Lesson #4: Musicals Based in Egypt

"The Prince of Egypt"

November 22nd: Learning About Musical Theater

Today the students learned (if they did not know already) what a musical is! We began the lesson by making a list as a class of people and things that are needed to put on a musical (actors, a director, costumes, a stage, lighting, music, instruments/ instrumentalists, and so forth). Then we watched two clips from two different musicals--"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" as well as "The Prince of Egypt." These musicals are similar in that they both take place in Egypt, but they are different in how accurate their portrayal of the Egyptian people and lifestyle. Each table received a paper with specific questions to answer as they watched the clips. Here were the topics that the students looked for during the movie clips:

• Costumes: which costumes were Egyptian and which weren't?
  
• Music; does the music sound Egyptian or not?
• Setting: what Egyptian buildings/scenery were present? what was unrealistic about the setting?
• Text: what Egyptian people/concepts did the people talk/sing about?

After both of the clips were over, the students had a couple minutes to talk with their group members about the questions their table was assigned. Then each group came up to the front of the classroom and gave a short presentation to the class. 

Class Presentations:

The students each presented their groups' findings. All of the students seemed to agree that the portrayal of the Egyptian people and lifestyle in "The Prince of Egypt" was much more realistic than the clips the class watched of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat."  The clip from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" that we watched was where Joseph is in prison and he interprets the baker's and the butler's dreams. Then the ensemble comes in and sings "Go, Go, Go Joseph" with their brightly colored costumes and big Afros from the disco days. The music did not sound Egyptian (it did not use an Egyptian scale), while "Prince of Egypt" has many Egyptian melodies and motives. The setting in "Joseph" was also unrealistic in that the bars of the prison cell were wide enough for a person to enter and exit the cell. The bars also later open (like a door) and just before the big dance number, the bars ascend and disappear completely. 

Wrap-up:

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat"

It was fun to hear the students' comments about what they saw and did not see in both of these musicals. We concluded the lesson by talking about the purpose of a musical: a musical is an art form that is mainly a form of entertainment. Those who enjoy musicals are not usually concerned about the historical accuracy of the costumes, where the music has it's roots from, or if the musical is realistic or not. Instead, those who love musical theater

usually love it for the story lines, the beautiful music, and the entertainment it provides. 

Standards Met:

6.M.R.1

6.M.R.2

6.M.R.10

Lesson #3: Egyptian Storybook Soundtrack

November 17th: Hearing the Different Timbres of Musical Instruments

Opening Listening Activity:

This day marks the first day that I brought in a large, over-stuffed backpack full of instruments for the students to play! But for the start of the lesson, we all sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" as a class. The students identified that the main focus of the song is a star and what a star looks like. Then I played two recordings of different instruments playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," asking the students to listen for which instrument they thought sounded more like a star. The recording was a trumpet. The second recording was an xylophone. Afterwards, all but one of the twenty-four students that were present said that the xylophone best matched their idea of how a star would sound. Several students explained that the smallness, the lightness, and the ping-y-ness of the xylophone seemed to represent a small, twinkling star more so than the blaring and more harsh-sounding trumpet. 

Listen & Match--Based on Timbre:

After this listening activity I pulled out the instruments from my enormous backpack--rain sticks, finger cymbals, triangles, hand drums, sand blocks, Chinese balls, and recorders. A small group of students came up to the front and played each of the instruments for the rest of the class to hear. Then I put up a list of several important Egyptian gods and goddesses that they have been learning about. Next the class voted, based on the god's or goddesses description, which instrument they thought sounded most like that individual. The students came up with the following:

• Atum--Creator, God of the sun: sand block
• Shu--God of air: recorder
• Tefnut--Goddess of dew/rain: rain stick
• Geb--God of the earth: hand drum
• Nut--Goddess of the stars: Chinese ball
• Thoth--God of Wisdom: finger cymbals
• Khonsu--God of the moon: triangle

As the class voted on instruments for each god/goddess, several students made great comments about why the timbre of a specific instrument influenced them to make a decision. The votes for each character were close to unanimous every time.

                                                                      

                                                                        Storybook Time:

After the voting, the class moved to the back of the room on the carpet where each of them was given an instrument (one of the seven instruments above) to play. I then pulled out an Egyptian storybook--"The Star Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt" by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jude Daly. The seven gods and goddesses previously mentioned are the main characters in this story. I explained to the class how I would read this story and every time one of the gods or goddesses was mentioned, the instruments who were assigned to that god/goddess would play their instrument once. We did a practice-round with this: I made up a line in the story with one of the names and then the kids would look at me and I would conduct them to play their instruments once. Then we would continue the story. So this is what we did! We all had a fun time. 

Wrap-up:

After the story was over we talked as a class about what the main message of the story was (how the world was created and why it looks like it does today). We again briefly talked about timbre and I challenged the students to listen more closely to the instruments being used (and to think about why they are being used) in the music they regularly listen to.

Music Standards Met:

6.M.P.2
6.M.R.2
6.M.P.11 

Lesson #2: Ancient Egyptian Music 

Egyptian Pyramids

November 10th: Identifying Musical Qualities about Egyptian Music

These awesome sixth graders at Fox Hollow have recently been learning about ancient Egypt and the lifestyles of the ancient Egyptian people. They've learned about Egyptian gods and goddesses, pharaohs, mummification, tombs, and so forth. So today in class we listened to several Egyptian songs (both ancient and modern) that contain unique musical characteristics.

Ancient Egyptian Music Listening:

Before we listened to some ancient Egyptian songs, we talked about some musical things to listen for during the record. The students listened for the instruments used (strings, wind, percussion, and voice). They listened for if the song had a clear or a non-clear (fuzzy) beat throughout the song. Language was something the kids were also directed to listen for (are the words in English or in another language?). Finally, the students listened to the melody--focusing on sections that sounded Egyptian (or foreign) to them. 

Egyptian Lyre

Listen to "Lamentations of Isis"

This song is actually based on the Egyptian goddess, Isis. This goddess had magical powers and as myths have told, when her husband Osiris was murdered she used her magical powers to restore him back to life. However, part of the myth was that when Osiris was dead, Isis wept so much that the Nile river would flood over. After listening to this clip, the students helped talk about how the music enhanced this story about Isis weeping for Osiris. They brought up that the song sounded sad and it sounded like weeping with how repetitive it was. The students noticed in this song that there is some kind of string instrument--a lute or a lyre perhaps. There also is an instrument that sounds very similar to a flute, but probably made out of some kind of wood. 

Egyptian Lute

Listen to "Egyptian World Music"

This second song is much more rhythmic than the first song. Because of this the song has a very clear beat that you can tap your toes to. The crisp beat is created by the addition of percussion instruments--perhaps a sistrum. We can hear a women singing in a foreign language in this song (probably an Egyptian language). The phrases that she sings has very distinct Egyptian influences in the melody. The students enjoyed listening to this song! 

Another musical thing we talked about was scale. I pulled up a virtual piano on my computer and projected it on the screen. A student came to the computer and played a C major scale for the class to hear and see. I explained that when we (as a Western music culture) create songs, we used primarily the notes within that scale. On the other hand, Egyptians use a different scale--which is one reason why their music sounds so foreign to us. Instead of a regular major scale, the Egyptians often use a scale as follows: do, re, fa, so, tay, do. The kids were able to watch as I played this on the piano and could see how the Egyptians used only certain notes to create their melodies, which is one way why we think it "sounds Egyptian."

Egyptian Goddess: Isis

Music Appreciation:

While discussing these songs with the class, one student said that the music was "weird." So we sat and talked about this for a minute. We talked about how people's cultures and lifestyles are really important in determining what kind of music they create and like to listen to. We, as people who have been taught that Western music is "normal," may listen to other genres of music and think that they sound weird because they do not sound "normal" to us. But it's perfectly okay for different kinds of people to enjoy different kinds of music! And we can listen to other genres of music and appreciate it for it's unique qualities and characteristics. Some of the kids caught on with this idea really well. Music appreciation--it's important!

Modern Egyptian Music:

Lastly, we listened to two Egyptian songs that are popular today! 

From the students' responses, most of them were surprised that it sounded very similar to the kinds of music that they currently listen to on the radio. There are similarities in the instruments used, language, beat, and melody (but still incorporating Egyptian motives here and there). The clips are below!

Listen to "See the Beauty" by Lara Scandar

City in Egypt Today

Listen to "Bahebek Bkol Al Lahagat" by Tamer Hosny

Wrap-Up:

This was a fun activity that began to get the kids thinking! By the end of the lesson, students were volunteering comments about observations they had made that they had not been asked to make. It was really exciting to see the students making musical connections and being excited about listening to music from another culture!

Standards Met:

6.M.R.1

6.M.R.7

6.M.CO.3