Covid-Friendly Folk Dances Handout, Audrey Klein

Transcript

1. Covid friendly folk dances © Welcome to Music - Susie Davies-Splitter & Phil Splitter www.welcometomusic.net pg. 1 Webinar notes Presented by Audrey Klein We won't let restrictions keep us still! Website: Facebook: YouTube:
2. © Welcome to Music pg. 2 www.welcometomusic.net 'Indo Eu - Portugal Dance for' young movers The recording is available on the 'Best of Shenanigans' CD, Volume 1 or on Spotify, Apple Music and ITunes Traditionally, this dance was done by men and women alternating in a circle. The dance was modified for use in music education, at the Orff Institute. It is an excellent dance to use for hearing pitch, as well as allowing for a bit of creativity from each dance leader. Instruments • Play a bass instrument such as xylophone, marimba, resonator bars or Boomwhackers • Sing the part in solfa • Transfer to bass instruments • Play the melody an octave up on a glockenspiel or other instrument • Play chords on a ukulele or guitar
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4. © Welcome to Music pg. 4 www.welcometomusic.net 'Carnavalito' - Bolivia Another easy dance for young movers The recording is available on the 'Best of Shenanigans' CD, Volume 2 or on Spotify, Apple Music and ITunes This is a favourite Carnival celebration dance that is done in various different forms - a quadrille, in lines, with partners… When I use this dance in class, I have children in short lines, following a leader. Each time through the dance, the leader goes to the back of the line so there are no arguments over who goes first! This also gives young students valuable practise at spatial awareness because they need to move through space without getting in each other’s way, slowly and fast.
5. © Welcome to Music pg. 5 www.welcometomusic.net Extension activities This is a wonderful dance for reinforcing notation, so it painlessly leads us into composition and literacy! Ask students to notate what they think the basic rhythm pattern might be: ta ta ti-ti- ta Write this on a whiteboard in any colour - let’s say black. Perform it in a variety of ways - forwards, backwards, with different body sounds….. Then, underneath this pattern, in a different colour, (let’s say red), jumble the ta and ti rhythms to make a new pattern. For example: ti-ti ta ta ti-ti Perform this in a variety of ways, as above. Then students can choose the pattern they like the most. Perform both at once (introducing the concept of a score). Depending on the background knowledge of your class, you can keep adding lines, in different colours. Add in rests. Make the patterns longer for more able classes. From here, there are many different directions you can go. • Firm up the piece as a body percussion score for the class to perform; • substitute non-tuned percussion for body sounds; • add movement into the performance (on the spot, of course!) • add vocal sounds • split into small groups to create their own score and perform it. There is your assessment task for the term!!!
6. © Welcome to Music pg. 6 www.welcometomusic.net 'Pupu Hinu' - Hawaii A beautiful, gentle performance piece at any level This is a Sasa - a dance traditionally performed seated cross-legged on the floor. It is a dance about shells. The recording is available on the 'Dances for Children' 2000 compilation album (green, track 9) by Andre Van Der Plas Ukulele Watery soundscapes using xylophones, wind chimes - whatever you have available, as long as it remains sparse and subtle. Create a visual backdrop of the beach, the ocean….. including some lovely whale sounds in the introduction as students settle into place via IT. This is a beautiful, peaceful, engaging (and reasonably easy!) performance piece that is particularly lovely for a mixed age group. The bulk of the students sit on the floor and perform the dance. Other students who are not such keen singers can include the following:
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8. © Welcome to Music pg. 8 www.welcometomusic.net 'The Blacksmith's Apprentice' Germany - for grade 4 and up Originally, this dance was only performed by men (i.e. Blacksmiths) but now we can all enjoy it together. This dance is especially useful for developing a feel for 3 beats in a bar (without needing to count!) and is easily modified to suit different age/ability groups. The recording is available on the 'Best of Shenanigans' CD, Volume 2 or on Spotify, Apple Music and ITunes Variations Perform the dance in a group of 4 (ie 2 couples) standing in a cross formation. One couple starts part A1 while the other couple waits. When first couple start A2, the second couple starts A1. When performing parts B1 and B2, the group can hold hands in a circle or can create a star by each dancer holding the wrist of the dancer they are following behind.
9. Rhythmic notation: substitute different body percussion patterns for each of the 2 patterns in the dance. Encourage students to add in ti-ti or rests in their designs. Choose a few students (one at a time) who have created interesting, solid patterns to perform their ideas for the class. The class copies and then notates what they think the pattern is. Add in pitch. Ask students to make one of their patterns up high, the other down low. Add in a QUIET, GENTLE, vocal sound to match their own movements. Add percussion instruments that match the different sections - i.e. short sounds for the first half, longer sounds for the second half. This is a great opportunity for thinking more deeply about sounds that create the atmosphere you want, rather than just banging and crashing any old thing. Learn to conduct in 4/4 and 3/4. When these patterns are secure, try doing both at once - i.e. one hand is in 3/4, the other in 4/4. It can be done! Extension activities This dance is a seamless way of introducing 3/4 to any class, so is a wonderful tool for explaining the concept of “time signature”. Try the following: For older students or band musos, who already know about this, challenge them with this: © Welcome to Music pg. 9 www.welcometomusic.net
10. © Welcome to Music pg. 10 www.welcometomusic.net Sometimes, we need to have a bit of fun too. This dance has been enjoyed by many people, in many different circumstances, around the world. The music is freely available on YouTube. Just type in “Jerusalema dance challenge” and you will see many versions of this dance performed by such people as nurses in hospital wards, firemen in front of their trucks, high school students in their schools and more. Now it’s our turn to have some fun! 'Jerusalema' dance challenge - for older kids and our own fun! Who started the Jerusalema Challenge? The dance trend began in February 2020 when Fenómenos do Semba, a group in Angola, south-west Africa, recorded themselves dancing to the song while eating and without dropping their plates. Find on YouTube
11. © Welcome to Music pg. 11 www.welcometomusic.net Beats 1-4 tap right foot out front Beats 5-8 tap left foot out front Beats 9-12 alternate feet Beats 13-16 4 steps forward, bending down on first 2 steps then straightening up Beats 17-20 4 steps to the left (stepping sideways) Beats 21 – 24 4 steps (sideways) to the right Beats 25-28 4 steps backwards Start again If you want to change direction: In the section when you walk forward, on the last step, turn a quarter turn to your right and continue the dance. This way, you change direction plenty of times, which is great for spatial awareness and adds an element of challenge. 'Jerusalema' dance challenge Find on YouTube