1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

   

MUSIC WORKSHOP

Presented by Jules Reid (jules@acle.it)

A FEW QUOTATIONS

“Music is the universal language of mankind.”—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Music is what feelings sound like.”—Anonymous

“Without music life would be a mistake.”—Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Music is love in search of a word.”—Sidney Lanier

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.”—Plato

SIGNIFICANT SONGS

These are three songs that are significant to me:

Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana – The song that made me want to play the guitar.

Let it Be by The Beatles – Positive message. Reminds me of my mother.

Danny Boy (Traditional Irish Folk Song) – Played at my father’s funeral.

Think of three songs that are significant to YOU. Why are they significant?

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

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WHY USE MUSIC IN THE ESL CLASSROOM?

Most classroom music activities focus on lyrics (words). Pop songs have several features that help students learn and retain lyrics, including common, short words and many personal pronouns. A survey of songs showed that 94% of the songs chosen had a first person (I) reference and that the majority was written at about a fifth elementary level. Songs also feature conversational language, including slang and many imperatives and questions. Lyrics are often sung more slowly than words are spoken, with more pauses. Perhaps most importantly, they feature repetition of vocabulary and structures. This helps learners to understand and relate to the songs. A further benefit of pop song lyrics is that their meanings are not often fixed and they can, therefore, be open to different interpretations. Examine a range of ESL textbooks, from elementary to advanced, and you will see a range of grammatical structures covered. It is generally accepted that students will not begin to study the past simple until they have achieved some level of competence with the present simple; or, to give another example, that the conditional will not be looked at before the present perfect. These are reasonable expectations but, when using music as a tool for ESL, these standard conventions can, to a certain extent at least, be disregarded.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Does a student need be able to understand every single word of a song in order to benefit from its use? 2. How much of a song should a student be able to understand? 3. If a song uses grammatical structures that are above the students' level, must it be avoided? 4. Would the song 'Yellow Submarine' be suitable for elementary students? Why? Why not? What about ‘Jingle Bells’?

SELECTING MUSIC

Song lyrics should be clear and loud, not submerged in the instrumental music. Primary School Students: For beginning level students, choose short, slow songs supported by related activities such as word puzzles that use lyrics from the song, drawing key vocabulary from the song, and showing students pictures related to the vocabulary of the song. Examples include All Together Now, Stand by Me, and Octopus’s Garden by The Beatles.

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Middle School Students: Choose songs that tell stories, moving toward short, fast songs Examples include Here Comes the Sun and Hello Goodbye by The Beatles. High School Students: Choose longer and faster songs that have fewer high frequency vocabulary items. Examples include Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Important! Octopus’s Garden by The Beatles is a great example of a song that could provide a teacher of elementary students with a whole year’s worth of lesson material! It is full of prepositions, vocabulary, verbs and pronouns. It is important that the teacher chooses to focus on one particular aspect of the song so as not to confuse the students. For elementary students, I would always focus on vocabulary or ‘action’ verbs (sing/dance). The activity sheet that focuses on prepositions would be suitable for middle school students.

Finding copies of song lyrics is not difficult. Many are available on the Internet, and many recordings contain lyric sheets. Songs by The Beatles such as Yesterday (1965) and In My Life (1966) have clear, direct lyrics and a timeless quality that make them appropriate for students of nearly all ages. Students are often strongly motivated to learn the lyrics of a new pop song or an old favorite they have heard and never understood, so their choices should be considered. You should also like the song! The students will sense your enthusiasm and respond to it. Important! Set context for the students. Who wrote the song? When was it recorded? Was it a hit? In which countries? Have there been other cover versions? Has it been used in a film? Find different versions of the same songs. Why do we set context?

LISTENING AND ORAL ACTIVITIES

Songs introduce the features of supra-segmentals (how rhythm, stress, and intonation affect the pronunciation of English in a particular context). Through songs, students discover the natural stretching and compacting of the stream of English speech, as with the reduction of the auxiliary have to the sound /uv/.

READING AND WRITING ACTIVITIES Gap-fill activities, in which students fill in missing vocabulary, pronouns, verbs, etc. Different types of Gap-fill: normal (Octopus’s Garden), picture dictionary (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds), similar sounding words (Stand by Me).

Ordering cut-up song lyrics: This can be done as a competition between groups. After listening several times, the students can sing the song together.

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Song-writing: Students can write songs in groups and practice numerous grammatical and lexical areas. Such activities also build teamwork skills. Transcription/Notation: When the lyric sheet is handed out, the groups can compare what they heard and wrote with the actual words. Retelling and summarizing: Many songs tell a story, and these stories can be rewritten or retold to practice narrative or summarizing skills or direct and reported speech. VOCABULARY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES Pop songs are written to be easily understood and enjoyed. As discussed above, they often use high frequency words that have emotional content. Idioms may need to be discussed prior to listening to the song. CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE ACTIVITIES Songs are great for learning about different cultures. They are a rich mine of information about human relations, ethics, customs, history, humor, and regional and cultural differences.

RELATED PROJECTS FOR ALL LEVELS

Design a cover for the record.

List the names of the musicians and the related verbs (i.e. John Lennon sings/sang and plays/played the guitar. Ringo Starr plays/played the drums.)

Write ‘sleeve notes’ and artist biographies.

Make a music video! Fun activity easily put together with Windows Movie Maker.

REFERENCES Lems, K. (2001). “Using Music in the Adult ESL Classroom.” Moi, C.M. (1994). “Rock Poetry.” Murphey, T.(1992). “The Discourse of Pop Songs.”

LINK TO WORKSHOP MATERIAL

1. Go to teach.aclezones.it 2. Under "Activities" click on "Workshops” 3. Open the workshop labeled “Music Workshop”.

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Stand by Me is a very famous song.

(To ‘stand by’ someone is to help them or to be their friend in a difficult time.)

It was first performed by the American singer, Ben E. King, in 1961.

There are many versions of the song and many famous singers have sang it: John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Muhammad Ali (!), U2, Gigi D’Agostino, Adriano Celentano (In Italian and Spanish), Green Day, Lady Gaga and Timon & Pumbaa in Disney’s film, ‘The Lion King’. There is also a 1986 film called ‘Stand by Me’ that was based on a story by Stephen King called ‘The Body’. Listen to the song and circle the correct word in italics: When the light/night/fight has come and the land is bark/mark/dark And the noon/tune/moon is the only light/night/sight we'll see No, I won't be afraid/dismayed/paid, oh I won't be afraid/said/made Just as long as you stand, stand by me So, darling, darling Stand by me, oh, stand by me, oh, stand, stand by me, stand by me If the high/sky/fly that we look upon, should tumble and fall/ball/call Or the mountains/fountains should crumble to the see/sea/bee I won't die/fly/cry, I won't sigh/cry/goodbye, no I won't shed a tear Just as long as you stand, stand by me And, darling, darling etc. Fumble, crumble, mumble, tumble…

To speak unclearly: ________________

To break into small pieces: ________________

To drop a catch: ________________

To fall suddenly: ________________

To ‘shed a tear’ is to: cry/laugh/dance

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Octopus’s Garden is a song by The Beatles, written and sung by Ringo Starr.

Ringo, The Beatles’ drummer, was on a boat in Sardinia in 1968.

He wanted fish and chips for lunch but was given squid!

The boat’s captain told Ringo: ‘Octopuses swim along the sea bed looking for stones to make gardens!’

I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus's garden in the shade He'd let us in, knows where we've been In his octopus's garden in the shade

I'd ask my friends to come and see, an octopus' garden with me I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus's garden in the shade.

We would be warm below the storm In our little hideaway beneath the waves

Resting our head on the sea bed In an octopus's garden near a cave

We would sing and dance around because we know we can't be found I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus's garden in the shade

We would shout and swim about the coral that lies beneath the waves

(Lies beneath the ocean waves) Oh what joy for every girl and boy Knowing they're happy and they're safe

(Happy and they're safe)

We would be so happy you and me no one there to tell us what to do

I’d like to be under the sea in an octopus’s garden with you.

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Octopus’s Garden – Focus on prepositions

UNDER (X4) IN (X11) WITH (X2) BENEATH (X3) NEAR, AROUND BELOW, ON, ABOUT, FOR (X1)

I'd like to be (1) ________________ the sea In an octopus's garden (2) _________ the shade He'd let us (3) __________, knows where we've been

(4) ___________ his octopus's garden (5) ___________ the shade I'd ask my friends to come and see An octopus's garden (6) ____________ me I'd like to be (7) ___________ the sea (8) ___________ an octopus' garden (9) ___________ the shade. We would be warm (10) ___________ the storm (11) ___________ our little hideaway (12) ___________ the waves Resting our head (13) ___________ the sea bed (14) ___________ an octopus's garden (15) ___________ a cave We would sing and dance (16) ___________ because we know we can't be found I'd like to be (17) ___________ the sea (18) ___________ an octopus's garden (19) ___________ the shade We would shout and swim (20) ___________

The coral that lies (21) ___________ the waves (Lies (22) ___________ the ocean waves) Oh what joy (23) ___________ every girl and boy Knowing they're happy and they're safe (Happy and they're safe) We would be so happy you and me No one there to tell us what to do I'd like to be (24) ___________ the sea (25) ___________ an octopus's garden (26) ___________ you.

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Lucy in the sky with diamonds is a song by The Beatles.

It was written in 1966 by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Lennon's son, Julian, came home from nursery school with a drawing of his friend Lucy. She had diamonds for eyes.

The song is like a nursery rhyme (filastrocca)

John Lennon said: “The images are from Alice in Wonderland.”

Kaleidioscope*Marmalade*Newspaper Taxis*Cellophane*Turnstile*

Looking glass*Plasticine*Rocking horse*Head in the clouds*Tangerine

Picture yourself in a boat on a river with trees and skies

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with eyes

flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes and she’s gone Lucy in the sky with diamonds (X3) Ohhhh Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain

Where people eat marshmallow pies Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers, that grow so incredibly high

appear on the shore, waiting to take you away

Climb in the back with your And you’re gone Lucy in the sky with diamonds (X3) Ohhhh Picture yourself on a train in a station

With porters with ties

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Suddenly someone is there at the the girl with kaleidoscope eyes.