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.
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| Egyptian Lyre |
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.
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| Egyptian Lute |
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."
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| 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!
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
I love the way you integrated social studies with this lesson! I'm sure that what the kids were learning about Egypt affected the way they listened to the music, and that hearing the music affected the way they view Egypt. I am also impressed with the amount of musical concepts you addressed in just one lesson: You talked about instruments, scales, rhythm/beat, culture, etc. It was also important to give them a purpose-- something to listen for. How cool that it made them think about what they were hearing, even beyond what was prompted!
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for including links to the music-- that could really come in handy someday.