Virtual Concert: Vocal Music
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Age Range: Elementary, Middle School
Learning Objective: Students will review the role of an audience while they listen and respond to vocal music featuring Minnesota-based musicians.
At a Glance: Virtual Concerts give your students the opportunity to practice their audience skills and experience a wide variety of genres performed by professional, Minnesota-based musicians. As the teacher, you or one of your students can play the role of Concert Host narrating between each piece of music.
Teaching Tips: This concert is designed to be a simple, no prep lesson. It’s a great activity for a sub, lost-voice day, or to practice being an audience. Our Concert Guide provides ideas on how to customize the lesson for older and younger audiences.
Free Downloads:
THE CONCERT
SAY. “Welcome to our virtual concert. Today we’ll practice being an audience while listening to four musical groups from Minnesota. Here are some jobs we have as audience members: listening, noticing, being curious, and sometimes even participating.”
WATCH. “Our first song is Ko Yimbi Ko, by Siama’s Congo Roots. One of the singers, Siama, is from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, and this song is from his hometown.” (4 min.)
REFLECT. “What did you notice? What questions would you ask the performers if they were here?”
WATCH. “Sometimes our job as the audience means participating. In this next song, we get to join in! Ahmed from Border CrosSing will show us some actions.” (2 min.)
WATCH. “Let’s join Ahmed and the singers from Border CrosSing in doing actions for the song Alma Llanera.” (2 min.)
REFLECT. “Do you remember what country that song is from?” (Venezuela.) “Ahmed taught us four words in Spanish. Can you remember the meaning of any of the words?” (Amo= I love, Lloro= I cry, Canto= I sing, Sueño= I sleep.)
SAY. “Next, meet Gaeylnn Lea! Gaelynn has a disability which requires her to hold her violin up and down, like a cello. We get to participate in Gaeylynn’s song, too!”
WATCH. Watch the video to learn your part of the duet. You might pause the video after the first minute and a half and practice your part using the written out words below. Then, play the video to sing with Gaelynn. (5 min.)
Lyrics to the audience’s part of the duet:
“Bird, why do you sing? Fate has clipped your wings.” (Repeat)
REFLECT. “Gaelynn said, ‘I wrote this song about how- even if you feel tied down by your body or the situation- your spirit is always free.’ How did the music represent freedom?”
WATCH. “In our final video, we’ll practice another one of our jobs as the audience: noticing timbre. Each instrument and voice have their own special sound quality, or timbre. Notice the different timbres as we watch Balanse Fofo performed by Afoutayi Dance, Music, and Arts Company.” (3 min.)
REFLECT. “What did you notice? What instruments did you know and which were new to you?”
SAY. “Thank you for joining in today’s virtual concert! We hope you’ll share what you learned with someone at home.”
EXTEND learning
Choose one or more of the following activities to extend learning.
WATCH. Watch Siama and Dallas explain more about the role music played in Siama’s childhood in the DR Congo.
MOVE. Learn this Bucket Passing Activity and sing and play along with Afoutayi’s Zanm Telele!
WATCH. Learn more about Gaelynn in her introduction video or watch her virtual concert!
Related Lesson Plans
YourClassical is a public media organization and your support makes it possible.
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
