Curriculum for Secondary General Music Class Deborah Backman, Joe Giovannetti, Julia Holsapple, Jeong-Young Hong Grade/Age level: High School The BIG question: How does music affect popular culture (or vice versa) and how can we affect the way popular culture is defined? Course Title: Music in Pop Culture Course description: How do you define popular culture? Do you think you can affect the way pop culture is defined? Throughout this course we will explore the way theatre, music, media/advertising, and spirituality affect popular culture. We will also create our own definitions of popular culture. Course Goals: -Students will learn to play a basic chord progression and use it to compose and improvise (NS 2, 3, 4, 5) -Students will perform alone and with others different genres of popular music (NS 1, 2) -Students will notate original compositions of popular music (NS 5) -Students will analyze how different musical elements affect their emotions through the media (NS 6) -Students will listen to different genres of music, and analyze and describe the basic musical elements of which they are comprised (NS 6) -Students will self- and peer-evaluate performances in each unit (NS 7) -Students will study how poetry, dance, theatre, spirituality, and the media affect music and vice versa (NS 8) -Students will examine the history in social circumstances that create the music they know as popular music (NS 9)
Final course project: Student will compile a portfolio of significant works from each unit. This portfolio will include: 1. 5 definitions of popular culture showing the student s change in opinion over the course of the semester (1 beginning of course, 1 per unit) 2. Notation of original lyrical composition created in Unit 1. Students may also include the recording of their composition if they so desire, but it is not required. 3. Recording of theatre/musical scene performances, as well as self-reflection journals on the experience 4. Essay from Unit 3 on the life of a popular musician and the role of spirituality in his/her music 5. Project 1 from the Music in the Media unit video of the student s original commercial advertisement and the venn-diagram paper with brainstorming attached.
Unit 1: Music in Popular Culture Jeong-Young Hong Unit 1 Description How can we define popular music and what are the extents of what we call popular music? In this generation, it is difficult and controversial to specify one musical genre as popular music. This unit is designed for students to explore different genres of popular music (or one that appeals to them the most), the message it implies and the mood it portrays. We will explore why that is through personal reflection, composition, research, and discussion. One thing that unifies our thoughts about popular music is that it widely appeals to us, defines our personalities, accompanies us in our lives, and is powerful enough to influence our way of living. We will listen to and analyze several different genres of popular music, and compose our own using simple chord progressions. Learning Objectives -Students will define popular music. -Students will listen to different genres of popular music and discuss some simple musical elements such as instrumentation, tempo, and timbre of music. (NS 6) -Students will analyze some non-musical elements or messages that the lyrics of music deliver. Examples: love or social matters such as deforestation, teen pregnancy, effects of smoking cigarettes or etc (NS 8, 9) -Students will sing together different styles of popular music in class (NS 1) -Students will learn two simple progressions: I-IV-V-I and I-vi-IV-V-I and along with piano accompaniment, individually improvise a simple melody based on the progressions. (NS 3) -Based on the chord progressions they ve learned, students will identify chord progressions in several popular music presented by the teacher and also present chord progressions of one popular music themselves. (NS 6, 9) -Students will be grouped into three or four and compose a simple popular music (1-2minute) based on the lyrics that they ve written. (NS 4, 5, 6, 8)
-Students will perform their composition as a group using at least one musical instrument such as keyboard, drum set or a guitar and at one singer. (NS 1, 2) -Students will evaluate each other s performances after the performance and write constructive feedbacks (NS 7) Materials and Resources: Optional Book] This is your Brain on Music, by Daniel J. Levitin Internet text sources: http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/courses/resourcesforcourses/ Music&PopCulture.html (Gives brief historical background on American popular culture and different types of American pop cultures.) Audio (CDs): Runaway Love by Ludacris o Album name: Runaway Love o Genre: contemporary rap music o Chord progression used: I-IV-V-I Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan o Album name: Highway 61 Revisited o Genre: folk music o Chord progression used: I-IV-V-V Apologize by OneRepublic o Album name: Dreaming out Loud o Genre: Pop rock o Chord progression used: vi-iv-v-i Don t stop believing by Journey o Album name: Escape o Genre: rock (from 1980s) o Chord progression used: I-V-vi-IV Instruments needed*: Keyboards (three to five, or based on number of groups to use for in-class rehearsal)
Drum set Electronic and classical guitars (three to five) Computers with Garage Band music program *These are the basic number instruments that will be provided to students. Students are more than welcome to bring their own instruments if they would like. In-class activities: 1) Brainstorm and define what popular music means and what types of music they consider popular. 2) Create a poll and compare: Students will list their favorite or most listened to music on their ipods or mp3. However, if a student doesn t own any musical device, he may simply describe it verbally. 3) Listening to pop music: Teacher will play several genres (three or four) of pop music, and students will be asked to a. Describe musical elements used in each song such as instrumentation, tempo, and overall timbre of the song. b. Describe non-musical elements or messages that the lyric is trying to deliver such as love affairs, or serious social matters such as child abuse, deforestation and etc. 4) Learn two simple chord progressions: Based on their knowledge of music theory, students will learn I-IV-V-I and I-vi-IV-V-I progressions. They will be taught to categorize these chords as tonic, subdominant and dominant chords, and their tendencies to move in an order. This lesson assumes that students have prior knowledge of scales, however, teachers will review them before the chord progressions are taught by having the students spell scales on the board (with more emphasis on the major scales). 5) Students will sing and improvise while the teacher or a student plays the chord progression on a keyboard. The melodies should be simple and coherent to the chord that is being played, and everybody in class should have a chance to improvise.
6) Examples of popular music that use the chord progressions: When the teacher plays numerous genres of pop music (see audio section from above), and students will be asked to identify chord progressions that are used in popular music. Student Projects: 1) Identifying chord progressions in their favorite pop music Students will be asked to come up with their favorite pop music and identify the chord progression in the music. Students would want to choose music that uses chord progression that is easy enough for them to recognize. 2) Student Composition Project Part 1: Writing a poetry Students will be randomly grouped into three or four, and asked to choose a theme or a topic to write poetry on. The topic can be based on anything as long as the teacher approves it. Each group member will be responsible for at least one stanza, and the order or content of the stanza should be discussed and decided as a group. The final work should be turned in and revised by the teacher. 3) Student Composition Project Part 2: Composing a pop music Students will compose a pop music of their preferred genre. Lyric will be based on the poetry they wrote as a group. Students composition should follow the chord progressions learned in class and duration will be from one to three minutes. Students will use at least one musical instrument such as keyboard, drum set or a guitar and at least one singer. Students are encouraged to include other activities such as dancing or improvising. a) Composition session: Two class times will be spent for students to plan and compose their music. Students should try to keep the music simple and will be asked to notate their melody and label corresponding chord progression. b) Revising session: Students and the teacher will spend one class time discussing about their composition, fix any major problem and clarify on each members role for the performance of the music. c) Rehearsal sessions: Total of four to five in-class rehearsal time will be given for the students, and teacher should provide a small practice room or
classroom for students. Students will be asked to write a short journal about every rehearsal. 4) Student Composition Project Part 3: Performance (1 Class session) Students will perform their composition in front of peers. Their performances will be video recorded for later use. 5) Student Evaluation Session (1 Class session) a) After the performances, students will be asked to assess or evaluate each other s performances and provide constructive feedbacks. Video recording will be used to remind students of their performances. b) Students will evaluate their group member and their participation in the project. 6) Composition journals Students will be asked to submit their composition project journals that consist of: a) Rehearsal journals that were written individually after every rehearsal b) A post journal after the performance that includes what they ve learned after the experience, what went well and didn t go smoothly, and their opinion about other people s performances. c) A journal explaining the motif behind their composition: a. Definition of popular music, the genre chosen by the group and the reason behind their selection. b. A simple musical notation of their composition including chord progressions with lyrics. c. Motif behind choosing the topic/theme of the lyric and any musical elements they ve used for the composition such as instrumentation, particular timbre used tempo and etc. Assessment: Students will be assessed based on the organization and contents of their journals, notated composition, composition performance and evaluation by their peers.
Unit 2: The American Musical Joe Giovannetti Unit Description: How does the American Musical fit into pop culture? This unit will focus on the way that American musical theatre is influenced by pop culture and vice versa. Learning Objectives: -The students will learn and be able to sing musical theatre repertoire -The students will learn the history behind selected musicals -The students will identify genres of music that influence selected musicals -The students will perform basic concepts from these genres -The students will be able to create their own scenes and songs -The students will learn the relation of musical theatre to other arts and how these arts influence each other Materials and Resources: Text/Excerpts from Scripts: o Anything Goes o RENT o In the Heights o The Lion King o Sheet Music from selected Songs Audio: o Anything Goes from Anything Goes o Seasons of Love from RENT o 96,000 and It Won t be Long Now from In the Heights o He Lives in You and Circle of Life from The Lion King Videos o The Lion King and RENT
Internet: o Youtube Video of Anything Goes at the Tony Awards with Patti Lupone o Youtube Video of In the Heights at the Tony Awards with Lin-Manuel Miranda Instruments needed: o Keyboard, Drums, African Drums, Various Percussion instruments, Possible tap shoes if already owned Student projects: 1. Students will compose a tap or body percussion routine similar to the tap dancing that they learn about in Anything Goes. Students will also experiment with improvisational tap and/or body percussion techniques. 2. Students will learn how to play the chord progression from Seasons of Love from the musical RENT, and take turns performing it while others sing. Students will create and play a short chord progression of their own. 3. Students will perform Latin rhythms similar to the ones learned from In the Heights on drums and various percussion instruments. The students will combine these techniques with the rap they composed in Unit 1 to create a performance that mimics the hip-hop and Latin style of In the Heights. 4. Students will perform an ostinato accompaniment and improvise on top of it using vocal tone quality similar to the timbre of the African music in The Lion King. They will improvise using African drums and improvisatory vocals. 5. Students will research a musical of their choice in groups and put together a class presentation. The presentation should include the following elements: a synopsis of the musical, the history of the musical, the historical circumstances of the time that the musical was created and how this may have affected the concepts and music, the types of music that influence the score, description of basic musical concepts of this genre, and a short performance of a song from the musical. 6. Students will create their own scene and musical theatre song. The scene and song should be relevant to current pop culture and should be influenced by similar kinds of music. They will use their knowledge of chord progressions and
percussion to create an accompaniment, and use their own personal pop culture experiences to write lyrics and dialogue to turn into a final performance. This performance will be recorded. Final Assessment: The students final performance will be recorded and placed into their course portfolio. The students will also evaluate each other s performances. After reading comments and reviewing their video, the students will write a self-reflection about their experiences with this project and American musical theatre. The recording and self-reflection will go into their portfolio for the class. Also, the students will again revise their definition of pop-culture using their knowledge from this unit.
Unit 3: Music and Spirituality in Popular Culture Deborah Backman Unit 3 Description: Spirituality manifests itself in American popular music and culture in a variety of ways. This unit will discuss the following questions: What does spirituality mean? How is music by nature spiritual? How have some popular musicians expressed spirituality through their music and how have they helped to define spirituality in popular culture? Learning Objectives: -The students will analyze aurally and through score analysis musical elements of and poetic devices and language in different genres of popular songs dealing with spirituality and discuss how they express the artist s beliefs. They will discuss these songs using correct musical and poetic terminology to describe these music and lyrics of these songs. (NS 3,6,7) -The students will take turns playing the chord progression I vi IV V I on keyboards and improvising melodies to this progression with lyrics expressing their own spiritual beliefs. (NS 2, 4) -The students synthesize information gained from aural and score analysis of different genres of popular spiritual music to compose, perform and notate a short song that expresses their spiritual beliefs in one of the genres of popular spiritual music studied using vocals and at least one musical instrument. (NS 2,3, 5) -The students will discuss how popular music and musicians dealing with spirituality have influenced and defined the concept of spirituality in American popular culture (NS 8) -The student will respond to and evaluate popular songs dealing with spirituality, discussing whether or not these songs are meaningful to them and express their own spiritual beliefs. (NS 9) -The students will sing A Stairway to Heaven, American Pie, and Hallelujah in unison from the vocal/piano scores, with improvised harmonies if they wish to add them. (NS 1)
-The students will study a choral arrangement of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and evaluate whether or not the arrangement still effectively expresses the emotions and beliefs of the original song. They will also evaluate a performance of this arrangement (NS 9). Materials and Resources: CD containing: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin Bartender by the Dave Matthews Band Don t Give Up by Peter Gabriel Blowin in the Wind by Bob Dylan American Pie by Don McLean Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen Voice/Piano Scores of Stairway to Heaven, American Pie, and Hallelujah Choral Score: Hallelujah, SSATTB, arr. Phillip Lawson, Hal Leonard Corporation Student Projects: 1. The students will write a series of journal entries in which they discuss the role of spirituality in popular culture, respond to popular songs dealing with spirituality, discuss whether or not these songs express their spiritual beliefs, and express their own spiritual beliefs. 2. The students will write a 3-4 page paper on a popular musician and at least one of his or her works that deals with issues of spirituality. In this paper, the student will briefly discuss the musician s life, tell how their work expresses the musician s spiritual beliefs through musical and poetic devices, and explain how the musician and his or music have influenced spirituality in American popular culture. 3. The students will write a poem or create a visual art or movement piece expressing their own spiritual beliefs. 4. The students will use their creations to compose a song in 2/4, 4/4, or 6/8 in the style of one of the genres of popular music dealing with spirituality
discussed in class and using the chord progression I vi IV V I. Each student will notate and record a performance of his or her song to be shared in class. Formal Assessment: The students will turn in recordings of their musical compositions and another unit project of their choice for teacher evaluation. Their work will be evaluated based on creativity, understanding of musical and poetic devices used to express the artists spiritual beliefs and how their music has influenced the concept of spirituality in American popular culture, and whether or not the student has fulfilled the project requirements. Students will also revise their personal definition of popular music to be included in the final course portfolio.
Unit 4: Music in the Media Julia Holsapple Unit 4 Description: In our consumer-driven nation, how does the media affect our culture? Is media a result of behavior in popular culture, or is culture a result of behavior shown in the media? How does music make a difference (or does it make a difference)? In the last unit you studied how emotions can evoke music, but here will study the opposite: how music can evoke emotion. How do marketers use how we experience music to benefit themselves? Learning Objectives: -Students will examine the music used in advertisements, as well as analyze/identify what it is about them that makes them appealing to consumers. (NS 6, 7) -Students will define media literacy, as well as demonstrate knowledge by communicating via images, sounds, and multimedia forms (NS 9) -Students will define payola and respond, in journal format, the ways that payola may be detrimental to an industry -Students will use the chords learned from previous units to create a 4-8 measure jingle (one that would be heard at the end of an advertisement) and perform it for the class. (NS 1, 2, 3) Materials and Resources: YouTube advertisement clips o Wanta Fanta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dewrkvoehcca) o Hersheys Kit Kat bar commercial 1995 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhjtqbyajoa) o Mellow Yellow Gap Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4hu6up9xng) Movies/Soundtracks o Lord of the Rings, UP, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Man from Snowy River, Hook, Les Miserables
Jingle Resources o Commercial Jingles: Cultural Resonance - One of Ten Elements of Great Advertising Jingles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxluedy3kka) o Commercial Jingles: REPETITION - One of Ten Elements of Great Advertising Jingles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cmjlxnts- 0&feature=related) o The Jingle Lab (http://www.thejinglelab.com/radio-advertising/2010/08/11/happyclients-and-better-advertising-through-music-jingle-lab) "A Brief History of Music and Popular Culture in America." The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/courses/resourcesforcourses/music&popcul ture.html>. "The Merchants Of Cool FRONTLINE PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/>. Instruments needed: Piano/Keyboard Guitar Assorted instruments depending on group preference Student projects: 1. Students will compare/contrast two advertisements currently on TV using a Venn diagram, then create their own commercial opposing/supporting/suggesting something in their world. This could be a new school policy, an expression of disdain, a political stand, or a current event response, etc. Be creative! Students should be able to explain in detail their advertisement as well as the techniques used in creating it (musical choices, clothing styles worn, setting, etc.) (NS 4, 9) 2. Students will be assigned a movie (which they have not seen) and given access to its soundtrack. First the student will listen to three tracks from the soundtrack and take notes on how the music affects them emotionally, mentally, spiritually,
physically, or any other way; these notes should be put together in one journal (2-3 typed, double-spaced pages) expressing these findings in detail. In class After the first journal is written, students should watch the scenes in the film connected with the tracks they listened to, to see if their response to the music matches the action/plotline of the film. The students will write a second journal of the same length describing the accuracy of their responses to the music. These journals will be included in the final portfolio for the course. 3. After studying the influence of popular songs and music in advertising, students will compose two 4-8 measure jingles, complete with accompanying instrumentation, advertising either a current product for sale or an imaginary product. The first jingle will be composed individually, and the second jingle will be created with a group and performed in front of the class; both jingles will be recorded and kept for placement in the final portfolio. (NS 1, 2, 3, 5) 4. In response to FRONTLINE s The Merchants of Cool, students will design a marketing/media plan to advertise a new item on the market (brand of clothing, soft drink, technology, style of music, etc.) in a way that engages current day popular culture. The plan will include a 3-4 page paper explaining the marketing plan and citing specific examples of how it will appeal to viewers. Formal Assessment: Students will turn in a binder containing all notes, journals, and graded projects from this unit. Projects will be assessed based on creativity, originality, market effectiveness (when appropriate), and fulfillment of project requirements. When the unit binder is graded, students will include the recording of their own commercial (project 1) in the final course evaluation portfolio.
Secondary Curriculum Notes/Initial Brainstorming Worksheet Grade Level Curriculum: High School The BIG Question: How does music affect popular culture (or vice versa) and how can we affect the way popular culture is defined? Brainstorm Unit Ideas: 1. Popular Music (Jeong- Young) a. Having students brainstorm/list their favorite music/most listened to music on ipods. Cater the definition of popular music to what the students in your class care for (rap/rock/religious/screamo/heavy metal/rock n roll/country/r&b/reggae). b. Poetry (project?) (lecrae?) 2. Theatre/Musicals (Joe) a. How did the musicals we ll discuss affect the popular culture of their time? (encompasses a little more history) 1. Anything Goes as an effort to bring up the spirits of people b. How did the culture affect the kinds of music used in the show? 1. In the Heights uses rap, Spanish, etc. expressing emotion towards situations in life around them. 3. Music as it applies to religion (Deborah) a. Christian Rock/Rap (LeCrae?) b. Gospel c. Jewish artists Matis Yahu 4. Advertisements/Media (Julia) a. Movies/Trailers (fav artists, songs featured in credits, etc.) b. Commercials how does the music in ads affect what we purchase/how we feel about politicians? We are a consumer nation. How does music in ads affect what we consume? c. Compare/contrast project d. If you wanted to advertise/oppose something, how would you do that in a way that would reach out to pop culture around you? Projects: - - Advertisements? How does music affect advertisements? o Students compare/contrast ways that two diff advertisements use music, then create their own advertisement opposing/supporting/advertising something in their school. - - Theatre/Musicals o Research and perform a scene from a musical (in groups), do a presentation and analyze/discuss the way music affected the time/time affected the music. - - Popular Music o Poetry something? Having students express themselves in some form of lyric. Send lyrics in to fav artist.
Through- Question/Project: - - At the beginning of the course, students will write a philosophy statement - type paragraph giving their definition of pop culture. After each unit, they will again revisit their definition of popular culture and write a revised paragraph. At the end of the course, they will write a short paper (length can be determined at a later date) answering The BIG Question asked at the beginning of the course: How does music affect popular culture (or vice versa) and how can we affect the way popular culture is defined?