Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to today's music lesson.

I'm Ms..

(indistinct) And I'm gonna be your teacher for today.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is, "I can explain some key characteristics of folk music and can perform a simple pentatonic folk melody." So let's look at some keywords.

Folk music.

The traditional music of a culture that is passed down through generations.

Pentatonic scale.

This is a common scale in folk music consisting of five different notes.

Conjunct.

This is when there are small changes in pitch between one note and the next, so moving by step.

And phrase.

That's a short section of a melody, normally lasting two or four bars.

So today's lesson on characteristics of folk songs has two parts, "What is folk music?" And, "Playing a pentatonic folk melody." Let's get going with the first part, "What is folk music?" Folk music is a broad category of music that covers traditional music in many different cultures.

Many folk music traditions can be traced back hundreds or even thousands of years, while some have more recent roots.

An important aspect of folk music is how this music has been passed down through the generations.

Recorded music only became possible last century, and written music was not used in many cultures historically.

How do you think people remembered the music? Have a think.

Most folk music was passed down through the process of each generation teaching the songs to the next, which they memorized.

This is described as the oral tradition.

All countries and cultures have their own folk music traditions, and while there are huge differences between them, there are also some similar characteristics.

Some of the most ancient musical traditions come from East Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folk traditions.

How would you describe the melody of this Chinese folk song? You might need an adult's help to find this folk song, it's called "Mō Lì Huā." Find it and have a listen.

What did you think? Sam thinks it has a small range, clear phrases, ascends and descends, and generally moves by conjunct movement, so small steps.

Now have a listen to this folk melody from Uganda in Africa.

What similarities can you identify with the previous song, and what are the most obvious differences? Again, you might need help from an adult or teacher to find the music.

This is called "Bamunanika." Have a listen.

Jun thinks that the biggest differences are the instrumentation, including the vocals, and the use of repetition.

Aisha thinks it also has a small range, clear phrases, and it ascends and descends and moves by small steps.

This folk melody from the Ojibwe people in North America has some similar characteristics.

Which of the following features can you hear? Again, Maybe get some help to find this music, it's called "The Sun Shines." What did you think? Which features could you hear? Hopefully you could hear all of them, so clear phrases, conjunct movement, a small range, and repetition of melodic ideas.

The common characteristics of folk music across the world include simple melodies that can be learnt by ear and easily memorized.

Mostly conjunct movement, it's easy to sing as the notes move in small steps.

A small range based on a scale or a simple set of notes.

Short melodies with clear phrases that repeat.

Let's do a check for understanding.

Which of these are common characteristics of many folk traditions? You can choose all the ones that apply.

It is A, "They use simple melodies that repeat," B, "They use complex melodies that constantly change," C, "The melodies have a small range and move by step," and D, "The melodies have a large range and move by leap." What do you think? Did you get A and C? If so, well done.

Why do many folk melodies have a small range and move by step? Choose two of the answers.

Is it A, "Because that's easier to write in notation," B, "Because historically, instruments could only play a few notes," C, "Because it suits singers and some instruments well," or D, "Because it's easier to learn and remember?" Have a think.

Did you get C and D? If so, well done.

Most folk music is based on a set of notes called a scale.

These scales vary between different cultures and can sound very different from each other.

One common type of scale that is used in many folk traditions is the pentatonic scale.

Although there are many different versions, all pentatonic scales consist of five notes.

The five comes from "penta-," that's ancient Greek, and "-tonic," which comes from tónos, "-tonic," so that means "notes." One example of the pentatonic scale is the G major pentatonic scale.

Have a listen.

(piano playing) The G major pentatonic scale is similar to the first six notes of the G major scale, but missing out the note C.

Listen to the melody in these two folk pieces from different traditions, so this is going to be "Mō Lì Huā" and "Bamunanika" that you listened to earlier.

Both use a pentatonic scale, giving them a distinctive sound, have a listen to them both and see if you can hear that pentatonic scale.

Let's do a check for understanding.

How many notes are in a pentatonic scale? You should have said five.

And which notes are missing from the G major pentatonic scale here? We've got a G, then a gap, a B, a D, and then a gap, which notes are missing? Well done if you've got A and E, and you can see the scale written out there.

Let's move on to task A.

For the first question, how has folk music been passed down from generation to generation? Have a think and note down your answer.

Then listen to this Japanese folk melody.

Identify three typical features of folk melodies, so have a listen and then write down three typical features.

(gentle Japanese music) (gentle Japanese music continues) (gentle Japanese music continues) (gentle Japanese music continues) And then, let's draw and label the five notes of the G major pentatonic scale.

The first has been drawn for you.

(indistinct) How did you get on with task A? Let's have a look at the answers.

So the first question was, "How has folk music been passed down from generation to generation?" Hopefully you wrote something like this response, "Each generation taught the music to the next generation, who would memorize it." You could have also said the oral tradition.

"Listen to this melody.

Identify three typical features of folk melodies." So hopefully you listen to that Japanese melody.

You could have identified a simple melody, mostly conjunct movement, so that's where you're moving between notes in small steps, small range, clear phrases, repeated melodic ideas or phrases, or use of a pentatonic scale.

And then, for the third part of the task, "Draw the five notes of the G major pentatonic scale." So this is what it should look like, the G, A, B, D, and E.

Let's move on to part two of our lesson, "Playing a pentatonic folk melody." <v ->"Xtoles" is considered</v> one of the oldest known melodies in existence, possibly 3,000 to 4,000 years old.

It originated in the Maya civilization, that's an ancient civilization that existed in modern-day Mexico and Central America, you can have a look at the maps and see where that is.

It is thought that "Xtoles" was a tribute to the sun god that warriors sung and danced to.

The lyrics of this song are in the Mayan language, and you can see them on the screen there, this translates as, "Let's go, let's hurry, boys, for the sun is coming out." So let's have a listen to the melody and follow the lyrics through, again, you might need an adult or a teacher to help you find the piece of music.

Now let's have a listen to the vocal melody on its own.

(person singing in foreign language) We pronounce the words as.

(teacher speaking in foreign language) So we want you to practice saying the words four times with this rhythm.

Have a listen to the track, which will give you the rhythm, and then, practice with it.

So you want to use the rhythm.

(teacher singing in foreign language) Have a go yourself.

<v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (drum tapping rhythmically) <v ->Folk songs are normally learnt by ear</v> rather than through notation.

We can sing the melody to learn it.

So here's the first phrase.

<v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (person singing in foreign language) <v ->And why don't you play it again and join in.

</v> <v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (person singing in foreign language) <v ->And then, you can hear the second phrase.

</v> <v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (person singing in foreign language) <v ->And again, let's play it again and join in this time.

</v> <v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (person singing in foreign language) <v ->Now, both phrases together.

</v> [Person] One, two, three, four.

(person singing in foreign language) <v ->And join in putting both phrases together.

</v> <v Person>One, two, three, four.

</v> (person singing in foreign language) <v ->Let's do a check for understanding.

</v> How many different phrases make up the melody of "Xtoles?" Is it one, two, three, or four? What do you think? If you got two, well done.

Now have another listen to the vocal melody.

What typical features of folk melodies does it include? (upbeat piano music) (upbeat piano music continues) (upbeat piano music continues) Lucas says it has a small range and it uses the G major pentatonic scale, and it has clear phrases that repeat.

Sofia says it mostly moves with small steps, although there are some bigger leaps.

To learn the melody on the keyboard, we can use notation to guide us.

We can still sing the melody in our heads to help play accurate rhythms and pitch.

So here's the melody written out.

See it starts on a G? You'll want to learn the two phrases separately, then put them together, so watch this demo video, you can see they play the two phrases separately at first, and then, put them together.

So there's the first phrase, and you can hear the second phrase, and you'll notice the hand position in the video.

So it starts on the G, and that's going to be your third finger so that you've got space to stretch up to that B with your fifth, you're going to play the A with your fourth finger, and then, D with your thumb and E with your second figure.

This means you don't need to move your hand around a lot while you're playing, you can play the phrases together like that.

To extend the melody, we can add a variation of the melody, so have a listen to the extended melody, what's the difference between the extended melody, and then, the simple melody? Listen to both.

So listen to the extended melody, and then, the simple melody.

You can see the extended melody written out here.

So Aisha says the rhythm is identical, but the pitch jumps around more and is less conjunct, so you can see it starts on a B and moves around a lot more.

Once you can play the simple melody, you'll want to learn the complex variation.

Have a watch of the video.

The whole melody plays the simple version twice, and then, the complex version twice, and you can see this in the video.

So to play the full melody, you'll need to practice each phrase, two bars, on its own, and then, put them together.

The right hand position is thumb on D and little finger on B.

You can sing the melody to yourself to check the rhythms and pitches.

You'll want to play it at a consistent tempo, slower and accurate is better.

Only attempt the variation melody once you've mastered the simple version.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

What set of notes is "Xtoles" based on? Is it A, the G major scale, B, the G minor scale, C, the G major Pentatonic scale, or D, G minor pentatonic scale? What do you think? It's C, the G major pentatonic scale.

Well done if you got that.

And how has the melody of "Xtoles" been passed through the generations? Is it A, through writing, B, through recording, or C, by word of mouth? It was C, word of mouth.

Hope you got that right.

So let's move on to task B, performing the melody of "Xtoles." The success criteria for this is practicing each phrase on its own, then you can put them together.

You'll want to use the correct hand position, so that's your right hand thumb on D and little finger on B.

You can sing the melody to yourself as you practice to check rhythms and pitches.

You'll want to play with a consistent tempo, even if it's very slow to start, and learn the complex variation and play in the following pattern, so play the simple melody twice, and then, the complex melody twice.

So have a go at practicing that.

And here's the score for both the simple melody and the extended version.

Hope you got on well with your practice.

Have a listen to this clip, which section should this performer focus on practicing and why? What did you think? This performer should focus on practicing the second half, which is the extended version of the melody.

This is because it's not as fluent as the first half, the tempo is not consistent and there's some hesitation between the notes.

So let's summarize today's lesson on characteristics of folk songs.

Folk music encompasses many traditions from around the world that have been passed through generations orally.

They're varied, but also have some common characteristics, these include repetition of musical ideas and the use of simple conjunct melodies with a small range.

Many are based on the pentatonic scale, which includes five notes.

"Xtoles" is an ancient Maya song that is thought to have been sung by warriors.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson, I hope you enjoyed it.

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