Music from Mexico- Fifth Grade

Emily Kirven

A. Background

I have chosen to study Mexican culture for this project. I have known for a while that I want to teach in an underserved area, and, statistically, Latino/as often fall into that category. To prepare for my possible student demographic, I want to start researching Mexican music, as it is important to bring students’ cultures into the classroom, especially if they are different than your own. I understand not every Latino/a is from Mexico, but I want to at least start there. I also know nothing about Mexican culture, so this will be a good starting point.

When people think of music from Mexico, Mariachi music is what first comes to mind.

Mariachi music, also commonly practiced in America, is derived from the French word,

“marriage.” This represents the union of sorts of two cultural traditions coming together:

European Western classical music and Mexican religious music. Thus, Mariachi ensembles typically consist of both European and Mexican instruments, including violins, guitars, and trumpets, as well as guitar-like rhythmic instruments called vihuelas, a guitarro, which is like a ​ ​ ​ ​ bass guitar, and a Mexican folk harp. Mariachi music started off as an activity people did in the ​ ​ home, but over time it has become more rooted in professionalism. Mariachi ensembles can be hired for parties and weddings across both Mexico and the United States.

Another type of Mexican song is the corrido. Corridos are sung in Spanish, with ​ ​ ​ ​ opinionated lyrics about historical and political events. They are thought to have come to fruition after the Mexican-American War, which prompted racial tension and anti-American sentiments.

Today, much of popular Latin American music falls under the corrido category due to its ​ ​ political and social commentary.

Mariachi music has several unique song forms that are characterized only by repetitions of different rhythms. These forms include the bolero, canción ranchera, son, huapango, joropo, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ and danzón, and the rhythms that characterize them are played by the guitar section. This differs ​ ​ greatly from American popular music, where refrains and verses are distinguished by their texts as well as their musical elements. Mariachi ensembles can also be identified by their small size, usually of no more than 14 people, playing the instruments listed above.

Corridos can also be identified by their unique form. They usually have 36 lines total: six six-line stanzas or nine four-line stanzas, with 7-10 syllables per line. The stanzas either have an

ABCB or ABCBDB rhyme scheme depending on the number of lines per stanza. Corridos are also always in the vernacular, which could be Spanish, English, or in some cases, a mixture of both.

B. Lesson Content Outline

By the end of this unit, students will demonstrate knowledge of both traditional and everyday Mexican music, be able to sing in Spanish confidently, and gain a deeper understanding of Mexican culture through music. Students will also become more familiar with composition and performance in front of the class.

National Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Four Standards

Create Bass line Bass line composition composition

Perform Chant lyrics all Chant lyrics Sing all the way Small group the way through again for review, through again to performances Learn soprano keep memory part, Sing song fresh all the way through (both parts) with teacher accompaniment

Respond Draw Predict what is Fill out response connections coming next in sheets about between English sequence: we other groups’ and Spanish clapped and performances, pronunciation chanted, now we turn in and diction are singing on self-reflection solfege, then for next class what?

Connect History and Conclusion culture discussion with discussion with post test pretest Lesson Plan #1

National Core Arts Standards: Connect, Respond, Perform ​ Repertoire and Media: Projector, speakers, powerpoint, “Las Mananitas” ​ Music Learning Focus: Spanish pronunciation in rhythm ​ Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, students will have taken a pretest about Mexican ​ music, learned about different genres of Mexican music and its role in Mexican culture, and begun learning and chanting the Spanish lyrics to “Las Mananitas”

Procedure

-After walking in and seeing a map of Mexico with Mariachi music playing, students will take a quick pretest about Mexican culture (example below).

-I will give them a brief culture lesson, covering what was on the pretest, with listening examples about Marichi and Corrido styles

-We will segue into learning “Las Mananitas,” starting with just pronunciations and translation

(If Spanish class is offered at the school, I will collaborate with their teacher to present the most uniform pronunciation possible)

-Repetitions of the pronunciations will incorporate the rhythm of the piece

-I will have the students determine whether “Las Mananitas” fits more into Corrido or Mariachi tradition

Assessment of Learning Outcomes -The graded pretest will show me how much background knowledge the students have

-I will monitor how quickly they catch on to the pronunciations, asking for individual volunteers to demonstrate so I can assess

-I will see how well they can maintain the steady beat once we add rhythm to the lyrics

Sample Pretest

-What is the capital of Mexico?

-Which of these are types of music from Mexico? (circle two): Mariachi, Samba, Corrido, Salsa

-What European country colonized Mexico in 1521?

-Which group of people inhabited Mexico before its colonization: Incas, Mayans, or Aztecs?

Not evaluated: Do you speak Spanish at home?

Lesson Plan #2

National Core Arts Standards: perform, respond ​ Repertoire and Media: “Las Mananitas,” powerpoint, projector ​ Music Learning Focus: solfege practice, intervals of thirds, pronunciation while singing ​ Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, students will have worked on developing ​ two-hand solfege practice while singing, learned about the interval of a third and practiced singing it in “Las Mananitas,” and continued to practice Spanish pronunciations

Procedure

-We will start class by reviewing the pronunciation to “Las Mananitas” in rhythm

-Once they are comfortable chanting it without my help, I will sing the song for them in solfege

-I will teach them a lesson about minor thirds, first reviewing what an interval is and how to determine whether it is major or minor (with students answering my questions)

-I will sing the song for them in solfege again, and this time they will raise their hands when I sing a minor third

-We will chunk the song in solfege

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

-I will determine what percentage of them retained the pronunciations we learned in the previous lesson and build from there

-I will see how many of them raise their hands during the minor thirds lesson -I will watch to make sure all of them are performing the correct solfege with both hands while singing at the same time

Lesson Plan #3

National Core Arts Standards: Create, Perform ​ Repertoire and Media: “Las Mananitas,” projector, powerpoint, Orff instruments ​ Music Learning Focus: Composition, Orff technique ​ Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, students will gain confidence in composition, ​ hone their skills on Orff instruments, and develop their abilities to work in groups

Procedure

-We will review “Las Mananitas” on solfege and with lyrics

-At this point, I will display the sheet music on the projector

-We will talk about guidelines for composition (see example rubric), and review the role of bass lines and rhythmic accompaniment

-I will give the class 15 seconds to divide into groups of four and go to one of the clumps of Orff instruments I have already laid out (if they cannot do this quietly, I will pick the groups)

-We will quickly review mallet grips, asking the students to show and tell me what to do

-I will give them most of the class to compose their accompaniment, while I float around and answer questions

-We will stop with enough time to pack up

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

-I will watch and listen to see how well they retained their skills with lyrics and pitches combined from the previous lesson

-I will evaluate the Orff technique by asking them to tell me how to hold a mallet

-I will monitor each group for a few minutes to see how well they are staying on task

Lesson Plan #4

National Core Arts Standards: Create, Perform, Respond, Connect ​ Repertoire and Media: Projector, Orff instruments, “Las Mananitas” ​ Music Learning Focus: Performing one’s own composition for the class ​ Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, students will gain experience creating and ​ performing their own compositions for an audience, evaluating each other’s creations based on a set of guidelines, and reflecting on their own work.

Procedure

-At the beginning of class, the groups will get five more minutes of work time to finalize their accompaniment and bass line

-After ten minutes, I will hand out the evaluation sheets, then the groups will begin their performances

-One group will perform at a time, and there will be two minutes between each performance for the rest of the class to finish their evaluation sheets

-After every group has gone, I will pass out self-reflection sheets for the students to take home, complete, and bring back the next time I see them

-Then, we will gather in a circle on the carpet and talk about the unit: What were their biggest takeaways? What questions do they still have about Mexican music and culture? I will emphasize that though this was an in-depth four day unit, we only covered a small slice of Mexican music and culture, and what we did does not represent everyone in every part of the country (compare it to bluegrass music representing all of America).

-We will end with a post-test that matches the pre-test so I can show administrators proof of growth throughout the unit

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

-The biggest assessment of this lesson will actually be the composition rubric that is reflective of the whole unit (see below). I want to see and hear that they are incorporating all of the requirements but also being creative and making something of their own

-The evaluation and self-reflection sheets will also show me that they understood the assignment and that they could think critically about other performances. I will be the only one to see their peer feedback, but I will find common denominators that they all wrote down and discuss them as a general class the next time we meet.

-The post test is mostly for administration, but it will hopefully show me that they learned something.

Assessment Tools

I have two unit-wide assessment tools: The pre-test and post-test, and the composition rubrics and self-reflections. Even though the latter only show up in the last two lessons, I believe they emulate everything I am trying to cover here. I have included the pre- and post- test in lesson one, but here it is again:

-What is the capital of Mexico?

-Which of these are types of music from Mexico? (circle two): Mariachi, Samba, Corrido, Salsa

-What European country colonized Mexico in 1521?

-Which group of people inhabited Mexico before its colonization: Incas, Mayans, or Aztecs?

Here is the group composition rubric to be followed in lessons and three and four:

Are there two pitched instruments and two non-pitched instruments?

Is the composite rhythm different than just the notes we sing?

Is the bass line different than the melody we sing?

Are the instruments being played correctly?

Are at least two students singing?

Is the group performing with confidence?

And finally, the self-reflection prompt:

Did your group perform confidently?

Did you stay together the whole time?

Over the past two days, did everyone contribute equally?

What was something you learned throughout this activity?

C. References: Bibliography/Mediagraphy/Webliography

Arts Edge: Connect, Create. “What is a Corrido?” Washington, DC: The Kennedy Center ​ (2014).

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/~/media/artsedge/lessonprintables/grade-9-12/form_an

d_theme_mex_cor_what_is_a_corrido.ashx

Bowmar, Bryce and Moore, Fredericka (1994). World Dance Series: Folk Dances of Latin ​ America. Los Angeles, CA: Alfred Music Publishing. ​ Figueroa, Evelyn. Corridos sin Fronteras. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution ​ ​ Traveling Exhibition Service. http://www.corridos.org/main2.asp?language=E

Idalia Chew-Sanchez, Martha (2003). “Cultural Memory in the Rituals of the Mexican Diaspora ​ in the United States: the role of the corridos about immigration played by conjuntos ​ ​ ​ norteños and the aesthetics of the bailes norteños.” Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Institution. http://latino.si.edu/researchandmuseums/presentations/chewsanchesz_

papers.html

Miller, Terry and Shahriari, Andrew (2005). World Music: A Global Journey. Great Britain, UK: ​ ​ Routledge.

Nettl, Bruno, et al (2004). Excursions in World Music: Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: ​ ​ Pearson Education, Inc.

One World Nations Online. “History of Mexico.” Washington, DC: Library of Congress ​ (1998-2016). http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Mexico-history.htm

Puro Mariachi. “History of the Mariachi.” New York, NY: Higgins and Associates (1991). ​ http://www.mariachi.org/history.html Shehan Campbell, Patricia (2007). Tunes and Grooves for Music Education: Music for ​ Classroom Use. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ​ Teacher Vision. “Introduction to Mariachi Music.” Sandbox Networks, Inc. (2016). ​ https://www.teachervision.com/mexico/introduction-mariachi-music

Lesson 1 Resources

Lesson 2 Resources

Lesson 3 and 4 Resources