Roots of Rhythm World Drumming Teacher Workshop 2006
Lesson Plan for Chapter 4
Title The Djembe Drum from Guinea Jody Gardner
July 6, 2006
Massillon, Ohio
Grade Category Elementary
Lesson Time Unit 4-6 weeks. Two 35 minute lessons per week
Goals
N/A
Objectives
Students will:
1. Read and discuss the Djembe instrument and the country of Guinea. (basic geography, social
history, flag, cultural and musical traditions)
2. Gain awareness of how music reflects life conditions and experiences in Guinea and the surrounding countries.
3. Increase their understanding of Guinea cultural traditions and belief systems and of how diverse cultures influence one another.
4. Learn names of and sounds made by a drum from Guinea.
5. Learn to play and create rhythms.
6. Develop listening skills and music appreciation.
7. Have fun listening to and making music.
8. Learn Djembe rhythms and musical styles from Guinea culture.
9. Make and play a Djembe drum.
10. Learn different African songs and sing the songs with instruments and movement.
Content Standards:
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Materials:
1. Roots of Rhythm – Chapter 4: THE DJEMBE FROM GUINEA, pages 33 – 38
2. Fifteen hand drums
3. Flag hand out
4. The Djembe – Making Your Own Djembe – step by step directions
5. Djembe drum materials for each student
a. Clay pot 6” x 3”
b. Plastic tube or can 4” diameter or pineapple juice size can
c. Chopstick beater
d. PVC tape
e. Masking tape
f. Hacksaw – ½ tape end or scissors
g. Hammer
h. Sandpaper
6. Song: “Sarasponda” – Music and You Series, Grade 3, CD 3:15 and The Drum Circle CD track #9
7. Song: “Tonga” – The Drum Circle CD Track #7
8. Song: “Tinga Singu” from Lesotho and African Country, Share the Music, Grade 5, CD4:2, pages158 – 159
9. Song: “Ev’erybody Loves Saturday Night”, Share the Music, Grade , CD1:20, pages 28 – 32
10. Roots of Rhythm – Chapter 4: THE DJEMBE FROM GUINEA FUNSHEET.
11. Map of Guinea poster (enlarged map - color poster maker)
12. Flag poster with color description (enlarged poster - color poster maker)
Student Skill Level
1. Willingness to learn.
2. Having fun working and learning with a partner.
3. Trusting and believing in me as a teacher.
Procedure
1. Hand drums – work with a partner
a. Listen and watch teacher demonstrate rhythms
b. Learn how to hold a hand drum
c. Learn about the basic round sounds (bass and tone sounds)
d. Echo one, two and no sounds
e. Listen and chant what sound they are hearing
f. Speak the rhythm and then play it
g. Learn to play left and right hand equally
h. Learn to play on the djembe
2. Make Your Own Djembe Drum
a. Follow drum making steps
b. Learn the background history of Guinea
c. Learn about the flag through art work
d. Learn about the instrument
e. Learn about the djembe in a drum ensemble (Djembe 1, Djembe 2, Sangba, Bell and Djundjun)
3. Roots of Rhythm Companion CD
a. Chapter 4: Djembe (Guinea)
b. Listen and review rhythms, track 29 – 30
c. Play Along, track 31 – 41
4. Song: “Sarasponda” – Music and You, Grade 3, page 97, CD3:15 and The Drum Circle CD Track # 9
a. Listen to song
b. Learn the song through music concepts found at the end of each unit
c. Learn the djembe drum part (L L H H L L HH L)
d. Sing the song by echoing each phrase
e. Sing song – The Drum Circle CD #7
f. Combine song and djembe drum to tell the story
g. Learn the dance of “Sarasponda” with the drum part keeping the steps
h. Combine the song, dance and drum group to complete the story
i. Have students switch parts till all have preformed all three
j. Students will improvise or compose a bell part and a second djembe part.
5. Song: “Tonga” – The Drum Circle CD Track #7
a. Listen to song – discuss call & response and the talking drum
b. Learn the song through music concepts
c. Listen again and echo the response
d. Sing and play the response
e. Play the call and listen to response
f. Sing and play the call and response
g. Discuss interlude
h. Interlude: play only the djembe for the call & response
i. Divide class, half be the callers other half and the other half give the response – keep same part during the interlude with no singing
j. Switch part
6. Song: “Tinga Singu”, Share the Music, Grade 4, Pages 158 – 159, CD4:2 with words and CD10:18 instrumental only
a. Listen to the song and identify call and response and the form through movement
b. Listen a second time while following the music, compare the call & response and compare section B, part one and two
c. Learn about Lesotho, an African country
d. Listen to the recorded lesson for the correct pronunciation of “Tinga Singu”
e. Listen and echo section A, the call and response, then divide class into two groups, half sing the call and the other half sing the response, switch
f. Add CD10:18, accompaniment only
g. Listen and echo section B, part one, continue until students are comfortable or able to sing alone or in small groups
h. Listen and echo section B, part two, continue until students are comfortable or able to sing alone or in small groups
i. Divide the class into two groups, one group sing the top part and the other group sing the bottom part of section B, with CD10:18, accompaniment only, switch parts
j. Sing the whole song with CD accompaniment only, divide class into two groups, callers sing part one of section B, response group sing part two of section B, switch parts
k. Learn and add a dance movement by forming two concentric circles, partners facing each other
l. Combine singing with dance movement
7. Extension Song Lesson: “Ev’rybody Loves a Saturday Night”, Share the Music, Grade 5, CD1:20, pages 28 – 32
a. Introduce Song. Practice identifying melodic direction through mapping
b. Recorded lesson on pronunciation, CD1:21, learn text and song
c. Introduce the harmony part to the song
d. Combine melody and harmony parts once students are comfortable singing each part alone or in small groups
e. Add movement to the song, partners
f. Introduce Orff instrument on pitched instruments, review pitch names FGAB are placed on the staff, and then have students sing the pitch letters in the song.
g. Have students sing the song in the key of F with pitch syllables (do, re, mi) while playing the pitched barred instruments.
h. Combine song, dance movement and instruments
8. Roots of Rhythm – Chapter 4: THE DJEMBE FROM GUINEA FUNSHEET
a. Read paragraph out loud (an over all review of Guinea culture and the djembe’ drum
b. Answer questions 1 – 3 individually ( answering questions about the djembe’ drum)
c. Complete the crossword puzzle individually (using the facts about the djembe’ drum from Guinea)
Student Product
See procedures number 3 and 8.
Assessment
Evaluations will be through written, oral and participation for each of the activities.
The objectives will be met when:
1. I see the art work and description of the Guinean Flag.
2. I hear and see the students participating through singing, playing the instruments.
3. I read the students’ completed fundsheets.
4. I hear the students discuss the history and culture of Guinean when they are marking their instruments and decorating their Djembe drum.
Reflection
1. Have students work with a partner.
2. Seek your PTA for funding, seek a community beneficiary, charge a fee for the materials needed.
3. Students love movement and hands on activities.
4. This lesson will promote student learning by working with partners, making the instrument and learning to play their instrument.
Resources
1. Anderson, Walter F, arranger. Sampler, from Rafaello Bispmo, “Stanley’s Africa”; The
Junior Literary Guild, Vicking Press, New York, 1958
2. Beall, Pamela Conn, Susan Hagen Nipp and Nancy Spence Klein, authors. Wee Sing:
Around the World, the Putnam and Grosset Group, New York, 1994
3. Beethoven, Jane and Rosanne Emery. Dancing: Music Magic: Video Library, Silver
Burdett Ginn Inc, 1991. This video includes dances from Africa, Spain,
Cambodia, Poland, Hawaii and Alaska
4. Beethoven, Jane and Rosanne Emery. Percussion Instruments: Music Magic: Video
Library, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc, 1991. This video includes unusual percussion
instruments from Africa, Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, England and the United States
5. Beethoven, Jane and Rosanne Emery. Percussion Instruments Tuned: Music Magic:
Video Library, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc, 1991. This video includes instruments
from Zimbabwe, Trinidad, Tabago, Vietnam and Indonesia
6. Burton, Bryan. Author, Moving Within the Circle: Contemporary Native American
Music and Dance, World Music Press Danbury CT, 1993
7. DeCesare, Ruth Ph.D. collected, edited and adapted: Myth, Music and Dance of the
American Indian, Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. CA,
8. Higgins, John and Brad Shank, arrangers, More Music of our World: Multicultural
Songs and Activities for Classroom and Community and CD, Hal Leonard
Corporation, www.halleonard.com , Milwaukee, WI, 2005
9. King, Gary, arranger. CD – Children’s Dances of Terra Del Zur: The Best of
Shenanigans’ Dance Music 1980 – 1990 Volume One, e-mail:
, 1994
10. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, Share the Music: Grade 2, 4 and Grade 5, and CD’s, New
York, 2003
11. McRae, Shirley W. arranger. Sing ‘Round the World: International Folksongs fro Voices
and Orff Instruments, Memphis Musicraft Publications, 1990
12. Medearis, Angela Shelf, author. Dancing With the Indians, Library of Congress
Cataloging – in – Publication Data, Reading Rainbow Book, New York, 1991
13. PBS Great Performances Video: Finding the Circle: American Indian Dance Theatrea
14. Robinson, Sandra Chisholm. The Rain Stick a Fable, Helena, Montana: Falcon
Publishing, Inc. and Bozeman, Montana: The Watercourse, 1994
15. Salt, Elizabeth Anne. Buckeye Heritage: Ohio’s History in Song, Enthea Press,
Columbus, Ohio 1992. ISBN: 0-89804-813-3
16. Staton, Barbara and Merrill, Senior Authors, Marilyn Copeland Davidson, Phillis Kaplan,
Authors. Music and You, Grade 3, CD, Macmillan Publishing Company, New
York, 1991:
17. Sueta, Ed. Recorder Method Book One, Macie Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, 1992
18. Sueta, Ed. Play Along Compact Disc: Recorder Method Book One, Macie Publishing
Company, Dallas, Texas, 1992
19. Todd, Traci N. “The Drum Circle” and companion CD: from the DO-RE-MI & YOU!
Company, P.O. Box 14369 Greensboro, NC 27415, www.drmy.com
20. Troughton, Joanna. Folk Tales of the World Series: “How the Seasons Came”, A North
American Indian Folk Tale, New York, 1992
21. Woodson, Dr. Craig. “Roots of Rhythm” – World Drumming for 5th and 6th Grade
Classroom Curriculum, 2004 Percussion Marketing Council,
www.playdrums.com
22. Woodson, Dr. Craig. “Roots of Rhythm Funsheets” – World Drumming for 5th and 6th
Grade Classrooms, 2004 Percussion Marketing Council, www.playdrums.com
23. Woodson, Dr. Craig. “Roots of Rhythm”, Percussion Instrument Making Notes,
2004 Percussion Marketing Council, www.playdrums.com
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