Music 7
Context - Historical and Cultural

It is expected that students will:

• compare music from a range of historical and cultural contexts
• compare music created for a variety of purposes
• create music for a given purpose
• demonstrate respect for music from various historical and cultural contexts

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Context - Historical and Cultural in other grades click on an icon below.

• Have students in groups select particular cultural events (e.g., Canada Day parade, Vasaki, wedding, Christmas, Ramadan), mime them, and create appropriate music backgrounds. Discuss as a class other cultural events and the role of music in each context. Encourage students to examine the influences of gender, age, status, and so on in each example. Students could use their journals to reflect on the various roles music plays in cultural events.
• Ask students to work with partners or in groups to create and produce music videos focussing on selected historical periods. Have them present their videos in a school-wide Music Filmfest.
• Encourage students to keep music journals to record their music experiences outside the classroom and to reflect on how music relates to each context.
• Have students work individually to create Help Wanted posters for various composers and then share them with the class. Students keep profile logs of each of the composers presented.
• Assist students in listing genres or styles of music (e.g., rock, jazz, folk, baroque, Cajun). Identify the characteristics of each style. Form groups and ask each group to select one genre and research its history and influence or role in contemporary society.
• Provide students with a list of music titles from a range of historical periods and then play the music selections in random order. Ask students to work individually to determine which title goes with each piece. Have them share their responses in small groups, giving reasons for their decisions. (e.g., Did the language in the titles provide clues? Could you determine the era of the music from listening to it?) Challenge groups to achieve a consensus on their answers.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• Collect students' Help Wanted posters. Assess their awareness of historical and cultural contexts using criteria such as:
  • includes accurate biographical information
  • includes references to important compositions, genres, and time periods
• As students participate in classroom and community activities, look for evidence that they are:
  • open to music experiences that are unfamiliar
  • interested in how music is created in a variety of cultures and contexts
  • able to notice similarities and differences between the role of music today and its role in other historical periods
  • able to make connections between the music they choose to listen to and music from other contexts
• Have students create Venn diagrams to compare music from a variety of contexts. As an option, work with students to develop task requirements, including the various features to include. To assess their understanding, note the extent to which they include information on some of the following features: purpose, context, role of musician, lyrics, instrumentation, rhythmic quality, melody, texture, mood, repetition, and contrast.
• Have students record observations about music using three-column charts with the headings Type of Music, Where I Heard It, and How I Felt. Discuss their experiences and ask questions such as:
  • What purpose did the music serve in each situation?
  • How does the music achieve this purpose?
  • Where would a particular type of music be appropriate?
  • How does music in one context compare to music in another?

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