Folk music: North American
Summary of task
Students studied American folk music and the origins of blues in a 10-week unit that differentiated for a range of abilities in class. In particular, they studied traditional North American blues and gospel music, focusing on This Train is Bound for Glory (Dis Train) and Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie for performance. The students learned about the origins of the songs and understood that the original composers have been lost over time, and that this is common in folk music. They looked at and responded to early performances of blues and gospel music by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Leadbelly, and learned how these performances were some of the precursors to rock'n'roll. As a part of the unit, they were asked to complete at least one of the tasks designed at different levels for students of varying musical experience, as follows:
Level 1 – body percussion and singing
Level 2 – rhythmic ostinato and singing
Level 3 – playing melody and singing a tune over the top (two different pitch parts)
Level 4 – playing melodic ostinato and singing (two independent pitch parts)
Level 5 – playing a tune of arranged chords and melody, and singing
