Opera House.
Other well-known didjeridoo players include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mark Atkins
Alan Dargin
Djalu Gurruwiwi
David Hudson
Rrawun Maymuru
Gapanbulu Yunupingu Mununggurr
Adrian Ross
Nathan Scott
Yomunu Yunupingu.
In the next listening examples, you will listen to Matthew Doyle and
other Indigenous artists and hear how they have taken didjeridoo
playing to new heights. You will also mimic the sounds of the
didjeridoo.
Virtuoso Didj
Listen at least twice to ‘Virtuoso Didj’ performed by Alan Dargin (Track
4). In this piece Alan uses a variety of ways of playing the didjeridoo.
Complete the following activity about what you hear in ‘Virtuoso Didj’.
Activity 3
Listen to ‘Virtuoso Didj’ as you respond to the following.
1
Describe some of the different sounds that Dargin produces on
the didjeridoo.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
20
2
How does the tempo (speed) of the music change during the
piece? Is it slow or fast at the beginning? Does it get faster or
slower?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3
Does Alan Dargin use any calls or cries? If so, are they short or
long sounds?
_______________________________________________________
4
Use graphic notation to show what happens in this example.
Find out more about Alan Dargin by visiting the following Internet
webpage.
<www.didjeridu.com/wickedsticks/voices/dargin.htm>
21
Mouthmusic
Breathing is important to both playing the didjeridoo and using vocal
sounds. In ‘Mouthmusic’, Matthew Doyle uses voice and didjeridoo.
Listen at least twice to ‘Mouthmusic’ (Track 5).
Activity 4
Listen to ‘Mouthmusic’ again and answer the following questions.
1
Describe the two main sound sources.
______________________________________________________
2
Write down the pattern of vocal sounds Matthew performs
before the didjeridoo joins in. The first sound is given for you.
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3
What do you notice about the vocal sounds that Matthew uses
immediately after the didjeridoo joins in?
______________________________________________________
4
5
List two other vocal sounds Matthew uses.
a
___________________________________________________
b
___________________________________________________
In which direction does the pitch of the first vocal sound
(brrrrrrrrrrrr) move? Does it move up or down in pitch?
______________________________________________________
6
Briefly describe the didjeridoo part in this piece.
______________________________________________________
22
Listen again to ‘Mouthmusic’ and join in by mimicking the
sounds that Matthew creates with his voice and the didjeridoo.
Think about other sounds you could use to accompany the
didjeridoo. Write them below.
__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
In the next exercise you create your own vocal part to perform with a
short didjeridoo recording.
Review a didjeridoo sample
Listen to other examples of didjeridoo playing and write a review of
at least one. You could listen to audio CDs/DVDs or audio/video
files on the Internet. Two suggested websites are given below.
Adrian Ross website <www.adrianross.com/>
At Adrian’s site find out more about the history of the didjeridoo,
listen to audio samples and view some video clips of his work.
The Didjshop <www.didjshop.com/shop1/>
From the ‘shopping’ page, listen to samples of didjeridoos (go to
‘Didgeridoos by Type’ and select a type) and audio CD tracks (go to
‘Other Products/Didgeridoo CDs’). To access the audio files, click
‘More Info’ beside an item (not all items include samples).
Note: the size of audio and video files on some websites may make
them unsuitable to access via a dial-up Internet connection.
Write a short review of at least one audio or video sample that you
heard or viewed. Name the sample and identify its source.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
23
Yidaki and bilma
In the next listening example you will hear music of the Yolngu
people from north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. It is
one of the places where the didjeridoo was traditionally played
before starting its journey south.
The Yolngu homelands consist of many different communities
including Yirrkala. Here, the didjeridoo is called ‘yidaki’ and the
clapsticks, ‘bilma’.
Map of Australia showing the home of the Yolngu people in North East Arnhem
Land and the community of Yirrkala
Listen to ‘Cora’ (Track 7) performed by the group Yothu Yindi.
It is an example of traditional singing accompanied by bilma
(clapsticks) and yidaki (didjeridoo).
‘Cora’ is a traditional song of the Gumatj people, one of the many
clan groups who make up the Yolngu people. The song relates to
contact with Europeans early last century. Yothu Yindi’s
performance of the song was recorded in 1996.
24
Activity 5
Listen again to ‘Cora’ and focus on the voice. Notice how it tends
to descend in pitch and stay within a small range of notes.
Draw lines that show how the voice moves at the beginning of the
song before the didjeridoo joins in.
Clapstick accompaniment
Listen to ‘Cora’ again and slap your thighs along to the beat. The
beats are grouped in threes. Count ‘1 2 3 1 2 3’ as you slap your
thighs.
Play the track again and listen for the clapsticks which are heard at
the end of the verse. Two clapsticks or boomerangs are often
played along with Australian Indigenous singing.
Make a pair of clapsticks using two lengths of wood or find two
sticks that make a good sound when struck together.
Play ‘Cora’ again and hit your clapsticks together on the beat to
accompany the didjeridoo and voice.
25
Yothu Yindi, Yolngu pioneers
Yothu Yindi is an Indigenous band from Yirrkala in North East
Arnhem Land. They became well known in the 1990s for their
original music combining traditional music and dance with a rock
band line-up.
They have performed throughout the world and keep up a busy
schedule of performance, recording and touring Indigenous
communities as well as international music festivals.
Yothu Yindi are closely associated with the Garma Festival.
This annual event is a celebration of Yolngu culture.
In the following activity you respond to questions about Yothu
Yindi and the Garma Festival. Research your answers by visiting
the following websites or conduct your own search on the Internet.
Yothu Yindi’s website <www.yothuyindi.com>
Go to ‘the band’ page: read the information on this page and on the
linked pages, ‘Yolngu homelands’ and ‘Band Members’ as well as the
‘Band Biography’. Go to ‘the Music’ page to listen to audio clips.
Garma Festival <www.garma.telstra.com>
Investigate the site including reading ‘About Garma’.
Go to the ‘Sound + Video’ page to view a selection of video clips
from the festival.
If you do not have access to the Internet, use other resources such as
books to find answers to the questions.
Yothu Yindi, led by Mandawuy Yunupingu, performing in concert
< www.yothuyindi.com/images/bandmembers/concert.jpg>
26
Activity 6
1
What does the name Yothu Yindi mean? ___________________
2
When did the band come together? ________________________
3
When was their album Tribal Voice released? _______________
4
Which clans are the members of Yothu Yindi from?
_______________________________________________________
5
What is the name for Europeans in the Yolngu language?
_______________________________________________________
6
Where is the Garma Festival held and how often?
_______________________________________________________
7
Who attends the Garma Festival and what happens there?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
8
What do you think is the purpose of the Garma Festival?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
9
Imagine you are a journalist sent to review Garma. Write a
paragraph about the events and performances that happened.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
27
My Kind of Life
In the song, ‘My Kind of Life’, Yothu Yindi describe how they have
travelled the world and invite their audience to join them in ‘making
things right’.
Listen to ‘My Kind of Life’ (Track 8) at least twice.
Follow the lyrics on the next page.
Activity 7
Listen to ‘My Kind of Life’ to answer the following questions.
1
This song is organised in a ‘verse and chorus’ structure.
Complete the outline of the structure by filling in the spaces.
Instrumental introduction 16 bars
Verse 1
Chorus
___________________
___________________
Instrumental break
___________________
Coda/Instrumental ending
2
In which direction does the melody move in each pair of lines of
the verse? Does the pitch go up or down?
______________________________________________________
3
In verse 1, the melody only goes up at the end of a line once —
on the word ‘wall’. In verse 2, on which two words does it
happen?
______________________________________________________
4
To whose way of life does the song refer.
______________________________________________________
28
29
Steel pans
In ‘My Kind of Life’, Yothu Yindi include the sound of a steel drum
or pan.
Activity 8
1
Where do steel pans come from? Use the Internet or other
sources of information to find out.
______________________________________________________
2
Why do you think Yothu Yindi use steel pans in this song?
______________________________________________________
3
What other instruments can you hear?
______________________________________________________
Play ‘My Kind of Life’ again and listen to the sounds of the steel pan.
If you are not sure what the steel pan or drum sounds like, you can
hear examples on the Internet. For example, listen to samples at
<www.jahpan.com/musicsamples.php>.
Steel pans
Photograph: Bruce Damer <www.damer.com/pictures/digicamera/pix2001/01TigerTrips/01-08-08-MusicCamp/Image49.jpg>
30
Chords and harmony
When several notes of different pitch are played together they form a
chord. Chords provide harmony — extra sounds to accompany a
melody. There are many different types of chords.
Chord symbols are often written above song lyrics and music to tell
musicians which chords to use to accompany the song.
Look back at the song sheet for ‘My Kind of Life’ and locate the
chord symbols — the letters written above the lyrics. The first chord
symbol you’ll find is ‘G’. It tells you to play the chord of G.
When you have located the chord symbols, complete the following
activity.
Activity 9
1
List the three chords used to accompany ‘My Kind of Life’.
_______________________________________________________
2
The same pattern of chords is repeated in the verses.
Write down the chords in the pattern.
_______________________________________________________
3
How many times is the chord pattern repeated in each verse?
_______________________________________________________
4
What is the chord pattern of the chorus?
_______________________________________________________
5
Which chord ends both the chorus and the verse?
_______________________________________________________
Play ‘My Kind of Life’ again and listen for the chord changes.
Follow the chord symbols on the song sheet.
31
In the next activity you will use the clapping sticks you made earlier
and body percussion to perform a rhythm from ‘My Kind of Life’.
Activity 10
1
Play the following rhythm using your clapping sticks.
The rhythm is played by the bass guitar in ‘My Kind of Life’.
1
+
2
X
+
3
x
x
+
4
+
x
1
+
2
X
+
3
x
x
+
4
+
x
2
Play ‘My Kind of Life’ and listen for the rhythm played by the
bass. Join in playing the rhythm on your clapping sticks.
3
Listen to ‘My Kind of Life’. Hear how the pitch of the rhythm
pattern changes as the song moves from one chord to the next.
4
Perform the rhythm using different body percussion to show
how the pitch of the accompaniment changes.
Begin by slapping your thighs (T), then tap your shoulders (S),
then hit your chest (C) and then slap your thighs again. The
pattern is written on the chart below.
1
+
3
X
x
x
x
T
T
T
T
+
3
X
x
x
x
C
C
C
C
1
+
+
2
2
+
+
4
+
4
+
1
+
3
X
x
x
x
S
S
S
S
+
3
X
x
x
x
T
T
T
T
1
+
+
2
2
+
+
4
+
4
+
Self-assessment
Did you keep time with the bass part as you performed your body
percussion rhythm? Rate your performance (5 = best performance).
1
32
2
3
4
5
Chords and keys
Most Western music is organised around one central tone or pitch.
This pitch is called the tonal centre or tonic.
What is the tonal centre of Yothu Yindi’s ‘My Kind of Life’?
(The song chords give clues. Which chord ends the verse and chorus?)
___________________________________________________________
Did you answer that the tonal centre was ‘G’? Yothu Yindi sing ‘My
Kind of Life’ in the key of G major.
Music in the key of G major is based on the following seven-note scale.
The scale begins on G and the notes move up in pitch order. The
seventh note is F sharp (#), a half-step higher than F. When playing the
scale, musicians usually end on the following G, the scale’s tonal centre.
G
A
B
C
D
E
F#
(G)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
(8 or 1)
Circle the numbers under the three notes that share the same letter
name as the chords in ‘My Kind of Life’.
Did you circle 1, 4 and 5? We can also use these numbers to refer to
the three chords in ‘My Kind of Life’. When the numbers refer to
chords, they are usually written in roman numerals. ‘My Kind of Life’
uses chords I, IV and V.
Activity 11
Write the roman numerals below the chord patterns from ‘My Kind
of Life’. The key is G major.
Verse:
G
D
C
G
___
___
___
___
Chorus:
D
C
G
___
___
___
Many songs are harmonised with the three chords: I, IV and V.
The letter names of the chords will depend on the key of the music.
33
Changing key
Musicians sometimes change the tonal centre of a song by putting it
into a different key. When you change the key, you make the song
lower or higher in pitch.
Why do you think a singer might want to change the key of a song?
Singers often change the key of a song so that the pitch suits the
range of their voice better. Shortly, you will learn to sing the chorus
of ‘My Kind of Life’ in another key. The recording is in the key of E
major.
Before you begin singing, complete the following activity about the
key of E major.
Activity 12
1
What is the tonal centre (tonic) of music in the key of E major?
______________________________________________________
2
What is the letter name of the first note in the scale of E major?
______________________________________________________
3
In the key of E major, what is the letter name of chord I?
______________________________________________________
4
‘My Kind of Life’ uses the chords I, IV and V. What chords
would a musician play to accompany the song sung in the key of
E major? Write down the letter names of the chords.
______________________________________________________
34
Sing the chorus
Listen to the song (Track 8) again before you begin singing the chorus.
Describe how the melody of the two lines in the chorus is similar.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Did you say that the melody has the same contour or shape in both
lines of the chorus? It steps downwards with some repeated notes.
Both lines of the chorus are also accompanied by the same chord
pattern. The rhythm of the second line is slightly different to the first
because the words are not the same.
The chorus is notated below. Notice the step movement of the melody
and the chord symbols, in the key of E major, written above the staff.
Learn to sing the chorus by following the recording on Track 9.
Listen first and follow the notation above.
Practise until you are confident singing the chorus with Track 9.
Use your clapping sticks to accompany yourself. Clap the rhythm of
the bass line as you sing.
Sing along with Yothu Yindi’s recording of ‘My Kind of Life’ (Track 8).
Did you notice the different key? Track 9 is in the key of E major while
Yothu Yindi sing in the key of G major (Track 8).
Which key do you think suits your voice better — G or E?
35
Motif
In this unit you have listened to and performed songs that use
repetition of musical ideas to create larger pieces. In the following
Composer Notes activity you learn about the motif, the smallest
musical unit, and how motifs can be developed into longer musical
phrases and sentences.
Activity 13
1
Open Composer Notes and click on the Instrumentation icon to go
to the ‘Composition guide’.
2
Click on ‘Motif, Phrase & Sentence’ and select ‘Concept- Motif 1’
from the pop-up menu.
3
Work through the next three pages about the motif, the smallest
musical unit.
a Read the information.
b Listen to the famous motif written by Beethoven.
c Identify the motifs in a musical example.
4
Work through the next two pages about the musical phrase, one
or more motifs or group of notes ending in a cadence.
a
b
36
Read the information.
Identify the phrases in a musical example.
5
Work through the next two pages about the musical sentence, a
collection of phrases.
a Read the information.
b Identify the sentences in a musical example.
6
Return to the Composition main menu by using the Navigation
button at the bottom of the page.
7
Click on ‘Motif, Phrase & Sentence’ and select ‘Activity vitransform a motif- 1- all levels’ from the pop-up menu.
8
Read about four ways to transform or change a motif.
9
When you have completed step 8, exit Composer Notes.
read about motifs, listened to Beethovens famous motif and identified
the motifs in a musical example
read about musical phrases and identified the phrases in a musical
example
read about musical sentences and identified the sentences in a musical
example
read of four ways to transform a motif and listened to examples.
Activity 14
1
Arrange the following musical elements from the shortest to the
longest element: phrase, sentence, motif.
1 ________________
2
2 _______________
3 _______________
Explain four ways that you could modify a musical motif.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Creating musical motifs
In the next exercise you create a short composition based on one or
more musical motifs. Before you begin, complete the following tasks.
1
Improvise short musical ideas as you clap, beat or hum a steady
beat. Repeat each idea several times.
a
Your musical ideas may be short rhythm or pitch patterns.
b
Each idea should consist of at least three notes and no more
than eight.
c
You may use any sound sources as you improvise.
37
2
Make a record of any interesting ideas in the space below.
3
Choose one or more of your motifs. As you perform the motif,
transform it in any of the ways you learnt about in the Composer
Notes activity.
Experiment with other ways that you could transform your motif.
Note any interesting methods you discover in the space above.
Lets jam!
Use your voice and clapping sticks for this jam session (Track10).
Clap a steady beat on your clapping sticks and use your voice to
improvise a short repeated melody or motif to the accompaniment.
The chord pattern follows the same chord pattern as the chorus from
‘My Kind of Life’.
In this section you were introduced to a variety of Indigenous music.
In the next section you look at the music of some Torres Strait Islanders.
38
In this section you will learn about music of the Torres Strait
Islanders. You will discover how singing plays an important role in
Torres Strait Islander culture.
You will:
•
•
•
•
•
learn about instruments from the Torres Strait Islands
listen to a selection of songs from the Torres Strait Islands
listen to and compare three versions of ‘My Island Home’
learn to sing ‘My Island Home’
listen to the sound of different types of guitar playing.
Locating the Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are located off the northern tip of the Cape
York Peninsula between Australia and Papua New Guinea. They are
famous for their coral atolls with white sandy beaches and crystalclear ocean as well as for singers such as The Mill Sisters and
Christine Anu.
Map of Australia showing the location of the Torres Strait Islands.
Inset: some of the many islands which lie in the Torres Strait
39
Researcher Dr Karl Neuenfeldt described the Torres Strait as
… the place in tropical far northeastern Australia where the waters of the
Pacific and Indian Oceans meet. It is also the place where the peoples of
Melanesia, Polynesia, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas came together
to work and live, and make music.
Zamiaykal, Mast, R (2000) Strike ‘Em! Contemporary Voices from the Torres
Strait,TSIMA Torres Strait Cultural Festival Committee, CD cover notes
Singing forms a special part of Torres Strait Islander cultural
expression. It is very much part of community life where both men
and women sing together in harmony. Songs such as Taba naba
accompany sit-down dances while other songs and music
accompany other dances such as the shark dance.
Two Torres Strait Islander men photographed in 1907 wearing dance costumes.
One man holds a drum warup and the other wears a crocodile-kingfisher mask
Stan Florek (2005) The Torres Strait Islands Collection at the Australian Museum,
Australian Museum, Sydney, p 39
Singing and dancing is usually accompanied by percussion
instruments. The following table lists three percussion instruments
that are commonly heard in Torres Strait Island music.
40
Instrument
Description
warup
an hourglass-shaped single-headed drum with a
watersnake skin; it is used to play the beat
gor
a rattle made from halved bean-like seeds from a kulap
vine; it is often carried and played by dancers
lumut or thram
a large horizontal bamboo slit drum which is struck
with thin bamboo sticks; it often accompanies singing
and dancing
From left to right: a warup with lizard skin drumhead, feathers and goa nuts,
collected in 1884; kulap rattle or gor, 1984; drawing of a lumut or thram
Stan Florek (2005) The Torres Strait Islands Collection at the Australian Museum, Australian
Museum, Sydney, p 23; <amol.org.au/collection/collections_index.asp>; York, F.A. (1990),
Children’s songs of the Torres Strait Islands, Owen Martin Publications, Bateman’s Bay, p 5
In the next activity you visit a website to view photographs of Torres
Strait dancing. You also have the opportunity to read about the
Torres Strait Islands and dances from the area.
If you do not have access to the Internet, ask your teacher to help you
access suitable photographs and information.
Activity 1
1
Go to OzOutback <www.ozoutback.com.au>.
2
Click on ‘Photos/Postcards’ in the menu on the left-hand side.
3
On the next page, scroll down and click on ‘Torres Strait Islands’.
4
Read about the Torres Strait Islands and study the map.
5
Click the link to ‘Torres Strait Dancing’ in the left-hand menu.
6
Read about Torres Strait Islander dances.
7
Click on the first thumbnail to display a full size image. Read the
caption above the image.
8
Click the ‘next’ arrow to view the next and subsequent full-size
images. As you view the images, look for the following.
9
-
Notice how the dancers hold the gor, the shaker made from
kulap seeds, which is used to accompany their dancing.
-
Notice the shark masks and other typical feather headdresses
worn by the dancers.
Click the link to ‘More Torres Strait Dancing’ and repeat steps 6-8.
The SBS television series RAN (Remote Area Nurse) is set in the Torres
Strait Islands and includes dance performances and a soundtrack
featuring traditional music. The TV series is also available on DVD.
Now let’s listen to some samples of music from the Torres Strait.
41
Songs from the Torres Strait
Listen to the following four tracks from the Music of our place CD.
As you listen to these examples of music from the Torres Strait Islands,
try to identify the sound of traditional instruments such as the warup,
gor and lumut (thram). Close your eyes and listen.
Track 11 ‘Awgadh Noe Ayimdhin’ sung by the Wongai Family
Warriors
Track 12 ‘Vailia Wara’ sung by Saibai Island State School
Track 13 ‘Up in the Sky’ sung by Izzie Shibasaki
This song is also known by the title ‘Are you from T.I.’
TI or Thursday Island (Waiben) is the commercial and
administrative centre of the Torres Strait Islands
Track 14 ‘Kaiyar Mabaig’ (‘Crayfish Diver’) sung by Ray Wymarra
Activity 2
Play the tracks again as you answer the following questions.
You can listen to the songs as many times as you need.
1
List the instruments you can hear in ‘Awgadh Noe Ayimdhin’
(Track 11).
______________________________________________________
2
List the instruments you can hear in ‘Vailia Wara’ (Track 12).
______________________________________________________
3
List the instruments you can hear in ‘Up in the Sky’ (Track 13).
______________________________________________________
4
The instruments used in ‘Kaiyar Mabaig’ (‘Crayfish Diver’)
recorded on Track 14 include warup, violin, viola, guitar, bass,
clapsticks, male voice, keyboard, mandolin and harmonica.
a
Which instrument solos in the opening section? ________
b
What do you notice about the end section or coda?
___________________________________________________
42
5
Write a paragraph on what you notice about music from the
Torres Strait Islands. What are its characteristics?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Activity 3
Choose one of the songs you enjoyed from the Torres Strait Islands
(Tracks 11-14) and complete the following task.
1
Improvise body percussion to accompany the beat of the song.
2
Move to the music as you listen to the track again. You may
stand up and move with your whole body or sit down and just
move your upper body.
3
Compose a series of movements to accompany the song.
Choose movements that suit the feeling of the music.
Develop more than one sequence based on the patterns you hear
in the music and the structure of the song.
4
Practise performing your movements with the recording until
you feel confident.
5
Make a record of the movements you created to accompany the
song. You might video your performance, take a series of
photographs to show the steps or write the steps down on paper.
43
My Island Home
In the mid-1990s Christine Anu had a hit with the song ‘Island
Home’. The song was first recorded nearly ten years earlier by the
Warumpi Band from Papunya, 200 km north west of Alice Springs in
Central Australia. It was originally called ‘My Island Home’ and
was written by Warumpi band member Neil Murray.
Find out more about the background of the song by visiting the
following page on Neil Murray’s website:
<www.neilmurray.com.au/pages/song_islandhome.html>
If you don’t have access to the Internet, use other sources of
information or ask your teacher for a printout of the webpage.
Write a summary of what you discovered about the background of
the song.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
The lyrics of the version sung by the Warumpi band differ slightly
from the later, more familiar version of ‘Island Home’ sung by
Christine Anu. The song describes how the singer is homesick in the
city and misses the island where he or she was born and raised. This
story is particularly appropriate for Christine Anu to sing as it reflects
her own experience. Indeed, it has become her signature song.
About Christine Anu
Christine was born in Cairns in 1970. Her parents were from the
Torres Strait Islands and, when she was ten years old, the family
moved there to live on the island of Mabuiag.
She came to Sydney to study dance at NAISDA (National Aboriginal
Islander Skills Development Association). After graduation she
danced for several years with the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the
Aboriginal and Islander Dance Theatre while developing her musical
career.
44
She is now well known for her great voice and has had several hit
songs during her career including ‘Party’, ‘Monkey & the turtle’, and
‘Island Home’ from her platinum debut album Stylin’ up, in 1995.
In the next activity, you compare three versions of ‘My Island Home’:
the original recording by the Warumpi Band and two versions sung
by Christine Anu.
Before you begin the activity, listen to each version at least twice.
Track 15 ‘My Island Home’ by the Warumpi Band (from Go Bush!,
1987)
Track 16 ‘Island Home’ by Christine Anu (from Stylin’ Up, 1995)
Track 17 ‘Island Home (Chant Mix)’ by Christine Anu (from Singers
for the Red Black &Gold - Yil Lull, 1998)
Activity 4
1
Describe the three versions of ‘My Island Home’. Write your ideas
in point form.
Consider a variety of musical elements. For example, you might
describe the tempo, instruments or tone colour, structure as well
as the musical style of each version.
My Island Home,
Warumpi Band
(Track 15)
Island Home,
Christine Anu
(Track 16)
Island Home (Chant
Mix), Christine Anu
(Track 17)
45
2
3
Match each version of ‘My Island Home’ to the style of music it
reflects.
My Island Home, Warumpi band, 1987
world fusion
Island Home, Christine Anu, 1995
country rock
Island Home (Chant Mix), Christine Anu, 1998
electronic pop
Compare the three versions of ‘My Island Home’ by describing
their similarities and differences. Use information from
questions 1 and 2 to complete your response.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
4
Which version of ‘My Island Home’ do you prefer and why?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
46
Song study
Listen to Christine Anu’s version of ‘My Island Home’ (Track 16).
Follow the lyrics written on the next page. Words in brackets are
sung in the Warumpi Band’s original version. Above the lyrics are
the chord symbols for the song in the key of D major.
After you have listened to the song, complete the activity below.
You will need to listen to the song again to complete your answers.
Activity 5
1
Write a sentence that sums up what the song is about.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2
Fill in the missing parts of the structure.
Introduction
Verse 1
Verse 2
Chorus
___________
Verse 3
___________
___________
Chorus x 4 times
Ending or coda (repeating part of the chorus)
3
List the chords used to accompany the song. What is the tonal
centre or tonic of the song?
_______________________________________________________
4
Draw the contour or shape of the melody in each line in the first
verse. Indicate the lines or phrases that have the same melody.
47
48
Singing the song
It is always a good idea to warm up your vocal chords before you
begin singing. Complete the following vocal warm-up exercise.
Vocal warm-up exercise
We are all able to sing — it’s just a matter of getting used to
producing a good sound. This requires practice and care. It’s like
driving a car; you need to look after it so it runs well.
Since we tend to hear our voices from inside our bodies, we need to
listen and learn how to warm up our voices in order to project a
good sound outside our bodies. Try the following steps.
1
Lie down and close your eyes. Imagine you are in a place where
you can relax (but not in bed or you may fall asleep). Imagine
you are lying by a river, in a forest or by the beach. Perhaps you
have a favourite spot somewhere.
2
Concentrate on your breathing. Breathe in and out evenly.
3
Now make a sound as you breathe. Listen to your breath and
make it even as you breathe in and out.
4
After a few breaths, make a long ‘aaah’ as you breathe out.
Do this a few times. Notice where your breath comes from.
Watch the rise and fall of the area around your abdomen.
5
Once you feel that you have a good sound, roll over to your right
side and slowly stand up, rolling up the spine.
Let your head relax forward and be the last part of your body to
be aligned.
As your head finally faces forward, let your jaw drop open and
make the sound ‘aaah’ again.
Remember to have the same relaxed feeling you had when you
were lying down.
6
Roll down your spine and slowly come up again the same way.
Do it a few times and notice how your sound improves.
Do this warm-up exercise before every music lesson. Do it at least
twice a week and you’ll notice your voice improve even more as you
start taking care of it.
49
Activity 6
Listen to Track 16 once more and follow the lyrics.
Focus on the vocal melody and how the pitch moves in each line.
Notice where the melody is repeated.
Learn to sing ‘My Island Home’ by practising the phrases and parts
demonstrated on Tracks 18–27. The content of each track is listed in
the table below. The song is sung in the key of A major.
With each recorded demonstration, complete the following steps.
1
2
3
4
Listen to the track at least twice.
Sing along with the recording several times.
When you feel confident, sing the phrase or phrases alone.
When you’ve mastered the melody, move on to the next track.
Stand up tall when you are singing. Open your mouth wide and
your sound will come out with the melodies of ‘My Island Home’.
Remember when you sing you are using your natural instrument.
Relax. There’s no need to worry. Allow yourself to do it.
Track
Part or phrase
18
Verse 1, phrase 1
19
Verse 1, phrase 2
20
Verse 1, phrases 1 and 2
21
Verse 1, phrases 1–3
Remember that phrase 3 has the same melody as phrase 1.
22
Verse 1, phrase 4
23
Verse 1 (all phrases)
24
Verse 2
Remember that this verse has the same melody as verse 1.
25
Verse 1 and 2
Listen carefully to the contour of the vocal melody.
26
Chorus
Listen carefully to the contour of the melody.
27
Verse 3
Pause the CD after each line of the verse and repeat the phrase.
Notice which lines have the same melody.
50
If you worked carefully through each of the phrases and parts
recorded on each of the tracks of the CD, you should now be able to
sing the whole song with confidence.
Sing ‘Island Home’ with Christine Anu (Track 15). She sings it in the
key of D major. Turn back to the songsheet to follow the lyrics.
Choose a rhythm to play during the verses and join in singing along
with the chorus.
Now that you have sung ‘My Island Home’ with others, it is time to
try a solo performance.
Listen to the backing track for ‘Island Home’ recorded on Track 28.
The accompaniment includes guitars, drums and backing vocals as
well as the melody line.
As you listen to the backing track, follow the listening guide below.
Listening guide
1
Instrumental introduction
2
Verse 1 (listen for the count-in 1 2 3)
3
Verse 2
4
Chorus x 2 times with backing vocals
5
Verse 3
6
Uh huh (5 times)
7
Instrumental section
8
Verse 2 (listen for the count-in 1 2 3) with backing vocals
9
10
Repeat My Island home with backing vocals to fade out
In the next exercise you will practise singing ‘Island Home’ with the
backing track and then record your performance.
51
Guitar sounds
The guitar plays an important role in the song ‘My Island Home’.
This instrument is often heard in rock bands both playing chords as
accompaniment to the singer and also featuring in solos.
In the following Composer Notes activity you listen to a number of
different guitar-playing examples.
Activity 7
1
Open Composer Notes then go to the ‘Instrumentation guide’ and
click on the guitar icon.
2
Read the instructions on the page ‘Guitar – Electric and Acoustic’
and then click on ‘Interactive Guitar Style Library’. A pop-out
menu will appear.
3
Select ‘Modern Rock’ from the pop-out menu and then ‘Modern
Rock Texture-1’ from the sub-menu.
4
Work through the next nine pages headed Modern/Progressive
Rock. Use the right arrow at the bottom of the page to go to the
next page. On each page complete the following tasks:
5
a
read the text (if you click on any text links, click on the ‘up’
arrow to return to the page)
b
listen several times to the musical examples (click either on
the notation or the speaker icon).
When you have finished reading about and listening to the
‘Modern/Progressive Rock’ examples, exit Composer Notes.
Think about which styles of playing you enjoyed listening to most.
Write your response to at least one example heard in the Composer
Notes activity on the lines below.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
52
In this activity in Composer Notes, I listened to nine examples of the guitar
including:
a shimmering arpeggio pattern woven around a rhythmic drone
a cascading pop riff with harmony
a percussive guitar example with driving pulse
a typical pop bridge passage using arpeggios which end on a sustained, long
note
a lyrical solo using a tremolo arm to bend pitches and add vibrato
fast-moving rock backing based on perfect 5th intervals
lyrical rock head over regular backing
a bridge passage which combines elements of the backing and solos from
previous examples
a very fast solo-guitar passage.
Lets jam!
Choose a variety of body percussion sounds for this jam session.
Perform a rhythm that you have played during this unit to jam to
Track 30. Improvise during the two solo breaks.
In this section you learnt about the music and people of the Torres
Strait Islands. In the next section you will look at contemporary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music.
53
54
In this section you will learn about contemporary Indigenous music.
You will discover how music plays an important role in Indigenous
culture.
You will:
•
•
•
•
•
•
listen to ‘Down River’ and rap along with the Wilcannia Mob
read and write rhythms using music notation
set words and phrases to rhythm
create a composition based on rhythms you invent from people’s
names.
learn about MIDI sequencing and homophonic textures
write your own rap and record your performance.
Recognising Indigenous talent
During this unit you have listened to several Australian Indigenous
musicians and groups. There are many, many more creative and
talented people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background,
not just in the field of music but in a wide range of endeavours. Each
year there are special events to acknowledge their achievements.
The Deadlys
Every year the Deadly Awards are held at the Sydney Opera House
to celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples in sport, the arts, entertainment and community
work. In 2005, Ernie Dingo hosted the evening and music awards
were given to such artists as Kev Carmody and Casey Donovan.
Message Sticks
Another annual event presented by the Sydney Opera House is the
Message Sticks Festival. This festival showcases the wealth of talent
of our Indigenous artists in film, art, music and performance.
55
In 2004, one of the highlights of the Message Sticks program was
River Rhythm Beatbox with its performances by young rappers from
Wilcannia, Bourke and Broken Hill in outback New South Wales.
These young performers were inspired by the annual visits of two
MCs from Sydney — Australian rappers MC Wire and Morganics.
River Rhythm Beatbox took place in The Studio at the Sydney Opera
House. Surrounding the performance area were video screens with
footage taken during the road trip that Morganics and Indigenous
artist MC Wire went on. Interviews and discussion with local people
complemented the rappers’ performances and made the audience
feel like they were on the road with Morganics and MC Wire,
visiting regional areas.
In order to get a sense of what it’s like to travel long distances as an
Australian band, try the following game on the Bush Mechanics
website. Your task is to get the band from Yuendumu (about 300
kilometres north west of Alice Springs) to Alice for a gig.
File sizes may make some resources on this website unsuitable for
accessing via a dial-up modem Internet connection.
Activity 1
Go to <http://www.bushmechanics.com/> and enter the site.
1
Before you begin the game, look at bush mechanic ‘Tricks’ and
listen to Francis Kelly’s story to help you prepare for the trip.
2
Click on ‘THE GAME’ on the home page and then follow the
instructions. This game is 700 KB and requires the Flash plugin.
The original television documentary Bush Mechanics tells the stories
of the Warlpiri desert men and the ingenious ways they keep their
cars going in the bush. Later a four-part television series was made.
3
Click on the ‘Music’ link in the top navigation bar and listen to
songs that feature in Bush Mechanics and read about the
musicians who wrote and performed them.
Audio files are mp3 format (1.2–2.1 MB) and require QuickTime,
Windows Media Player or some other suitable plugin.
4
56
Click on the ‘Warlpiri‘ link in the top navigation bar and read
about the Warlpiri people of Central Australia.
Down River
One of the groups of young rappers at Message Sticks 2004 came
from Wilcannia and had already made a name for themselves as The
Wilcannia Mob. Their song, ‘Down River’, received a lot of airplay
on Triple J. It describes what they do on a typical day.
Rapping is rhythmic talking and comes naturally to many people
since it is an extension of speaking. You just emphasise the rhythm
or rhyme of the words.
Listen to the song ‘Down River’ (Track 31). After you listening to the
track once, play it again as you clap and move to the beat.
Activity 2
Listen again to ‘Down River’ as you respond to the following.
1
Make a list of the rappers names as they introduce themselves.
______________________________________________________
2
List some of the activities the rappers mention.
______________________________________________________
3
Each verse and chorus has four lines. Which lines end with
words that rhyme?
______________________________________________________
4
Choose the stanza (group of four lines) that you enjoy the most
and write down the words that end each line.
______________________________________________________
Play ‘Down River’ again and whisper the words rhythmically as you
listen. Do this at least twice. The lyrics are written on the next page.
Perform along with the recording by the Wilcannia Mob when you
feel confident. Use a strong, confident voice and make your speech
rhythmical.
57
58
Exploring rhythm
Rhythm is one of the basic elements of music and an important part
of rapping. Rhythm relates to the duration of sounds and silence
and the way in which we group these into regular patterns. Some
sounds are accented while others are less stressed.
Rhythm can be found in many activities throughout our lives
whether it is in the rhythm of our steps or the beating of our hearts.
Think about some everyday activities that have rhythm. Riding a
bicycle, for example, has rhythm. Write down your ideas.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Notating rhythms
Rhythms are often written down using a special set of symbols
notated on a staff. These symbols enable people throughout the
world to communicate musical ideas.
Find out more so that you too can participate in musical exchange.
Listen to the following rhythms recorded on Track 32 and then
perform them using any sound source. There is a count in before
each rhythm begins.
Notice that the rhythms are written on one line of the staff. You can
read about the staff and other symbols on the next page. You should
already be familiar with some of these symbols.
59
Now read about the symbols that indicate sounds and silence of
different duration.
Rhythm symbols
The chart below shows five different rhythm notes and their values.
Each note is shown with its matching rest (indicating silence in music).
Different rhythm names have developed in different countries. This
chart lists both the British and American names, although the British
names are most often used in Australia.
Rhythm chart
Note
60
British Name
Value
American Name
semibreve
4 beats
whole note
minim
2 beats
half note
crotchet
1 beat
quarter note
quaver
1/2 (half) beat
eighth note
semiquaver
1/4 (quarter) beat
sixteenth note
Rest
The rhythm chart shows the notes and rests in order of duration.
The semibreve, with the value of 4 beats, is the longest.
The semiquaver, with only a quarter of a beat, is the shortest.
Each note and rest is half as long as the previous one. For example, a
minim has two beats and lasts twice as long as a crotchet, which has
only one beat.
Have you noticed that the shorter a note’s duration, the more
complex its symbol? Compare the notes in the chart. Use the terms
in the diagram below to describe the symbols.
Different parts of a quaver note
Tail groupings
When quavers and semiquavers occur within the same beat, the tail
is replaced by a beam which joins the stems together.
becomes
and
becomes
Compare the rhythms below. The two rhythms are identical.
However, the second example is much easier to read because the
beats are clearly visible.
Listen to the rhythm performed on Track 33 and read the top
rhythm. Play the track again and follow the second rhythm.
Clap the rhythm yourself. Do you agree that it is easier to read the
rhythm that has the tails joined to show the beat?
Study the names and values in the rhythm chart and then complete
the activity on the next page.
61
Activity 3
1
2
Fill in the missing number to make the values match. The first
one has been done for you: one crotchet matches the value of
two quavers (one beat equals two half beats).
1 crotchet
=
2
quavers
4 semiquavers
=
___ quavers
8 quavers
=
___ semibreve
4 crotchets
=
___ minims
1 semibreve
=
___ crotchets
4 quarter notes
=
___ quavers
2 half notes
=
___ quarter notes
1 whole note
=
___ eighth notes
8 sixteenth notes =
___ half note
8 eighth notes
___ sixteenth notes
=
=
___ whole note
Complete the following descriptions of note symbols.
a
A semiquaver has ______ tails.
b
A ________________ has no stem.
3
Beside each note below, draw its equivalent rest.
4
Rewrite the following rhythm notes joining the stems together.
a
b
62
You can read about music notation and listen to rhythm examples at the
following website.
San Francisco Symphony Kids’ Site <www.sfskids.com/>
1
Go to ‘The Music Lab’ and then click on ‘Basics’.
Read the text next to the conductor and click on ‘Start’.
2
Work through the next 14 pages to read about the following:
a the staff
b treble and bass clefs
c bar or measure
d time signature
e beats and measures
f pitch and duration
g whole note, half note, quarter note and sixteenth note.
3
Click on ‘Rhythm’ and read about ‘What’s Rhythm?’ then click
on ‘Go experiment with rhythm’.
4
Follow the instructions to listen to rhythms 1–4.
Play along by slapping your thighs or clapping.
5
Click on ‘More’ to listen to rhythms 5–8. Follow the instructions
to snap your fingers, dance, count and march to each rhythm.
6
Exit the website after completing the activity.
Activity 4
Complete the description of the following rhythm by filling in the
eight blank spaces with appropriate musical terms or words.
The rhythm is written on a __________ in the _________ clef. The
________ signature indicates that there are three crotchet (or quarter note)
_________ to the bar. The rhythm is four ________ long.
_______ bars
have the same rhythm pattern. The last bar ends on a crotchet _______. A
double bar line marks the _______ of the rhythm.
63
Clap the following rhythms with the recording on Track 34.
A woodblock plays four beats at the beginning and between each rhythm.
The rhythms are written on a single line instead of the five line staff.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Perform the rhythms by yourself when you feel confident.
Make sure that you keep a steady beat.
In the next exercise you choose two of these rhythms to arrange into
a composition. You then practise and record your performance.
64
Matching rhythms to words
In preparation for creating and notating your own rap, explore how
you can create and notate rhythms from words.
Feel the rhythm of the following six words. Say each word aloud.
Mariette
Emma
John
Michael
Australia
Uluru
When creating rhythms from words, you need to think about:
•
•
the syllables that occur in each word
where the strong accents occur.
The six words are written again below with the syllables separated
by hyphens (-). Notice that ‘John’ only has one syllable.
Ma-ri-ette
Em-ma
John
Mi-chael
Au-stra-li-a
U-lu-ru
Say the words aloud rhythmically while you clap a steady beat.
Rhythms that match each word are written in the grids below.
Your rhythms may have been different. Notice that the rhythm for
the word ‘Australia’ begins on an up-beat.
Listen to each rhythm as it is clapped on Track 35. Repeat each
rhythm by yourself and say the names aloud as you clap.
1
Mariette
Australia
x
X
+
3
+
4
+
+
4
+
+
X
+
2
+
3
+
4
+
2
+
3
+
4
X
X
+
1
x
X
1
Uluru
2
3
X
1
Michael
+
+
X
1
John
2
X
1
Emma
+
X
+
+
2
X
2
+
+
3
x
X
3
+
+
4
4
+
X
65
Activity 5
Rewrite the following rhythms using conventional rhythm symbols.
Write the words underneath the rhythm and put a hyphen between
syllables. The first rhythm has been done for you.
1
Mariette
Australia
+
2
+
3
x
X
+
3
X
1
Uluru
2
X
1
Emma
+
+
4
+
+
4
+
+
4
+
X
+
2
X
+
3
X
+
1
x
X
+
X
2
+
3
x
X
+
4
66
Up-beat lyrics
Not all song words begin on the first beat of the bar because some
words and phrases do not stress the first syllable. Here’s one
example you are already familiar with:
___
Au – stra – li –
a
Unstressed words or syllables that occur before the first full bar or
measure are called an up-beat or anacrusis.
Listen to the last verse of ‘Down River’ (Track 36). Each line of the
verse begins with an up-beat. Follow the notated example below.
Try performing the verse yourself as you clap the rhythm.
Activity 6
On the music notation above, circle the up-beat (words and rhythm
notes) that begins each line of the verse.
In the activity on the following page you create your own
composition based on name rhythms that you invent.
67
Activity 7
1
Write your name placing a hyphen between each syllable.
_______________________________________________________
2
Say your name aloud and decide which syllables are stressed.
Put a line above the stressed syllables.
3
Clap the beat and say your name rhythmically once every four
beats.
4
Decide if the rhythm of your name begins with an anacrusis (or
up-beat).
5
Write the rhythm of your name in the rhythm grid below.
a Print your name in the left-hand box.
b If the rhythm of your name begins with an anacrusis add the
necessary beats at the beginning of the rhythm.
c Notate the rhythm of your name by placing ‘x’s below the
appropriate beats.
Name
5
+
2
+
3
+
4
+
Create six rhythms from names of people you know (family,
friends, or even yourself). Write the names in the first column.
Name
68
1
1
+
2
+
3
+
4
+
6
Play the rhythms on your chart using a different vocal or body
percussion sound for each rhythm.
7
Practise playing the rhythms until you feel confident.
8
Make an arrangement of your rhythms that is at least 8 bars long.
a
b
c
9
Decide in which order you will perform the rhythms.
Use all rhythms at least once (you will need to repeat one or
more rhythms).
Choose the sound sources you will use to perform the
rhythms.
Make a record of your new arrangement in the space below .
10 Practise your arrangement and, when you feel secure, record
your performance.
Self-assessment
1
What did you discover about your ability to create rhythms from
words?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2
What were the strengths of the arrangement you created?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3
What were the strengths of your recorded performance and
what could you do to make it better?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
69
Rhythm phrases
Now that you have turned words into rhythms, it’s time to create a
rhythm from a whole phrase.
A simple way to start is to clap the beat and then say the phrase
aloud rhythmically. Remember to be aware of the syllables that occur
in each word and recognise where the accents or stresses occur.
Listen to the following examples performed on Track 37 and join in
clapping and saying the phrase.
I am studying mu-sic.
1
2
3
X
X
X
I
am
stu–dy-
x
4
1
2
3
4
X
X
X
ing
mu -
sic
I live in Sydney near the beach.
1
2
X
X
I
live in
x
3
4
1
2
3
4
X
X
X
X
X
Syd -
ney
near
the
beach
The next phrase is from the rap ‘Down River’. It is the last line of the
chorus. The stressed words have a line above them.
Clap the beat and say the phrase aloud rhythmically.
Practise until you can perform it confidently.
___
___
When we get
home
we
___
___
play some
didj.
Rap along with the recorded extract on Track 38.
The phrase is heard three times. Follow the rhythm chart below.
1
X
x
When we
2
3
x
X
get
home
4
x
we
1
2
3
4
x
x
X
play
some
didj
In the following activity, you create your own rhythms from phrases.
70
Activity 8
1
How many bars in each of the rhythms on the previous page?
______________________________________________________
2
Rewrite the rhythms on the previous page using conventional
rhythm symbols. Write the words underneath the notes.
3
Complete the following pair of phrases by adding the three
missing words. Write the missing words in the spaces as well as
in the rhythm grid below.
Each word you choose must fit the rhythm shown in the rhythm
grid and make sense in the context of the phrase.
Up in the ____________ and out the door,
Wont be __________________ til half past _________.
1
2
3
X
X
x
Up
in
the
1
2
X
X
Wont
be
X
x
3
x
X
x
4
1
2
3
X
X
X
X
and
out
the
door
4
1
2
3
X
X
X
X
til
half
past
4
4
71
4
Turn the following phrase into a rhythm that is two bars long.
Pedal faster going down hill.
5
a
Clap a steady beat and say the phrase aloud rhythmically.
b
Mark the syllables in the words and the stresses or accents in
the phrase.
c
Tap the beat and clap the rhythm of the phrase as you say it
aloud.
Write the rhythm you created for the phrase in the rhythm grid
below. Add the words correctly underneath the rhythm.
1
6
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Write the phrase you created on the single line staff below.
Add the words below the rhythm notes.
Self-assessment
What did you discover about your ability to turn a short phrase into
a rhythm?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
72
Songwriting
Many well-known songs are written as a collaborative effort.
Sometimes one person comes up with the lyrics and another person
creates the melody. Sometime the whole band creates the music
together.
There are many famous songwriting teams in which one person
writes the lyrics and another the music. Some famous songwriting
teams include Rodgers and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, Ira and
George Gershwin, and Lennon and McCartney. Vanda and Young
are a well-known songwriting team from Australia.
Songwriters often start writing their songs from the lyrics. This is
what you will do in the next exercise. You will create your own rap
about what you do on a typical day.
Think about the activities that you like to do. Make a list below.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
You may also complete the Extension exercise 7. In this optional
exercise you notate your rap. Your teacher might ask you to
complete it.
73
MIDI textures and sequencing
Background tracks for rapping are often made using a MIDI
sequencer program.
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and refers to a
method or protocol that allows electronic music devices such as
synthesizers, samplers, sequencers or drum machines to
communicate with one another and with computers.
A MIDI sequencer program is software that allows you to record and
play back MIDI instrument sounds. These sounds can be laid in
multiple tracks or layers, edited and arranged (sequenced) to create a
composition. Examples of this type of software include Logic and
ProTools. GarageBand for the Mac also has the capacity to act as a
MIDI sequencer.
In the following Composer Notes activity you look at how you can use
a computer MIDI sequencing program to create a backing track.
Activity 9
1
Open Composer Notes and click on the ‘Composition’ icon to go to
the ‘Guide to composition modules’ page.
2
Click on ‘Homophonic MIDI Textures & Sequencing’ and choose
the second option from the drop-down menu: ‘Homophonic
Textures + MIDI Sequencing’.
The page which appears is headed ‘Homophonic MIDI Textures
& Sequencing’.
3
Read paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 to find out more about texture and
sequencing. (You don’t have to read paragraph 3. It talks about
a MIDI Project which you are not required to complete.)
4
Watch two demos about sequencing by clicking on the TV icons:
5
74
a
Demo showing assembly of preselected elements and
addition of melody
b
Demo showing creating new layers within an existing MIDI
Texture.
When you have finished, exit Composer Notes.
Before you go on, check that you covered all the material in this
activity.
read about texture and sequencing
watched a video about putting together preselected elements to create a
backing and adding a melody to a MIDI file
watched a video about creating new layers within an existing MIDI texture.
Activity 10
Write ‘T’ or ‘F’ beside the following sentences to indicate whether the
statements are true (T) or false (T).
1
MIDI software can be used to create homophonic
musical backings.
________
2
An example of homophonic texture is a single melody
line with supporting accompaniment
________
3
Generally when using sequencers, composers start by
assembling the drums, bass and chords.
________
In MIDI programs, you can use pre-existing elements
or record new elements such as melodies.
________
Usually a lot of editing occurs in the sequencing
program to achieve the best overall musical effect.
________
6
You can extend a layer element by repeating it.
________
7
Sequencing programs make it easy to experiment with
musical textures.
________
8
You can thicken homophonic textures by adding new
layers or tracks.
4
5
9
________
You can use the sequencer’s editing tools to transpose,
rhythmically alter or embellish new parts.
________
10 Some MIDI sequencing programs allow you to display
your composition in different views (for example,
score view and arrange view).
________
If you have access to a computer MIDI sequencer program, try
creating your own backing for the rap you created.
75
Lets jam!
Rap along to the backing track (Track 39) for this jam session.
Use the phrases you wrote about your daily activities or improvise
new phrases as you go. Try to create rhymes as you rap.
When you feel comfortable with your performance, record it.
This is the end of the final section of Unit 2 Music of our place. In this
section you looked at contemporary Indigenous music. Throughout
the unit you explored the music of Australia and in particular the
music of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In the next unit you will look at the music of our region.
76
Suggested answers – Unit 2
Check your responses against these suggested answers. These may
be more detailed than yours. Also some answers will vary because
often there is not one correct answer, but rather different supportable
opinions.
Music in Australia
Activity 1
The musical styles listed below are suggested responses only. You may associate
each place with other styles of music through your own experiences.
Places
Styles of music
The kitchen
Pop music
Your bedroom
Rap, hip-hop, classical
The cinema
Film music
A park
Brass band music
A concert hall
Orchestral music, rock music, classical music, art music
Australia
Rock, pop, Indigenous music, country
Latin America
Salsa, tango, cha-cha, lambada, merengue
New York
Hip-hop, jazz, funk, R&B, contemporary, musical theatre
England
Punk, folk, musical theatre
Spain
Flamenco
Activity 2
1
Sandy Evans, Jimmy Barnes, James Morrison, Olivia Newton-John, Peter
Sculthorpe, Matthew Hindson, Graham Koehne, Betty Beath, Miriam Hyde,
David Page, Jimmy Little are just some of the names you may have listed.
2
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, Australian contemporary music
3
Pop, rock, jazz, rap, hip-hop, country, art music and many others
Suggested answers
77
Activity 3
1
Kora, drum, finger cymbal, voice, shakers, piano
2
There were three percussion instruments to circle in the answer to question 1:
drum, finger cymbal and shakers (the piano is also often included in the
percussion family although its sound is produced by small hammers hitting
strings rather than by causing a membrane or solid object to vibrate).
3
At the beginning of ‘Saginou’, the kora melody moves downwards in pitch.
4
‘Saginou’ is about yearning for loved ones in her homeland of Tatarstan; some
ways that the music suggests yearning include: the falling melody lines, the
long notes sung by Zulya at the end of phrases, the rocking pattern of the
ostinato played on the kora, the tone colour of the voice and the kora.
Activity 5
The didjeridoo
Some say the didjeridoo has been played for many thousands of years although
other say the evidence only dates back 2000 years. It was originally only heard in
Arnhem Land, northern Western Australia and Cape York. It then spread to other
areas. It looks like a long tube and is made from a hollowed-out tree branch or
trunk. Sound is produced by blowing with vibrating lips; the player uses a
technique called circular breathing to produce continuous sound.
The shakuhachi
The shakuhachi originated in China and was brought to Japan in the 8th century.
It is a bamboo flute and has five finger holes: four on the front and one at the back.
The shakuhachi is held vertically and sound is produced by blowing into the top
end across a v-shaped groove which forms a blowing edge or mouthpiece.
Activity 6
1
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
2
3
‘A’ comes after ‘G’ (you start again from the beginning of the alphabet).
Activity 8
1
The alto sax has a higher pitch range than the tenor sax.
2
Woodwind players can produce sounds of different pitch by:
a opening or closing holes along the body of the instrument
b changing their embouchure (how they purse their lips or hold their mouth).
78
Activity 1
1
Traditional Australian Indigenous music, country, rock, rap, pop, dance
2
Christine Anu, Troy Cassar-Daley, Casey Donovan, Archie Roach, Kev
Carmody, Yothu Yindi, Mandawuy Yunupingu, Warumpi Band, Coloured
Stone, Mixed Relations, Jimmy Little, Ruby Hunter, Harold Blair, Matthew
Doyle, No Fixed Address, Maroochy Barambah, Delmae Barton, Deborah
Cheetham and many more.
Activity 2
Making a didjeridoo
To begin making a didjeridoo, you have to find a suitable tree, such as a stringybark. Tap on the trunks until you find one that is hollow. After cutting it down,
cut off the top so the trunk is a suitable length. Strip off the bark and carve the
outside. Clean out the inside of the trunk so that it is completely hollow and file
down the mouthpiece to make it smooth for playing. Carve inside the bottom of
the trunk to create a flared end to help amplify the sound. Some didjeridoo
makers soak the trunk so as to prevent if from cracking later and to soften it up for
further carving. After it is dry, shape the outside as necessary and then sand the
instrument. Some instruments are also treated to help preserve them. The final
step is to paint the instrument. The didjeridoo gets played at each stage of its
development.
Activity 3
1
Some of the sounds Dargin produces on the didjeridoo include pulsating
sounds, sounds like the cry of a bird, a foghorn, a dog barking and a loud
‘toot’ at the end.
2
The music begins slowly and gets faster.
3
Dargin uses calls and cries; they are short.
4
Graphic notation responses will vary widely. You should have included
symbols to show the various sounds that Dargin produces such as the cry of a
bird, dog bark or fog horn. Your notation should also show that the music
gets faster and ends with a loud toot.
Suggested answers
79
Activity 4
1
The two main sound sources are didjeridoo and voice (vocal percussion).
2
Below is one way you may have written down the pattern of vocal sounds:
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
aah aaaaaah aah aah ahh
aah aaaaaah aah aah ahh
huh huh
3
Matthew repeats the same pattern of vocal sounds after the didjeridoo starts
playing.
4
Michael uses several other vocal sounds. Two of these sounds could be
written as follows.
a ssshhh
b szt
5
The first vocal sound (brrrrrrrrrrrr) moves down in pitch.
6
The didjeridoo plays a drone under the vocal part. High pitched calls or cries
occur at the start, in the middle and at the end of the piece.
Activity 5
The following lines show how the voice moves at the beginning of ‘Cora’.
Activity 6
1
The name Yothu Yindi means child and mother.
2
1986
3
1991
4
Gumatj and Rirratjingu
5
Balanda
6
The Garma is held at Gulkula in North East Arnhem Land overlooking the
Gulf of Carpentaria; it is held annually.
7
Yolngu and other Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples from around the
world come together at Garma. They share knowledge and culture and
celebrate Yolngu culture including by attending workshops, masterclasses,
ceremonial performances, demonstrations, talks and forums.
8
The purpose of Garma is to celebrate Yolngu culture, provide an occasion for
cultural exchange between Indigenous and non-indigenous people and an
opportunity for learning. ‘The festival is designed to encourage the practice,
preservation and maintenance of traditional dance, song, art and ceremony
through music and dance.’ (www.garma.telstra.com/aboutgarma.htm)
80
9
Your response will vary depending on the events and performances you read
about or were able to listen to. You may have included information you gave
in questions 7 and 8.
Activity 7
1
The missing sections were: verse 2, chorus and finally chorus x 2 (or 2 times).
2
The pitch moves downwards in each pair of lines in the verse.
3
In the second verse, the melody goes up on the words ‘reality’ and
‘beginning’.
4
The song refers to the way of life of the Yolngu people.
Activity 8
1
Steel pans come from the Caribbean (West Indies).
2
To evoke the feeling of being near the sea.
3
Drums, shaker, guitar, bass guitar, voice
Activity 9
1
The chords G C and D are used.
2
The chord pattern in the verse is G D C G .
3
It is played five times in the first verse and four times in the second verse.
4
The chord pattern of the chorus is D C G D C G (or D C G played twice).
5
G
Activity 11
1
Verse
I
V
IV
I
Chorus
V
IV
I
Activity 12
1
E
2
E
3
E
4
E, A and B
Activity 14
1
motif, phrase, sentence
2
repeat the motif over and over (ostinato)
play the motif backwards (retrograde)
play the motif slower, for example, twice as slow (augmentation)
play the motif faster, for example, twice as fast (diminution)
Suggested answers
81
Activity 2
1
Guitar, female and male voices, warup and gor are heard in ‘Awgadh Noe
Ayimdhin’.
2
Children’s voices, male voice, gor, warup are heard in ‘Vailia Wara’.
3
Gor, ukulele, harmonica, male voice, accordion are heard in ‘Up in the sky’.
4
a The violin solos at the opening of ‘Kaiyar Mabaig’.
b The violin section from the beginning returns in the end section or coda.
5
The music features vocals often singing in harmony. The melodies are lyrical
and the rhythms are even. The percussion instruments are played on the beat.
Alongside instruments such as the guitar, they also play the traditional
warup, gor and lumut.
Activity 4
1
82
Warumpi Band version
Christine Anu version
Christine Anu’s Chant Mix
Tempo is moderate with
Fast, short rhythm notes
Tempo is similar to the
a laid-back country rock
of the accompaniment
other versions.
beat; during verse 3 the
give the feeling of a fast
Features female soloist with
accompaniment doubles
tempo; the repeated
male/female backing
time (plays twice as
notes give a driving feel
vocals; clapsticks keep the
many notes per beat)
to the beat.
beat along with rhythms on
giving the feeling of
Female singer with
shakers, hi-hat and drums
speeding up the tempo,
main female backing
including warup; backing
in the next chorus the
but also male vocals;
features sythesizer or other
drumming becomes a
instrument include
electronic sounds also later
heavier rock style.
drums and synthesizer
guitar; vocal backing
Song features a male
and also clapsticks.
provides the main harmony
singer with male
Structure: Intro, V1, V2,
in verse 3.
backing vocals, acoustic
Chorus x 2,
Structure: Intro, V1, Chorus,
guitar, a ‘twangy’
Instrumental adding
V2, Chorus x 2, V3 (with
electric guitar, organ,
‘ah-huh’ element, V2,
repeated phrase), middle
bass guitar and drums.
Chorus x 4, Ending.
section in an Indigenous
Structure: Intro, V1 V2
The introduction begins
language, V2, Chorus x 5,
Chorus, V3
with the sound effect of
Ending.
Instrumental, V2,
water lapping on the
Soft rhythmic chanting in
Chorus, V3, Chorus,
metal hull of a boat.
an Indigenous language,
Ending.
This version is in a
clapsticks, warup and
The instruments, style
different key to the
modern pop sounds reflects
of accompaniment and
Warumpi Band version
world music style.
tempo create a country
and has more of a pop
The melody of the song is
rock feel.
music feel.
embellished or improvised.
2
3
My Island Home, Warumpi band, 1987
world fusion
Island Home, Christine Anu, 1995
country rock
Island Home (Chant Mix), Christine Anu, 1998
electronic pop
Your answer should include information given in your answers to question 1
and 2.
Activity 5
1
The song describes how someone longs for the sea while living in the city.
2
The missing sections are: chorus, instrumental section, verse 2.
3
The chords used in this song are D, G, A and Bm; the tonal centre is D.
4
Phrases 1 and 3 are the same.
Activity 2
1
Wally, Keith, Colroy, Lendell, Buddy
2
The activities mentioned are swimming, fishing, jumping off the bridge,
playing the didjeridoo, walking on stilts, doing backflips.
3
Lines 1 and 2 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
4
If you chose the chorus as the stanza you enjoy most, you would have written:
swim, bream, bridge, didj.
Activity 3
1
1 crotchet
=
2 quavers
4 semiquavers
=
2 quavers
8 quavers
=
1 semibreve
4 crotchets
=
2 minims
1 semibreve
=
4 crotchets
4 quarter notes
=
8 quavers
2 half notes
=
4 quarter notes
1 whole note
=
8 eighth notes
8 sixteenth notes
=
1 half note
8 eighth notes
=
16 sixteenth notes
Suggested answers
=
1 whole note
83
2
a A semiquaver has two tails.
b A semibreve (or whole note) has no stem.
3
4
a
b
Activity 4
Missing terms or words are written in bold.
The rhythm is written on a staff in the treble clef. The time signature indicates
that there are three crotchet (or quarter note) beats to the bar. The rhythm is four
bars long. Three bars have the same rhythm pattern. The last bar ends on a
crotchet rest. A double bar line marks the end of the rhythm.
Activity 5
You may have ended rhythm 4 with a minim note. When music begins with an
up-beat, the last bar is usually incomplete. If you add the value of the up-beat at
the beginning, it creates one full bar according to the time signature.
84
Activity 6
Activity 8
1
Each rhythm is 2 bars long.
2
3
Suggested missing words
1 mor - ning
(or another suitable two syllable word)
2 re – tur - ning
(or another suitable three syllable word)
3 four
(or another suitable one syllable word rhyming with ‘door’)
Suggested answers
1
2
3
X
X
x
Up -
in
the
1
2
X
X
x
Wont
be
re-
4
1
2
3
X
X
X
X
and
out
the
door
4
1
2
3
x
X
X
X
X
tur - ning
til
half
past
four
X
x
mor - ning
3
X
4
4
85
4
Several different rhythms could have been created from the phrase.
5
One suggested rhythm is notated in the rhythm grid below.
Compare your rhythm to the following.
1
6
+
2
+
3
+
4
+
1
+
2
x
X
X
down
hill.
X
X
X
X
X
Pe -
dal
fa -
ster
go -ing
+
3
+
4
+
The rhythm that you notated using standard rhythm symbols should be the
same as the rhythm you wrote in the rhythm grid.
Activity 10
86
1
T
2
T
3
T
4
T
5
T
6
T
7
T
8
T
9
T
10
T
Exercises – Unit 2
Below is a list of the items that need to be returned to your teacher
for each exercise in this unit.
Check that you have completed and returned all the required work
at the end of each section.
Music in Australia
Exercise 1: My place
Exercise sheet including information about your
composition, graphic representation of your ideas as well as
your self-assessment
Exercise 2: Mouth music with didjeridoo drone
Exercise sheet including information about and a notation
of your vocal composition and also your self-assessment
Recording of your vocal composition with didjeridoo
backing
Exercise 3: Musical motif
Exercises
Exercise sheet including information about and notation of
your musical motifs composition and also your selfassessment
Recording of your performance
87
Exercise 4: My Island Home
Exercise sheet with your self-assessment
Exercise 5: Rhythms
Exercise sheet with the rhythms that you chose to perform
as well as your self-assessment
Exercise 6: Rap
Exercise sheet including the words of your rap as well as
your self-assessment
Extension exercise 7: Notate your rap (optional)
88
Exercise sheet including the notation of your rap in a
rhythm grid and on the staff as well as your self-assessment
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 1: My place
Imagine you are an Australian composer who is writing a piece that
captures the sounds that represent your place and experience.
1
Describe your place and some of your experiences that you
would like to try and capture in sound.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2
Describe the composition that you will create.
Consider such elements as tone colour, pitch, rhythm, dynamics,
tempo, form or structure. You might respond to these questions.
• What instruments will you use? What do they sound like?
• How do your melodies move: up, down, repeated notes?
• What rhythm patterns will you use? Describe them.
• How will dynamics help to capture the sounds of your place?
• What tempo will you set and will it vary during your piece?
• How will you organise the sounds you choose?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Exercises
89
3
Give your composition a title.
_______________________________________________________
4
Draw a graphic representation of your ideas here.
Self-assessment
1
Which sounds do you think capture the sound of your place and
experience particularly well in your composition and why?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2
How could you improve your composition?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
90
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 2: Mouth music with didjeridoo drone
In this exercise you create a vocal composition over a didjeridoo
drone in the style of Matthew Doyle’s composition, ‘Mouthmusic’.
1
Listen twice to the recording of the didjeridoo on Track 6
(© www.didjshop.com — this site has many didjeridoo samples).
2
Improvise vocal sounds over the didjeridoo recording as you play
the track several more times. Experiment with the different
sounds you can produce.
3
Write down the vocal sounds that you used to accompany the
didjeridoo. Begin with sounds that you thought worked best.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
4
Decide how you will organise the sounds in your composition.
a
Decide which vocal sounds that you will use to accompany
the didjeridoo and the order in which you will perform them.
b
Include at least one repeated pattern of sounds. This could
be at the beginning, as in ‘Mouthmusic’, or at another place
in your composition.
Use the space below or other paper to jot down your ideas.
Exercises
91
5
Notate the vocal part you created to accompany the didjeridoo in
the space below. Graphically show changes in the pitch, duration
and dynamics of your vocal sounds.
6
Practise performing your vocal music over the didjeridoo.
7
Record your performance when you feel confident.
Self-assessment
1
How did you use repetition in the vocal part you created?
What effect did this have on the overall composition?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2
How could you improve your composition?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
92
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 3: Musical motif
In this exercise you create a composition based on a musical motif.
Exercises
•
•
•
•
•
Your motif may be a rhythm or pitch pattern.
You may use a motif you improvised earlier or a create new one.
You may use more than one motif
Your composition should last between 15 and 30 seconds.
You may use any sound sources for this composition. You may
use your voice, body percussion and other objects around you.
1
Create the motif you will use as the basis of your composition.
Notate your motif in the space below using graphic or traditional
notation.
2
Experiment with ways of transforming your motif. Note down
interesting ways in the space below.
3
Optional extension: experiment with other musical ideas you
might add to your motifs to form musical phrases or sentences.
Note down your ideas.
93
4
Decide how you will organise or structure your ideas to make an
interesting composition. Try out different ideas before deciding.
5
Notate your composition in the space below using graphic
and/or traditional notation.
6
Practise performing your composition.
7
Self-assessment
1
Describe the distinctive musical features of the motif you used in
your composition.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2
Describe the ways you changed your motif in the composition.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
94
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 4: My Island Home
In this exercise you practise singing ‘Island Home’ to the
accompaniment of a backing track and then record your performance.
There are two backing tracks. Both are recorded in the key of D major.
Track 28 provides the accompaniment with a guide to your vocal part.
Track 29 provides the accompaniment only.
1
Practise singing ‘Island Home’ with the backing recorded on
Track 28. The track includes a guide to your vocal part.
The following listening guide shows the structure of the song.
Follow the lyrics written on page 45.
Listening guide
1
Instrumental introduction
2
Verse 1 (listen for the count-in 1 2 3)
3
Verse 2
4
5
Verse 3
6
Uh huh (5 times)
7
Instrumental section
8
Verse 2 (listen for the count-in 1 2 3) with backing vocals
9
10
Repeat My Island home with backing vocals to fade out
It is important that you are secure when singing the melody and
hold your part against the harmony sung by the backing singers.
If you find it difficult to sing the melody with Track 28, practise
singing again with Tracks 18–27. Remember these tracks are
performed in a different key.
2
Exercises
If you feel secure in your vocal part, sing ‘Island Home’ with the
backing recorded on Track 29. Remember, this track does not
include a guide to your vocal part.
95
3
Record your performance when you feel confident about
singing solo. If possible, record the backing track (either Track
29 or 30) at the same time.
Self-assessment
1
How would you rate your performance? Circle one.
Excellent
2
Very good
Satisfactory
Fair
Give two reasons for your choice.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3
How could you improve your performance?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
96
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 5: Rhythm
In this exercise you create a composition from two rhythms and then
practise performing your composition using body percussion or
sound sources around you. Finally, you record your performance.
1
Choose two of the rhythms below as the basis of your
composition. You can hear the rhythms performed on Track 34.
When choosing your rhythms, consider the following questions.
a Do the two rhythms complement each other?
b
Does one of the rhythms end with a feeling of rest or
conclusion?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Exercises
97
2
Decide in which order you will perform the rhythms in your
composition.
3
Write the rhythms below in the order that you will perform
them. Take care to copy the rhythms correctly.
4
Choose sound sources from around you to perform the
composition. Improvise sounds until you are satisfied with the
result.
5
Practise performing the composition on your sound sources.
Be sure to keep a steady beat and play the rhythms accurately.
6
Make a record of the sound sources you use in the space below
or under the rhythm notated above.
7
Self-assessment
1
Did you keep a steady beat? Rate your performance.
Excellent
2
Very good
Satisfactory
Fair
How did the sound sources you chose add to the performance?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
98
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Exercise 6: Rap
In this exercise you create, perform and record your own rap.
1
Write a verse of four lines or phrases in which you introduce
yourself and tell about the things you like to do.
a
b
c
d
Make rough drafts on a separate piece of paper.
Be prepared to make changes in order to improve your work.
Keep your phrases simple by not using too many words (this
is a suggestion).
Use rhyming words at the end of at least two lines.
Give your rap a title.
___________________________________
(TITLE)
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Exercises
2
Say the words aloud rhythmically while you clap the beat.
Do this several times until you begin to feel the rhythm of the
words.
3
Move to the beat as you rap your words. Perform strongly and
with confidence.
4
Record a demo of your rap. Play it back and listen to the sound.
How could you improve the lyrics of your rap?
5
Make any changes to your rap that you think are necessary.
99
6
Practise your rap several times until you feel confident
performing it.
7
Record your performance.
Self-assessment
Answer the following questions about your recording.
1
What did you think of your final recorded rap performance?
Excellent
2
Very good
Satisfactory
Fair
Give two reasons for your choice.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3
What could you do to make it better?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
100
Name _________________________
Year _________ Class ___________
Extension exercise 7: Notating your rap (optional)
In this exercise you notate the rap that you created in Exercise 6 in a
rhythm grid as well as on a staff using conventional rhythm symbols.
Your teacher may request that you to complete this activity.
Exercises
1
Clap the rhythm of the words in your rap. Do this several times
until you feel confident with the rhythm. Count the beats aloud
as you clap.
2
Does your rap begin with an up-beat or anacrusis?__________
3
Notate the rhythm and words of your rap in the grid below.
Place the words below the rhythm.
(Note: If your rap includes an up-beat you will need to change
the beats below or add an up-beat before the first beat of each
line.)
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
101
4
Notate the rhythm of your rap on the staff below. Put the words
below the rhythm notes with a hyphen between each syllable.
Place a time signature at the start and a double bar line at the end.
Self-assessment
Answer the following questions about your notation.
1
Did you notate the rhythm of your rap accurately on the rhythm
grid? Rate your accuracy (1 = inaccurate and 5 = very accurate).
1
2
3
4
5
Did you notate the rhythm of your rap accurately on the staff?
Rate your accuracy (1 = inaccurate and 5 = very accurate).
1
3
2
2
3
4
5
Describe successes or difficulties you had notating your rhythm.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
102
Music of our place 44382
Track list for CD
The accompanying CD sound recording is © New South Wales Department
and Training (DET). However, it also contains tracks which are made
available under an agreement between DET NSW and AMCOS/ARIA. We
would like to acknowledge the following people and organisations whose
material has been used:
Track
Track title
number
Composer
Performer
Album title
Record company
1
Saginou
Zulya
Kamalova
Zulya
Kamalova,
Martin Tucker,
Mal Webb
Mosaic – Music
from Around the
World, (track 1
from Aloukie
(ZK02) )
Australian Institute of
Eastern Music (AIEM)
2
Spirits
Dance: the
Wind of
Change
Riley Lee and
Matthew
Doyle
Riley Lee and
Matthew
Doyle
Mosaic – Music
from Around the
World, (track 6
from Wild Honey
Dreaming)
Australian Institute of
Eastern Music (AIEM)
3
Jam 1
Margaret
Bradley for
CLI
Margaret
Bradley
4
Virtuoso
Didj
Alan Dargin
Alan Dargin
Bloodwood – the
Art of the
Didjeridu
Natural Symphonies
NS331
5
Mouthmusic
Matthew
Doyle/
Michael
Atherton
Matthew
Doyle/
Michael
Atherton
The Sound of
Gondwana176,000 Years in
the Making
Black Sun Music (©
Celestial Harmonies,
1996)
6
Didgeridoo
field
recording
The Didgeridoo
Specialist
www.didjshop.com
didgeridoo_af510.mp3
7
Cora
Traditional
Galarrwuy
arr. Galarrwuy Yunupingu,
Yunupingu
Yomunu
Yunupingu
Birrkuta Wild
Honey
Mushroom Records
8
My Kind of
Life
M. Yunupingu
Tribal Voice
Mushroom Records
9
Chorus from M. Yunupingu
My Kind of
Life
Margaret
Bradley
10
Jam 2
Margaret
Margaret
Bradley for
Yothu Yindi
Track
Track title
number
Composer
Performer
CLI
Bradley
Album title
Record company
11
Awgadh
Noe
Ayimdhin
Cygnet Repu
Wongai
Family
Warriors
strike em!
Contemporary
Voices from the
Torres Strait
Torres Strait Cultural
Festival Committee
(TSIMA)
12
Vailia Wara
Jeff Waia
Saibai
Primary
School
Singers
strike em!
Contemporary
Voices from the
Torres Strait
Festival Committee
(TSIMA)
13
Up in the
Sky
Trad.
arranged
Hismale
Shibasaki
Izzie
Shibasaki
strike em!
Contemporary
Voices from the
Torres Strait
Festival Committee
(TSIMA)
14
Kaiyar
Mabaig
(Crayfish
Diver)
Raymond
Wymarra
Ray Wymarra
strike em!
Contemporary
Voices from the
Torres Strait
Festival Committee
(TSIMA)
15
My Island
Home
Neil Murray
Warumpi
Band
Go Bush!
CAAMA Music
16
Island
Home
Neil Murray
Christine Anu
Stylin up
Mushroom Records
17
Island
Home (the
Chant Mix)
Neil Murray
Christine Anu
Singers for the
Red Black and
Gold
Mushroom Records
18-27
My Island
Home
Neil Murray
Margaret
Bradley
28, 29
Backing
track
My Island
Home
Neil Murray
Erana Clark
for CLI
30
Jam 3
Margaret
Bradley for
CLI
Margaret
Bradley
31, 36,
38
Down River
Wilcannia
Mob (Wally
Ebsworth,
Keith Dutton,
Colroy
Johnson,
Lendal King,
Buddy Blair)
Wilcannia
Mob (Wally
Ebsworth,
Keith Dutton,
Colroy
Johnson,
Lendal King,
Buddy Blair)
Triple J Hottest
100 Volume 10
ABC Music
32
Two
CLI
Track
Track title
number
Composer
Performer
rhythms
33
Rhythm
CLI
34
Nine
rhythms
CLI
35
Name
rhythms
CLI
37
Rhythm
phrases
CLI
Margaret
Bradley
39
Jam 4
Margaret
Bradley for
CLI
Margaret
Bradley
Album title
Record company
Centre for Learning Innovation
NSW Department of Education and Training

Unit 2 Music of our place - NSW Department of Education

Transcription

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