Australian music: Teachers-Listening

Listening

Syllabus outcomes: 5.7 and 5.8

The listening task is a short activity that gives the students an opportunity to make a blog. They are being asked to listen to examples, and answer questions on these examples. They then have to post their answers up in their blog. It is beneficial for the students to have a blog as they enjoy using the internet, and this is an educational way they can learn from each other, instead of only from the teacher.
They can look at each other’s blogs to learn. This is a great way to scaffold as students can often explain something in their own words to another student, and it may make more sense to them as opposed to the teacher explaining it.
Don’t just get them to use their blogs for this exercise. You can continue their student blogs throughout the year. They can put up songs, information and any progress reports on their composition or performance experiences. You can also use their blogs and yours as a way to offer resources and information in an interactive setting.

The examples I have put up for this activity are two very different examples of Aboriginal music. The first excerpt is by various Indigenous artists, and is a traditional piece called Uluru Dreaming. This is an example of traditional music played on the didgeridoo, with some subtle bird sounds in the background.

The second excerpt is by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, called I Was Born Blind. This piece is an example of contemporary Aboriginal music. Yunupingu is a good example to use as students can hear his lyrics about his personal experiences and the language of his clan, in a contemporary musical style. This song is quite simple and could be used in class for students to learn and perform, too.

These examples are relevant to the next task, composition.