- Year 10
- Edexcel
South Asian and Celtic musical fusions
I can explain that fusions of musical styles are varied and draw on musical influences from around the world.
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- Year 10
- Edexcel
South Asian and Celtic musical fusions
I can explain that fusions of musical styles are varied and draw on musical influences from around the world.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- There are many examples of musical fusion between Western musical styles and music from the Indian subcontinent.
- These usually mix typical instruments (such as sitar, tanpura and tabla), rhythms and melodies from the styles.
- The same is the case with the traditional Celtic music of Scotland and Ireland.
- Celtic melodies and instruments including the fiddle, tin whistle and accordion are used in fusion with other styles.
- Jazz, rock and electronic are some of the more common Western styles that are fused with Celtic and South Asian styles.
Keywords
Indian subcontinent - The Indian subcontinent is a region in South Asia that consists primarily of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Tabla - A tabla is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Its distinct timbre includes high and low tones.
Sitar - A sitar is a stringed instrument from the Indian subcontinent that is often used in specific styles.
Tanpura - A tanpura is a stringed instrument that creates a constant 'drone' sound. This is common in some styles of Indian music.
Celtic - Scotland, Ireland and Wales are often referred to as the Celtic nations, due to their historical links with the Celtic people.
Common misconception
South Asian (or Indian) music is a genre itself.
South Asian music is as diverse as European music. There are many different styles linked to different groups of people, places and traditions. What we are looking at here are a few ways that South Asian genres have been fused with Western genres.
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: South Asian and Celtic musical fusions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: South Asian and Celtic musical fusions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the Fusions and Bhangra unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Files needed for this lesson
- 10FUSL2 Celtic fusion melody 493.18 KB (MP3)
- Celtic fusion template 224.06 KB (ZIP)
Download these files to use in the lesson.
Equipment
DAW and/or class instruments
Licence
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