- Year 10
- Eduqas
Calypso, mento and soca
I can describe the core features of calypso, mento and soca and can complete a short calypso creative task.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 10
- Eduqas
Calypso, mento and soca
I can describe the core features of calypso, mento and soca and can complete a short calypso creative task.
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
- Calypso and mento are important musical styles from the Caribbean that have their roots in colonial history.
- While they have some similar features, there are big differences in lyrics, origins and instrumentation.
- Soca is a repetitive, catchy upbeat style that developed from calypso in the 1970s as a form of dance music.
- All three styles use some similar syncopated rhythms.
- Steel pans are a key part of the culture of Trinidad and Tobago, and often perform calypso as well as other styles.
Keywords
Calypso - Calypso is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
Mento - Mento is a Jamaican style of music with many similarities to calypso.
Soca - Soca (short for ‘soul of Calypso’) is an upbeat style that developed out of Calypso in the 1970s. It is often heard at carnival and used for dancing.
Steel pans - Steel pans are pitched percussion instruments from Trinidad and Tobago. They come in different sizes/pitches and are often used in large bands.
Common misconception
Calypso, mento and soca are different versions of the same musical style.
Although they have superficial similarities, these are all distinct styles with different features and histories. Soca is strongly linked to calypso and can be seen as an offshoot of that style, but mento is a completely separate tradition.
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Calypso, mento and soca, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Calypso, mento and soca, 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 Rhythms and conventions of Latin and Caribbean music unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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