"The Music of the Soul" WebQuest Analysis
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Woodard's “The Music of the Soul” WebQuest is designed around the Co-operative Teaching Model. The primary objective is twofold: to describe the legacy and influence of slave songs. Student are placed in groups of four people that are tasked to complete individual research discovering examples; imagery, metaphors and analogies; function, sound and origin of slave songs, as well as connections to modern music with specific examples of styles, forms, and artists influenced by slave songs. After this, the group comes together and assembles their work in a Jigsaw fashion, with each student being the expert teaching their fellow group members, while the group brainstorms the important or main ideas, developments, moments, and examples provided by each person. Using the information gathered by the group, and online examples of museum exhibits, students are asked to name and create an engaging showcase that teaches people about slave songs and their connections to modern music.
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The lesson is broad, asking students to consider both the legacy and influence of slave songs, as well as creating a museum exhibit. Dividing the research into two discrete sections would allow students to focus their research in support of a single objective. e.g. Section #1: Describe the legacy of slave songs. Section #2: Describe the influence of slave songs. This allows the instructor to divide the instructions in support of each lesson. e.g. Section #1: Discover examples; imagery, metaphors and analogies; function, sound and origin of slave songs. Section #2: Connect slave songs to modern music by providing specific examples of correlating styles, forms, and artists. The group will then be able to synthesize each person's examples in support of the individual points rather than have to infer meaning into the instructor's generalized instruction to brainstorm the important or main ideas, developments, moments, and examples provided by each person. Presenting the museum exhibit as a third section supporting the creation of a display showcasing two objectives, legacy and influence, allows students to integrate the two clearly delineated and researched sections. Telling students that the exhibit is only engaging when they are able to correlate slave songs with modern music undermines the value of slave songs standing on their own merit. Giving equitable weight to both the historical significance of slave songs, as well as their correlation with modern music brings life to the entire story.
The lesson could use a little scaffolding. Direct Instruction about imagery, metaphors and analogies would help students best understand the instructor's questions and find appropriate examples in the slave songs. A Vocabulary Acquisition lesson defining the word “function” in relation to slave songs provides insight into what, at the time, were frequently hidden and obscure meanings behind the words, rhythm and tone of slave songs. To be sure, students should be told that the “function” of slave songs may remain forever a mystery to modern white culture because modern-day oppression causes some people in black society to live in continued silence regarding their culture and history. Indeed, modern-day white society can, at best, only infer their own meanings into slave songs. This insight provides critical information that helps improve students' acceptance and tolerance of other cultures, as well as opening their mind to the reality of culturally-significant “functions” for slave songs.
This lesson has not been maintained. Many of the links are no longer attached to functional pages. This, of course, should be corrected and broken links replaced with links to pages with supportive information. One such page can be found at soundsofslavery.com Although this page speaks most directly to the black musical heritage of slaves transported through Liverpool, it draws some broad generalizations about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that, in general, could apply worldwide. The Slavery Song Database in the Sounds of Slavery website includes a list of songs specific to America that are described by song types: spirituals, work songs, and songs of freedom. This information provides students with additional understanding into the “function” of slave songs.
Finally, add the following quoted section exploring specific examples of the musical aesthetics that serve as the foundation of black music in order to provide students with insight providing an increased understanding of what the instructor means when asking students to consider the “sound” of slave songs and their modern-day derivatives.
African-Influenced Musical Aesthetics
REFERENCES
Appell, G. and Hemphill, D. (2006). American popular music: a multicultural history. Thomson Higher Education (26-27).
Smith, B (1928). Empty bed blues. Part I. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXIIA9B58_Y
Sounds of slavery (n.d.). River Niger Arts. Retrieved from http://soundsofslavery.com/
Woodard, E. (n.d.). The music of the soul: slave songs and the birth of a new american music. questgarden.com Retrieved from http://questgarden.com/61/99/5/080306154328/index.htm
The lesson could use a little scaffolding. Direct Instruction about imagery, metaphors and analogies would help students best understand the instructor's questions and find appropriate examples in the slave songs. A Vocabulary Acquisition lesson defining the word “function” in relation to slave songs provides insight into what, at the time, were frequently hidden and obscure meanings behind the words, rhythm and tone of slave songs. To be sure, students should be told that the “function” of slave songs may remain forever a mystery to modern white culture because modern-day oppression causes some people in black society to live in continued silence regarding their culture and history. Indeed, modern-day white society can, at best, only infer their own meanings into slave songs. This insight provides critical information that helps improve students' acceptance and tolerance of other cultures, as well as opening their mind to the reality of culturally-significant “functions” for slave songs.
This lesson has not been maintained. Many of the links are no longer attached to functional pages. This, of course, should be corrected and broken links replaced with links to pages with supportive information. One such page can be found at soundsofslavery.com Although this page speaks most directly to the black musical heritage of slaves transported through Liverpool, it draws some broad generalizations about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that, in general, could apply worldwide. The Slavery Song Database in the Sounds of Slavery website includes a list of songs specific to America that are described by song types: spirituals, work songs, and songs of freedom. This information provides students with additional understanding into the “function” of slave songs.
Finally, add the following quoted section exploring specific examples of the musical aesthetics that serve as the foundation of black music in order to provide students with insight providing an increased understanding of what the instructor means when asking students to consider the “sound” of slave songs and their modern-day derivatives.
African-Influenced Musical Aesthetics
- Heterogeneous Sound Ideal: Complex interaction of contrasting musical elements.
- Call and Response: Statement by singer or instrumentalist followed by response from others.
- Vocal Styles: Guttural effects, lyric improvisation, vocal rhythmization, blue notes, falsetto, metaphors/codes
- Rhythmic Features: Syncopation, rhythmic improvisation, the groove, swing, body rhythm
- Melodic Features: Minor pentatonic and blues scale, microtones in ambiguous modes.
REFERENCES
Appell, G. and Hemphill, D. (2006). American popular music: a multicultural history. Thomson Higher Education (26-27).
Smith, B (1928). Empty bed blues. Part I. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXIIA9B58_Y
Sounds of slavery (n.d.). River Niger Arts. Retrieved from http://soundsofslavery.com/
Woodard, E. (n.d.). The music of the soul: slave songs and the birth of a new american music. questgarden.com Retrieved from http://questgarden.com/61/99/5/080306154328/index.htm
