Level 3: Comparing Music Styles

PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT

Key teaching and learning concepts

Understanding and applying:

• Style
  
  
• Structure
  
  
• Tone colour
  
  
• Music purpose or function. What it was composed for? Who and when?
  
  
• Elements of performance – appropriateness, confidence in communicating the music to the audience, well prepared.

Prior learning

Students need to have:

• listened to and sung songs of many different styles;
  
  
• identified the purpose of different pieces of music such as a march, an anthem, an oriori, a party song, etc;
  
  
• experimented with tone colour on instruments so that they have a useful vocabulary such as "this drum has a deep tone", or "this wooden instrument can make short sharp sounds";
  
  
• performed in front of an audience before.

Suggested learning outcomes

The students will:

• research, prepare and rehearse a group performance of a selected style of music (CI, UC);
  
  
• perform a musical work as a group and answer questions from other students about the piece (CI, UC);
  
  
• analyse and compare the musical features of style, structure, tone colour and purpose of each of the musical performances experienced (UC).

Ideas for activities

• Using audio examples of five different styles of music, invite class to listen to each one and identify the styles. Invite students to choose one of those styles to research some interesting information on it. Share findings.
  
  
• View five different dance styles from video material and respond to movement/ music ideas. Imitate some of the movements.
  
  
• Using five different audio tracks, invite small groups to each lip-synch a different style. Rehearse with individual tracks. Perform for others. Class to discuss styles then re-group for further study.
  
  
• Use about four lines of poetry or song lyrics and invite individuals to adopt a particular style for the delivery of those lines, e.g., "Say it like a Shakespearean actor, a rap artist, a school principal, a 3-year-old."
  
  
• Using local material, reflect on the fusion of different styles of popular music, e.g., Herbs, Hinewehi Mohi, Moana and the Moahunters, OMC, Te Vaka, ENZO.
  
  
• Teacher plays own compilation of five different styles, e.g. using Kiwi Kidsongs instrumental side (folk, rap, jazz/blues, rock, anthem). Students listen, identify, and match music to styles using a set of cards with the styles and characteristics summarised. An example:

  ROCK - Steady 4 beat. Strong first beat. Heavy drum and bass sound. Common instruments include drums, bass guitar guitars, with optional singer and keyboard.

• Using the lip-synch idea, re-group by choosing a style that appeals (or use previous material) and select a suitable work to perform. An example is a backing track available from school recordings such as Kiwi Kidsongs, Upbeat, Karaoke)
  
  
• With their chosen song, the group create their own song card, or wall chart with the style and characteristics listed.
  
  
• Use different dance style videos as above and work through a fun match/ mis-match exercise:
  • Match dance style with music – funky moves to funky music.
    
    
  • Same dance style to different music – funky moves to classical waltz.
    
    
  • Match new dance style to previous music – waltz movements to waltz music.
    
    
  • Same dance style to different music – waltz movements to cool jazz music etc.
  
  
  
• Audience to view each of the performances and ask questions at the conclusion about the style, purpose, and structure. Example: "Can you explain why you performed When I'm 64 by the Beatles like that? What are the words that make up the chorus in that song? How many choruses do you sing?"
  
  
• Each student could complete a comparative chart with their individual responses/summaries to each performance detailed as the assessment task based on noting information about the style, structure of the music and tone colours heard/used, possibly the function of the music in society and its time of fame.

Assessment approaches

Formative

Teachers need to monitor progress and understanding during the learning activities through self-review and questioning. Throughout this process ask:

• What do you notice about this style compared with this one? What's different about them? What tone colours can you hear? What structures ? (e.g., verse, chorus, bridge) Why do these movements work with this style of music? Why don't these work?
  
  
• Tell us about the style you have chosen? What are its features? What other music sounds like this? When do you see/hear this music performed?
  
  
• How did you make your performance match the style you studied? What was difficult to achieve? How can your performance be improved? What worked well? Why?

Key question:

• How well could the students compare musical styles experienced (performed and peer reviewed)?

Assessment criteria could be based around teacher observation of activities and a teacher, self and peer review of verbal contributions and/or written journal comments about performances.

The students should be required to respond to questions that require analysis of purpose, structure, and tone colour as compared and contrasted in each performance.

A comparative chart could be drawn up for each performance with each column headed with the key listening areas – tone colour, structure, style – with comments required from the student. The quality of response (performance and written aural analysis) will determine depth of understanding.

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