Elise Moab

Music3824

Spring 2003

Music Repertoire Project

Dixie's Land

-D.D. Emmett (March)

1:11

Source: Songs of the Civil War

This selection is interesting because it is a deep Southern anthem, which was paradoxically written from the pen of a Northerner. It was played at the inauguration of Confederate president Jefferson Davis as well as the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. I would like to share this piece with students when we are learning about the Civil War. This is only a sample of the many great pieces that are accredited as "Civil War music."

Amazing Grace

Traditional; Religious Folk

2:36 and 2:52

I listened to two different recordings of this song: one traditional African American and one British American. This song is very interesting to me because of its expressiveness. The song is a prayer that has different interpretations as illustrated in the two recordings I listened to. I would like to share this piece with students because it is a very popular song that has lasted through the "tests of time."

Suliram (An Indonesian Lullaby)

Traditional Lullaby; Arranged by Tracy Silverman

3:15

Source: On a Starry Night

This is an old lullaby from the islands of Indonesia. The word "suliram" means "go to sleep." There is a beautiful interplay of the violin and flute. I like this song because it has a universal meaning and feel of being soothed or calmed for sleeping. This song would be a good illustration to go along with the next piece to show that all parts of the world have lullabies and that sleeping is a universal thing.

Anjo da Guarda (Brazilian Lullaby)

--Air to Moreira; Based on a Brazilian Spiritualist Hymn

2:30

Source: On a Starry Night

This lullaby has a beautiful melody that is whistled and also sung in Portuguese. Even though the words may not be understandable to one such as me, the meaning of the song is understandable. The song is about an angel that will guard you while you sleep so that your dreams will be happy. The song really sounds like sweet dreams. I would like to share this piece along with the piece "Suliram" above.

Proud Earth

-Arliene Nofchissey Williams

3:32

This song was written by a student at Brigham Young University. This composition stems from the expression in music and words of religious perceptions as well as Indian roots. Musically there are Indian elements as the use of a steady, repetitive drumbeat and vocables, as well as Euro-American elements such as a string orchestra, harmonies, interpretive dynamics and English text. The song represents the "new Navajo music." This song would especially be good in Utah schools since it ties together Utah culture with Native American culture.

Postal Workers

-Work Song in Ghana Post Office

Source: Worlds of Music, Field recording

2:59

This song is so interesting to me because the workers who are producing the sound do not see the sound as music; rather, they perceive it as ordinary work. In fact, they thought the man from another culture,who actually stopped to listen to them and then record them,very odd. As the workers cancel the letters, they make what a Euro-American perceives as music with the thumping of the letters, stamping the letters, clicking of scissors, and whistling. This would be a good piece to teach students about the different beliefs of cultures in what music is and the purpose that it serves.

Lil’ Jack Slade

-Emily Robison, Martie Maguire, Lloyd Maines, Terri Hendrix

2:23

Source: Dixie Chicks Album "Home"

I love this all-instrumental, bluegrass piece. It feels so happy and uplifting to me. I also love the fact that the main composers and instrumentalists of this song are women. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that we don't usually think of women when we think of bluegrass style. This song is fun because of all the different stringed instruments playing together. This would be a good piece to listen for different instruments as well as to just dance to and release energy!

In the Mood

-Garland & Razaf --Swing/Big Band Era

3:31

I felt I couldn't do this project without including something from the Big Band/Swing Era. I believed that "In the Mood" was a good representative piece. It is interesting to me because songs such as this one in particular just have the capability to make you want to get on your feet. I think it would be beneficial to share this piece with students because it is likely to be a piece they hear in their lives and it would be good to give them exposure to this music and its background. Like so much music, it might come in handy when teaching American History.

Little Red Caboose

Traditional

Source: a children's song from "Family Folk Festival, a Multi-cultural sing along"

2:45

Most of the songs I found on this CD did not strike me as anything special, except for this one. This song was of interest to me because it was all voices, but you almost feel like there are some instruments playing along. The voices greatly portray the sound of a train. At the very beginning, voices sing pitches on "Whooo" and amazingly, it sounds like a train's whistle. The song has the whole feeling of a train getting closer and zooming by. This would be great to share with students because of the capabilities of the human voice and how the voice can make the setting of the song.

Turkish March

-Mozart (March)

3:36

I believed I needed to add a classical piece to my repertoire and I think Mozart is definitely essential to share with students. I felt his "Turkish March" was a good piece because it would be a great song in which to show form. I feel that Mozart is a very notable composer that students should learn about while in elementary school. This piece would be one of many good pieces to share with students in studying classical music and Mozart.

Meeting the Criteria

This collection of music is of great variety. Although some pieces may be of more interest to one age group than others, I believe I found songs that will be interesting and appropriate to most all elementary students. I feel that the context in which I would use any of these pieces must relate to the age group in order to spark interest. There is much that can be learned from each piece and style chosen. In trying to keep the selections short, I had to through out many of my considerations. Because of their importance, some selections are a little more than three minutes, but not by much.

I tried to include a wide variety of genres. About half are instrumental music, and half have text. I included two marches, both of which are very different. I included two lullabies for comparing and contrasting. I included a bluegrass piece, a hymn/religious piece, Big Band, contemporary Indian, and a children's song. I really tried to include music from many cultures and styles as well. I included music with Indian, African, Brazilian, Indonesian, and American roots, all with different times in history. I included styles such as traditional folk, swing, bluegrass, classical, and contemporary.

I listened to my pieces as much as I could to make sure they were music of value. I feel like many of my songs are great forms of expression. Many of them have been around for a long time and I believe have stood the "tests of time." Most of the songs have repetition, but have other parts to the form to keep the songs from becoming too boring. The songs that are highly repetitive are for the most part very short pieces. It is hard to say if the music is totally of value because I am the only one whose opinions have gone into this repertoire.