BANG: Cultures in Conversation Through Music
How can music serve as a bridge between cultures?
How to Use This Lesson
This is a Harmony Student Wellness lesson, a week-long, music-centered social-emotional learning lesson designed to be taught across multiple sessions, culminating in an arts-based project. This lesson can be taught in isolation or as part of the larger Harmony Student Wellness program. For more support on implementation, see the Implementation Guide on the program page.
Essential Question
How can music serve as a bridge between cultures?
Objectives
Mastery Objective
- Students will be able to recognize cultural influences in popular music and understand how music connects and communicates across cultures.
Day 1 - Students will:
- Listen to “Twist and Shout” by The Isley Brothers
- Recognize that cultures communicate with each other, and one way is through art and music
- Understand music as a vernacular art form that spreads and evolves across space and time
Day 2 - Students will:
- Listen to “Blen, Blen, Blen” by Chano Pozo, “Bo Diddley” by Bo Diddley, and “I Want Candy” by The Strangeloves
- Understand how cultures can influence each other and recognize that influence across music
- Learn about the origins of the clave beat and identify it in songs
Day 3 - Students will:
- Listen to “Samba da Minha Terra” by João Gilberto and “Tell Him” by The Exciters
- Understand how music can be a starting point to learning about a new culture
- Trace the origins of music inspired by Bossa Nova
Day 4 - Students will:
- Listen to “Love, Love Alone” by Blind Blake and the Victoria Hotel Calypsos and “Under the Boardwalk” by The Drifters
- Understand how cultural influences demonstrate that people are interconnected
- Trace the origin of songs influenced by Calypso
Arts-Based Activity - Students will:
- Reflect on cultural influences and cultural appreciation
- Write a portion of a song about their own culture, then perform together in a cipher
Background
In this lesson, students will recognize the ways that cultures influence each other by studying popular music written and produced by Bert Berns alongside music from Latin cultures that influenced him. Students will learn about rhythmic styles such as clave, Bossa Nova, and Calypso while reflecting on what they appreciate about other cultures and their own. At the end of the lesson, students will combine rhythm and poetry by performing together in a cypher.
Materials
Required for all lessons:
- Student Journals
- Art Supplies