Explore our collaboration with CLAS: Latin American Music in Education
We are excited to present the culmination of a collaborative effort between the School of Music and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). This project brings together a rich collection of Latin American songs, dances, games, and rounds, all thoughtfully designed to be integrated into educational settings.
What’s Available?
All of our carefully crafted materials are now available to the public through this blog. Whether you’re an educator, a student, or simply passionate about music and culture, you’ll find a wealth of resources ready for use:
Instructional Videos: Step-by-step guides on playing traditional Latin American songs on instruments like the recorder and ukulele, performing cultural dances, and crafting instruments such as the Colombian rain stick.
Lesson Plans and Activities: Detailed plans and activities that align with educational standards, focusing on the integration of Latin American music into various educational contexts. These resources are adaptable for different learning environments, including special education.
Cultural Insights: Explanations of the cultural significance behind the musical elements, connecting them to broader educational themes like history and social studies.
Why Latin American Music?
Incorporating Latin American music into education provides unique opportunities to:
Broaden Cultural Perspectives: Introduce students and learners to the diverse musical traditions of Latin America, deepening their cultural understanding.
Enhance Learning Experiences: Use music as a dynamic tool to engage students in an interactive and meaningful way.
Support Educators: Provide ready-to-use, culturally relevant resources that can be easily adapted and integrated into various educational frameworks.
Who’s Behind This Project?
This project is led by Natalia Moreno Buitrago, a doctoral student in Music Education, with the guidance of Professor Eugenia Costa-Giomi. Natalia’s expertise in music pedagogy, combined with her Colombian heritage, has been key in developing authentic and impactful educational materials.
How to Get Started
We invite you to explore the resources available on this blog. Whether you’re looking to bring these materials into your classroom or simply expand your understanding of Latin American music, everything you need is right here. Dive in, and let the vibrant rhythms and melodies of Latin America enrich your educational journey!
Description: This Colombian song, “Ay Yo Tengo un Pajarito,” serves as an engaging way to introduce participants to each other at the beginning of a session. The activity involves singing and moving in a circle while incorporating personal introductions.
Lyrics
¡Ay! Yo tengo un Pajarito que ya sabe volá (Oh! I have a little bird that already knows how to fly.)
¡Ay! Yo tengo un Pajarito que ya sabe volá (Oh! I have a little bird that already knows how to fly.)
Si lo lleva [name of the student] sabe volá (If [name of the student] takes it, it knows how to fly.)
Si lo lleva [name of the student] sabe volá (repeat as necessary)
After every participant has been introduced.
Si lo llevan todos sabe volá (If everyone takes it, they all know how to fly)
How to Use It:
Setup: Have all participants form a circle and hold hands. Ensure everyone can see and hear each other clearly.
Song Introduction: Teach the group the lyrics to the song “Ay Yo Tengo un Pajarito,” and explain that the song will be used for introductions.
Start the Song: Begin singing the song together:
“¡Ay! Yo tengo un Pajarito que ya sabe volá” (Oh! I have a little bird that already knows how to fly.)
Introduce the Teacher: The teacher starts by introducing themselves with the lyrics:
“Si lo lleva [name of the teacher] sabe volá” (If [name of the teacher] takes it, it knows how to fly.)
Participant Introductions: Move around the circle, with each student introducing themselves using the same format:
“Si lo lleva [name of the student] sabe volá” (If [name of the student] takes it, it knows how to fly.)
Continue Singing: Repeat the introduction for each participant until everyone has been introduced.
Group Participation: Conclude the song with the final verse:
“Si lo llevan todos sabe volá” (If everyone takes it, they all know how to fly.)
Description: In this activity, students will build their own “palo de agua,” also known as a rain stick, a traditional musical instrument used in various Latin American cultures. This hands-on project combines creativity with practical skills, offering a deeper understanding of how crafted instruments can enhance musical experiences.
Creative Arts: Crafting the rain stick allows students to engage in artistic creation, developing their skills in design and construction. The process highlights the connection between creativity and music-making.
Instrument Construction: Building the palo de agua provides insights into the materials and techniques used in traditional instrument-making. Students learn about the role of craftsmanship in producing functional and culturally significant musical instruments.
Concept: Integrating Music with Other Curricular Subjects
Description: This activity explores how music can be used to teach other subjects, specifically focusing on the Colombian cumbia. Through a detailed presentation, students will learn about the history and cultural significance of cumbia, demonstrating how music intersects with history and social studies.
Cross-Curricular Integration: This activity shows how music can enhance the understanding of other subjects, such as history and culture, by providing a practical example of how music and historical content are intertwined.
Cultural Context: The presentation on Colombian cumbia offers insights into the historical and cultural background of this traditional dance, allowing students to see how cultural practices are influenced by historical events and social changes.
Concept: Instrumental Technique and Cultural Music
Description: In this activity, students will learn to play “El Pájaro Carpintero,” an Argentinian carnavalito, using both the recorder and the ukulele. This hands-on session focuses on developing fundamental instrumental skills while exploring traditional Latin American music.
Instrumental Technique: Students will practice key techniques on the recorder and ukulele, including finger positioning, breath control, strumming, and chord changes. Learning a specific piece helps reinforce these skills in a meaningful context.
Cultural Music: “El Pájaro Carpintero” introduces students to the carnavalito genre, a traditional form of folk music from Argentina. This exposure allows students to connect with the cultural heritage and rhythmic patterns of Latin American music.
The following rounds and games facilitates the comprehension of temporal aspects such as tempo, metric and rhythm.
Tempo and Beat Activity: “El Cacique”
Concept: Tempo and Beat
Description: In this game, students engage with the concept of tempo and beat through a dynamic activity. The Brazilian song “UMACAPIRUÁ” serves as the foundation for this exercise.
One student will be designated as El Cacique of the group.
While the entire group walks around the classroom singing the song “UMACAPIRUÁ,” El Cacique will be responsible for determining the tempo of the pace.
El Cacique will choose when to alter the tempo or the intensity and may randomly stop the song to confuse the group.
One by one, students who fail to follow El Cacique’s instructions will be eliminated from the competition.
The last student dancing will be the winner.
Relation to Concept:
Tempo: The game allows students to experience and control the tempo as “El Cacique” dictates the pace of the song. By changing the tempo and occasionally stopping the song, “El Cacique” challenges the group to adapt their pace, reinforcing their ability to follow and internalize different tempi.
Beat: The students must maintain the beat while walking and singing, emphasizing the importance of consistent rhythmic timing. This reinforces their understanding of how the beat is a fundamental aspect of music that guides the performance.
Supplemental material
Video
Song
Instrumental song
Metric Activity: “Al Pin, Al Pon”
Concept: Metric Rhythm (2/4 Time Signature)
Description: In this game, students pass objects to each other in a circle according to the beat of the song “Al Pin, Al Pon,” which is in a 2/4 time signature.
Lyrics
Al Pin (To Pin)
Al pon (to Pon)
A la hija del conde simón (to Count Simon’s daughter)
A la lata (To the can)
Al latero (to the can’s maker)
A la hija del chocolatero” (to the chocolate maker’s daughter)
How to play
1- Each student should choose a small object to use in the activity.
2- All the students sit in a close circle.
3- Students should pass their objects to the next person on the downbeat (strong beat: represented by the bold text).
The game finishes when the object has been passed back to the original student. It’s recommended to introduce changes in tempo for added excitement.
Relation to Concept:
Metric Rhythm: The game emphasizes the 2/4 time signature by having students pass objects on the strong beat (downbeat). This helps students understand the metric structure of music, including the concept of downbeats and upbeats.
Timing and Coordination: By passing objects precisely on the beat and introducing tempo changes, students practice coordinating their actions with the music’s metric structure, reinforcing their sense of timing and rhythmic accuracy.
Supplemental material
Video
Song
Instrumental song
Rhythm Activity: “Da Abóbora Faz Melão”
Concept: Rhythm
Description: This activity uses the Brazilian song “Da Abóbora Faz Melão” to teach rhythm through dance and movement. Students dance in a circle, following the song’s instructions for different movements.
Lyrics
Da abóbora faz Melão, do melão faz melancia (Pumpkin makes melon, melon makes watermelon)
Faz doce sinhá, faz doce sinhá, faz doce sinhá Maria (Make sweet miss, make sweet miss, make sweet miss Maria)
Quem quiser aprender a dançar vai na casa do Juquinha (Anyone who wants to dance goes to Juquinha’s house)
Ele pula, ele roda, ele faz requebradinha (He jumps, he spins, he shakes)
Description:
In a circle, one person starts the dance inside the circle and begins dancing.
In the second verse of the song, this first person chooses somebody to be their partner.
In the third verse, they walk through the circle together.
In the fourth verse, they jump, turn, and dance as the song instructs
Relation to Concept:
Rhythm: The song’s rhythm guides the dance steps, helping students internalize rhythmic patterns through physical movement. By performing specific actions like jumping, turning, and dancing to the rhythm of the song, students learn to connect rhythmic patterns with their physical execution.
Engagement: The activity also highlights how rhythm can be expressed in dance, showing that rhythm is not only an auditory concept but also a physical one.
Supplemental Material
Video
Song
Instrumental song
Lesson example
Check this example of how to use this activity in a lesson on the temporal aspects of music.
Quién está estrenando (nando, nando) (Who is debuting (Nando, Nando))
Cómo hace mi burra (urra, urra) (How does my donkey do (urra, urra))
Como es un chancho (ancho, ancho) (What is a pig like (wide, wide))
Quién tiene la peste (este, este) (Who has the plague (this, this))
Qué soy si me aburro (burro, burro) (What am I if I get bored (donkey, donkey))
Quién es mi amada (ada, ada) (Who is my beloved (Ada, Ada)
Cómo es su cabello (bello, bello) (What is her hair like (beautiful, beautiful))
Ven y dame un beso (eso, eso) (Come and give me a kiss (that, that))
Qué quiere Tomás (mas, mas, mas) (What does Tomas want (more, more, more))
How to play:
One by one, students will repeat the last two syllables of the phrase, completing the harmony and melody of the phase.
Relation to Concept:
Melody: The song features a clear and repetitive melody, which helps students practice recognizing and reproducing melodic patterns. By engaging with the melody through the call-and-response structure, students develop a better grasp of melodic contour and sequence.
Harmony: The song exemplifies a simple harmonic pattern between the tonic (I) and dominant (V) chords. This basic harmonic structure is an excellent way to introduce students to the concept of harmonic tension and resolution.
Supplemental material
Video
Song
Instrumental song
Lesson example
Check this example of how to use this activity in a lesson on melody and harmony
The following activity facilitates the comprehension of timbre and intensity.
Concepts: Timbre and intensity
Description: This activity uses the Colombian play song “Chirigüare” to help students understand and differentiate between various timbres and intensities.
Lyrics
Cerca a la laguna (Near the lagoon)
Vive el Chirigüare x2 (Lives the Chirigüare)
Con cara de burro y cola de bagre x2 (With the face of a donkey and the tail of a catfish)
Chirigüare, Chirigüare, Chirigüare te va a comer (Chirigüare is going to eat you)
Te va’ comer, te va’ comer, te va’ comer, te va’ comer (It is going to eat you x 4)
te va’ comer, te va’ comer, te va’ comer, ya te comió. (It is going to eat you x 3 It already ate you.)
How to play
All the students will organize in a circle.
One of the students will be randomly selected to be the first Chirigüare.
The Chirigüare will position itself in the center of the circle and put on a bandage.
The entire group will sing the song together.
When the song ends, everybody will fall silent while 3 randomly selected students play percussion instruments.
The Chirigüare will search for the sound of one of the selected percussion instruments.
The new Chirigüare will be selected when the previous Chirigüare catches them.
Note: It is recommended to select instruments with contrasting sounds.
Relation to Concept:
Timbre: The primary focus of this game is to explore timbre, which refers to the unique quality or color of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds. By using percussion instruments with contrasting sounds, students learn to identify and differentiate between various timbres.
Intensity: Intensity refers to the loudness or softness of a sound. During the activity, students experience changes in intensity as the Chirigüare searches for the sound of the percussion instruments.
Supplemental material
Video
Song
Instrumental song
Lesson example
Check this example of how to use this activity in a lesson on timber and intensity.