Say It Loud!:
A Celebration Of Black Music In America 

A Lesson for Upper Elementary and Middle Level Music Students
Cross Curricular Applications to Language Arts


Lesson 4 of 5 
Conveying Message Through Musical Composition


The Following Lesson Plan was originally written in collaboration with MENC: The 
National Association for Music Education to correspond with the VH1 Music Studio 
episode "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and has 
been adapted for use with "Say It Loud! A Celebration of Black Music In America"



Objectives 


€ Students will choose a theme for a song
€ Students will write a short topic-related poem
€ Students will compose music for their poem 

National Standards: 
  Content Standard 1: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
  Content Standard 2: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied 
  					  repertoire of music 
  Content Standard 4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines 
  Content Standard 5: Reading and notating music 
  Content Standard 6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music 
  Content Standard 7: Evaluating music and music performances 



Materials

€ VH1 Cable in the Classroom program “Say It Loud! A Celebration of 
  Black Music In America"
€ Television and VCR
€ Large sheets of paper for "brainstorming" 
€ Piano Classroom keyboards (optional)
€ 2 class periods of about 30 minutes each 

  
  
Procedures 


1. If your classroom has keyboards and students have experience with them, arrange 
  students in cooperative groups of three or four. If not, work with the class 
  as a whole. You know your students best and in what arrangements they work best. 

2.Tell students they are going to make up, or compose, a song. 

3. Review the different songs and topics the class viewed earlier in viewed 
  program.

4. Ask the class for suggestions on what messages they would like their song 
  to communicate. List acceptable topics on the chalkboard. (Topics can be adjusted 
  according to the age/maturity of students.) 

5. Have the class (or songwriting groups) vote to decide on which topic they 
  will use. 

6. Ask students to come up with several good first lines that introduce their 
  topic. If you are working with the class as a whole, write the suggestions on 
  the chalkboard. If the class is divided into groups, pass out large "brainstorming" 
  paper for them to write suggestions on. Tell students to consider many suggestions.

7. Tell students that while they may have written many different types of poems, 
  this one will have four lines, words that rhyme, and phrases that are balanced. 

For example: Some things are easy
  Some things are breezy 
  For you it's not tough
  But for me, it is rough.

8. Write the finished lyrics of the topic your students chose on the chalkboard 
  or, if students are in small groups, have each group write their lyrics on a 
  large sheet of paper. ( This is the end of the first part of the lesson.) 

9. Tell students that now that they have lyrics, they are going to make up, 
  or compose, the music. 

10. Present the class with a selection of accompaniment patterns that vary 
  in mood, tempo, meter, mode, and style. 

For example, you might demonstrate: 
  
  Rock n' Roll. This generally follows the progression I-vi-IV-V7 or I-vi-ii-V7.
  Blues. I I I I IV IV I I V IV I I 

11. Students vote on the accompaniment style they think is appropriate for 
  their lyrics. 

12. Play the selected accompaniment on the piano and speak or chant the text 
  in an appropriate rhythmic pattern. Recite the words in a way that will fit 
  into a four-measure phrase. Your chord progression should fit the length of 
  the line. Use rests to improve awkward lines. There is no one correct way to 
  do this. If your students are working in small groups, have each group work 
  in the same way as above after you have demonstrated the method. 

13. Have students ( or small groups) chant the words as you (or the designated 
  group member) play the accompaniment. 

14. Ask students to sing what they just changed as the accompaniment pattern 
  is played again. Tell students they can expect to hear many melodies at first. 
  As this is continued a second and third time, one melody will emerge. 

15. Play the accompaniment several times, as the students sing the melody. 

16. If your class is working in small groups, have each group play and sing 
  their song for the class. Extension If your students have experience in notating, 
  during another class period have them notate the melody and accompaniment line 
  on staff paper. Have them write in the lyrics.

If your students have experience in notating, during another class period have 
them notate the melody and accompaniment line on staff paper. Have them write 
in the lyrics. 

The lesson uses composition ideas presented in Composition in the Classroom: 
A Tool for Teaching, by Jackie Wiggins. 1990 ( MENC: Reston, Va.). 

VH1 in partnership with Cable in the Classroom, collaborated with
MENC: The National Association for Music Education to develop this series of lessons for
VH1 Music Studio