Lesson video

Hi there, everybody.

Welcome to this lesson on Civil Rights Songs and the Power of Repetition.

This is from our Singing Together unit.

And we are looking at Music That Comments on Social Change.

My name is Mr. Croughan.

I will be your teacher for today.

And I'm very much looking forward to exploring the topics in this unit.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say, "I can identify music that talks about civil rights, and I can sing using the power of repetition." As we always do, we will begin by looking through our keywords.

Some of them are musical and some of them are not.

The first one, civil rights.

These are rules that make sure that everybody in society is treated fairly, no matter who they are.

We think about chanting in music, and that is speaking in time to a pulse.

In this case, specifically for showing support or for sharing, conveying a message.

Apartheid.

Now, apartheid was a system in South Africa where the government made unfair rules to separate people based on their skin color.

And we'll look at each of these in more depth.

And lastly, repetition.

That is the purposeful use of repeating a phrase in lyrics or in music.

There are two learning cycles in today's lesson, the first one is understanding that fight for civil rights, and the second one, using repetition in protest music.

So we'll begin with understanding the fight for civil rights.

Here we go.

First, let's ask ourselves, "What are civil rights?" Now, civil rights are guarantees that people will be treated the same under the law.

So that means no matter how old you are, your gender, your religion, your race, or any other part of your identity, civil rights are guarantees that you will be treated the same under the law.

Now, there's many different types of civil rights.

We have civil rights that prevent people becoming enslaved.

There are women's rights, land rights, LGBT rights, and education rights, giving us all access to education.

Now, apartheid, one of our keywords, apartheid was a system in South Africa where the government made unfair rules based on people's skin color.

People were separated based on the color of their skin.

And this lasted from 1948 to 1994.

So what's that? 46 years.

Then a man called Nelson Mandela and many others became anti-apartheid activists.

He was also a politician.

Now, under apartheid, the law said where people could live, it said where they could go to school, where they could work.

And it was all based on their skin color.

Now, it's important to know that Black people did not have the same rights as white people, and that's unfair, hurt many people.

Now, it eventually ended when leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist and politician, who then became a prime minister of South Africa, worked to bring people together.

We are going to listen to a piece of music called "Ndodemnyama," translating as "Beware, Verwoerd." And we're going to look at who that person is in a moment.

And it's by the singer Miriam Makeba.

And it was released in 1965.

Miriam Makeba is a musician and singer recognized for being a supporter of civil rights, as well as bringing a broad range of African music, including Afropop and jazz, to a western audience.

Now, Hendrik Verwoerd was a former prime minister of South Africa who helped create and enforce apartheid.

So this is before Nelson Mandela.

When you listen to the music, I'd like you to notice that use of repetition.

It really emphasizes the message, which roughly translates as, "Watch out, Verwoerd.

Here comes the Black man.

Your days are over." And we hear this phrase that's repeated throughout the song.

And as Sam says, "This use of repetition is an effective way of emphasizing a message or a phrase in lyrics or music." Now, when Mary Makeba died, Nelson Mandela said of her that, "Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us." So when you listen to the track, I'd like you to think, well, what do you think about the song? And do you think it inspires hope? And then you're gonna think, "Well, what musical features has she used to give the song that sense of hope?" So I'd like you to think about the tempo, tempo of the song, how fast or slow it is, that use of repetition, and the upbeat feel.

It doesn't have a slow temper, it kicks along.

We're gonna pause the video here.

And I'd like you to listen to the track and consider those points on the screen.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

I hope you had some great discussions in your class.

Some things you may have said might include that the use of repetition helps get the clear message across, and that the upbeat feel makes you feel like you want to move, to be active, to do something.

And that the tempo is fairly quick.

This gives a more positive feel than it does a negative one.

Maybe that the tempo is helping it to feel more hopeful than if it was at a slower pace.

Now, repetition, one of our keywords that we keep coming back to, is used right across music genres.

We most commonly will hear that choruses are repeated in songs.

They're kind of the hook that get us in.

We remember choruses sooner than we remember the verses often because they're repeated.

We hear this a lot in pop music.

In the orchestral repertoire, lots of classical music, we hear themes or what are called light motifs.

In pop or rock, you might call it a riff, that repeated sound.

In classical and in the orchestral repertoire, light motifs are used.

And also baselines and drum rhythms are repeated a lot in house music and in techno.

As Sam says, "Repetition's useful because it's catchy.

It reinforces a musical theme or idea, and it can bond us together." When you hear that chorus, if you're at a concert, and everyone joins in the chorus or that familiar part of the music, it's something that can really bond us together.

Now, from as early as 1619, the transatlantic slave trade began, and Black people were enslaved in various parts of the United States of America, taken from parts of Africa, predominantly West Africa, and enslaved.

Now, this happened from 1619 until emancipation, which was in 1865.

So you can see this huge chunk of time.

Now, when slavery officially ended with abolition, 1865, racism didn't stop, unfair laws continued, and this gave way to the uprising of the civil rights movement in the 20th century.

So Black people and people of color were not given equal rights, freedom, or even respect.

And music was a tool that played a powerful role in the fight for justice.

So we're gonna explore that a little bit.

We're gonna begin by listening to "What's Going On." That's a song from 1971 by the soul singer Marvin Gaye.

Now, Marvin Gaye was a soul singer, well known for his love songs.

But when he started to notice things happening around him that he wanted to stand up for, he decided to use music to express how he felt about the world.

Now, the song, "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye wrote in response to the injustice and violence against anti-war protestors.

Now, this was in California in 1969, and people were protesting about the American involvement in the war in Vietnam, okay? Now, the draft, the military draft, the way of calling people up to go and fight, had a real unfair bias towards minority groups and working-class communities.

And so it affected disproportionately Black Americans, African Americans.

Now, the lyrics in the song, they speak to various things that were happening to African Americans.

And as you listen, you can hear the cries of emotion in his singing.

So we're gonna have a listen to "What's Going On." Now, it has been described as a protest song, but in his own words, Marvin Gaye described it in this way.

He said, "No, man, it's a love song about love and understanding.

I'm not protesting.

I want to know what's going on." You'll hear in the chorus Marvin's voice, he uses a higher pitch, and his emotion kind of comes through, that he's conveying his emotion through the song.

And when he uses his higher pitch in the choruses, you hear that more.

You might also hear, kind of later on in the track, if you, say, listen to the first bit, and then maybe if you skip more towards the end, you'll hear there's higher, almost sung cries, and there's a lot of use of repetition there as well.

So pause here, have a listen, and we'll have a chat in a moment.

Okay, great, well done.

Good listening.

We're gonna have a little think now about what similarities that you can list between "Ndodemnyama" and "What's Going On." So pause the video, have a little think and a chat, think, what are those songs about, why are they similar what are those similarities you can notice and point out? Some of them might be musical, some of them might be more to do with the lyrics or the reason behind the composition.

So pause here, have a chat, and we'll come back in a sec.

Okay, now, you may have said things like, "Both songs are quite upbeat.

'What's Going On' perhaps has a more mournful tone to it, but it doesn't have a slow tempo.

Both songs talk about civil rights.

And both were written in response to what was going on around those composers, those musicians, and lyricists.

So they are responding to what they're seeing and what they want to stand up against.

'Ndodemnyama' has repetition throughout it.

And if you listen to that later on part of Marvin's track, you can hear, he uses repetition at the end of his song." You're gonna have a listen to it one more time if you need to.

And I'd like you to answer these questions.

So playing the track might be helpful as you think about how is repetition used in his song.

And then as a class, so whether you write these down, or whether you discuss them, that's up to you, as a class, you're going to repeat the sung phrase, "What's going on?" You can do that along to the track, if you like, playing the end part with that repetition.

And just consider, there's no wrong answer here, what images come to mind? What do you think about, when as a class united together, your singing that? And have a short discussion on that.

Then think, can you describe how Marvin Gaye uses his voice to create that emotion, to convey that feeling, particularly in the chorus? And then jot down three issues that the song could talking about.

Again, there's no strict wrong answer to this, so pause here, work through those four, and we'll catch up with your ideas in a moment.

All right then, question one, how is repetition used in the song? You may have said things like, "The repetition of, 'What's going on,' can make it easier for people to join in after you're hearing it a few times.

And it's also a really clear message.

The repetition is used to convey a message, it's identifying a problem, and it issues a warning." For question two, when you sang that repeated phrase, and we're thinking about what images come to mind, you might have suggested images of injustices, noticing that there's a wider issue, that there's people feeling worried or upset about what's happening in the world.

And you may have said lots of other things too.

Hope it was a good, rich conversation where you are.

For question three, can you describe how Marvin Gaye uses his voice to create emotion in the chorus? Now, we've touched on this slightly.

So you might have suggested there's passion in his voice, some sounds are like cries, and that he uses that higher range, which in itself comes with more emotion, more emotion is kind of carried through those higher notes.

And in question four, writing down three issues that the song could be talking about, you might have included things like injustice, violence against anti-war protestors, civil rights for all, equal rights, the need for understanding each other better.

And you might've said lots more too.

So well done for your thoughtful answers.

The second learning cycle is using repetition in protest music.

Now, we've heard how repetition has been used as this powerful tool.

This way, musicians and songwriters can clearly make their point and be specific, and convey a message that matters.

And as Jacob says, "By repeating words or phrases, that can help us to remember an issue or a name or a slogan.

And by remembering and understanding, that can help us understand and support people who are affected by a particular issue." Now, we're going to listen to a piece called "WAKE, For Grenfell." This is composed by the saxophonist, singer, composer, Cassie Kinoshi.

Now, she wrote this, if you're thinking you remember the word Grenfell, the piece of music was released in 2019, and it talks about the Grenfell Tower fire, which occurred in London in 2017.

Now, this was a tower block fire, a housing tower block, where the building materials, that the cladding and the insulation, were not fit for purpose, and were highly flammable.

And this caused the whole building, once a fire had started, to burn.

And Cassie Kinoshi, she uses repetition in her opening lyrics and in the accompaniment, that musical accompaniment, to make the point that no one should have died in the fire.

And this is a powerful track.

She takes the lyrics from the poem "Wake." This is by an American poet, from Langston Hughes, from Missouri.

And it's good to know, musicians are often inspired by other art, in this case, a poet.

And they can use those ideas from what they've read or what they've seen or heard in their work, and apply it to their own.

We're gonna listen to the track.

You are going to write down the lyrics you can hear as you listen.

The more you listen, the easier it will become to understand them.

And then I'd like you to pause.

So as a class, collectively reflect on those lyrics that are used from that poem and think what message they send out.

So pause the video here, have a listen.

You can listen a couple of times.

That beginning section's really helpful.

And we'll catch up in a moment.

Good stuff.

Great listening.

So you can put the track on again, if you'd like to.

I'd like you to list as many things as you can that you can hear that are repeated in the song, whether that's lyrics, whether that's in the accompaniment, whichever it is.

So think about those vocals, the instruments that are used, those sounds you can hear, particularly the beginning perhaps, what is it you notice where repetition is used? Pause here, have another listen, have a quick chat, and jot some ideas down.

Okay, great.

So you may have said things like, "At the beginning, there's that marching on the steady beat, that there's repetition of the lyrics taken from the poem 'Wake.

' And there's also repetition in the instruments, in the melody line, in some of those riffs, and the voice, those instruments and voice sometimes share the same melody that's repeated sometimes in the voice, sometimes in the instruments." You may have said other things too.

So very well done.

We know that repetition is a powerful musical tool.

It helps us to remember important issues.

And repetition can also bring us together.

There's lots of things that unite us, almost on a neurological level, in our brains, marching, chanting, drumming, you've seen drumming circles, singing, people singing in choirs.

When we do this together, it has lots of benefits.

Now, singing might come to your mind foremost, something that allows us an emotional expression.

They also build a sense of community.

They're great icebreakers.

They unite people, doing things collectively.

And we are stronger together than we are individually.

So we feel that collective strength, and perhaps, if we're thinking about protest music, that collective strength to achieve more.

And we can also empathize with the lived experience others.

Quick check, who do you agree with more? Maybe some of these thoughts ran through your mind.

Alex says, "Lyrics from an old poem, they're just not relevant to me.

It doesn't make sense for me to say them." Whereas Aisha says, "Well, even though I don't fully understand the lyrics, they do help me to empathize with someone else's view and their emotions." Have a think.

Who do you agree with more? Perhaps there's no wrong answer.

Up to you.

You can pause here, if you'd like, have a quick chat about it in your classroom.

I would align more with Aisha, because I might not understand the lyrics, that they don't fully align with everything I'm doing in my life, but they do help me to empathize, to understand someone else's viewpoint, someone else's emotions, that lived experience, that they might be feeling or have been through.

Okay, second task.

This is based on "WAKE, For Grenfell" by Cassie Kinoshi.

You are going to put the track on.

I would like you, as a class, whether you are standing, if you can, or sat, to stamp or tap in time together on the steady beat.

You are gonna be mimicking the marching sound that we can hear in "WAKE." So play the track and see if you feel empowered by doing it together as a whole group.

And then, super helpful if you jotted those lyrics down, you can join in with singing the lyrics as you march.

And I'd like you to do that twice through.

You're gonna notice how that makes you feel, if there's anything that it brought to you emotionally.

And as a class, you get to discuss that afterwards.

We're gonna be mindful of everybody's thoughts, emotions, point of view.

So pause, run through those steps, and see how it makes you feel.

Okay, good stuff.

Now, let's think about how we feel now that you, as a class, you've done that together.

Did it make you feel more connected, more united, in solidarity perhaps? How impactful is the poem, those lyrics that are taken from the poem, when you sing it? And does it feel more impactful when you repeat it? Is that use of repetition powerful as a singer? Now, we know that not everyone wants to openly share their feelings, and that's fine.

And often we need time and thinking space to consider our emotions, to think about them.

So it's important that when we're chatting, that we are listening to each other without judgment.

And when we're discussing challenging issues, we give people the space to convey the thoughts and feelings that they have, and also to know that it's fine to change your mind.

Okay, as we are almost at the end of today's lesson, let's think about what we have learned.

We know that has been used as a platform to talk about many different civil rights issues right across the world.

And that repetition can be an important tool in creating music, so that music and messages can be remembered.

Repetition and chanting that allows many people to join in.

And with that comes a sense of connectivity and unity.

And that singing songs that comment on social justice can be more powerful in groups than singing alone.

Really well done for today.

Great thoughtful answers and discussions around that music.

And I will look forward to seeing you in the next lesson.