Mapping the Beat: A Geography through Music Curriculum

ArtsBridge America Center for Learning through the Arts and Technology, UC Irvine

Funded by National Geographic Education Foundation

This curriculum unit for Mapping the Beat: A Geography through Music Curriculum was developed by the ArtsBridge America program at the University of California, San Diego with support from a grant from the National Geographic Education Foundation. The original curriculum was compiled by Dr. Nina Eidsheim and William Boyer (2002). The extended unit below was created by Dr. Timothy Keirn and the ArtsBridge America program at the California State University, Long Beach (2009). Music Extension and classroom worksheets created by Sarah Tochiki, Lawrence University ArtsBridge scholar (2006). Curriculum complied by Jasmine Yep for the UCI Center for Learning through the Arts and Technology.

Other on-line resources, videos and lesson plans complied by the UC Irvine Center for Learning through the Arts and Technology are available at: http://www.clat.uci.edu/. LESSON: THE GLOBAL ORIGINS OF ATLANTIC SLAVERY AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA Included in this document are:

Part I: Lesson Part II: Music Extension Part II: On-line Resources for use with Lesson Part III: Supporting Materials Part IV: Classroom Handouts, Worksheets and Visuals

PART I: LESSON Mapping the Beat Fifth Grade Lesson: The Global Origins of Atlantic Slavery and the African Diaspora LESSON OBJECTIVE To identify how characteristics of different physical and social environments placed constraints on the creation of music among African Slaves in the United States and recognize parallel changes in their own lives. Ideally a banjo player would be invited to perform as part of this lesson. STANDARDS ADDRESSED National Geography Standards Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places. How: Students identify and compare the music of Africa with that of the American South at the time of slavery.

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Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on earth's surface. How: Students describe how African slaves influenced the music of the American South as well as how the forced migration of slavery changed the culture of African Americans. California Content Standards for Music - 5th grade Standard 3.4: Describe the influences of various cultures and historical events on musical forms and styles. How: Students learn how the banjo evolved from the African ngoni as a result of the Atlantic Slave Trade. California History-Social Science Standards Standard 5.4: Students understand the political, religious, social and economic institutions that evolved in the colonial era. Standard 5.46: Describe the introduction of slavery into America, the responses of slave families to their condition, the ongoing struggle between proponents and opponents of slavery, and the gradual institutionalization of slavery in the South. TEACHER PREP Prepare listening samples of ngoni and bango (either have internet downloads ready to play or obtain CDs) Arrange for a guest performer who plays either ngoni or banjo. MATERIALS NEEDED Lined paper for writing assignment Pencils Picture/Image of Ngoni Map of Atlantic Slave Trade Map of North America and the World Maps 1, 2, 3 Charts 1, 2 CD samples of ngoni and banjo music (See Suggested Listening) CD player VOCABULARY If you are teaching the whole Mapping the Beat unit, you may want to keep a chart of vocabulary up in the classroom or have students write the words and definitions in a portfolio. Adapt- To change purpose or function to better meet the demands of one surroundings. Ngoni -A stringed instrument and the African ancestor of the banjo. Banjo- A stringed instrument invented in the United States by African slaves.

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LESSON PLAN SEQUENCE DAY ONE 1. VOCABULARY – DEFINE THE FOLLOWING TERMS

Migration Involuntary

Plantation

Indentured Servant

Slave

2. FIND WESTERN AFRICA ON MAP 1 AND EXAMINE THE PICTURE OF THE NGONI

What is the instrument made of? What other instruments do they use?

Play examples of West African music – King Sunny Ade “Samba/E Falaba Lewe”

Who brought stringed instruments to West Africa? How?

Trace on MAP 1 the movement of stringed instruments from the Arab Middle East across the Sahara via the camel caravan routes to West Africa

3. AFRICANS CAME MAINLY AS SLAVES TO THE FOLLOWING ENGLISH PLANTATION COLONIES. LOCATE THEM ON MAP 2 – WHAT WAS THE MAIN CROP GROWN IN EACH COLONY?

The West Indies Colonies (Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Island) The Chesapeake Colonies (Virginia and Maryland)

South Carolina

4. MOST AFRICANS WHO CAME TO THE AMERICAS WERE ENSLAVED TO WORK ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS

Why was sugar so popular in Europe? Trace on MAP 2 the movement of sugar planting from India to the Americas

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What climate do you need to grow sugar? Mark on MAP 2 where sugar plantations were started.

5. LOOK AT THE PICTURES OF THE SUGAR PLANTATIONS – WAS SUGAR CHEAP OR EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE? WHY? 6. WHY WOULD ENGLISH WORKERS OR SERVANTS NOT WORK ON SUGAR PLANTATION? 7. WHY DID THE USE OF NATIVE AMERICAN SLAVES ON PLANTATIONS NOT WORK? 8. SO WHY DID THE ENGLISH USE AFRICAN SLAVES? 9. HOW DID THE ENGLISH ENFORCE SLAVERY? WHAT WERE THE SLAVE CODES? 10. WHY DID TOBACCO PLANTERS IN THE CHESAPEAKE SWITCH FROM SERVANTS TO AFRICAN SLAVES? 11. WHY DID THE SOUTH CAROLINA RICE PLANTERS ALWAYS USE AFRICAN SLAVES? 12. LOOKING AT MAP 3 AND CHART 1 -- WHERE DID MOST AFRICANS GO IN THE AMERICAS? WHAT PERCENTAGE WENT TO WHAT IS NOW THE USA? 13. LOOK AT CHART 2 -- DID MORE AFRICANS OR EUROPEANS COME TO THE AMERICAS BY 1760? 14. WHAT CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY DID AFRICANS BRING TO AMERICA? Finish lesson with contemporary music from the West Indies – Bob Marley “Jammin”

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DAY TWO Vocabulary

Adapt- To change purpose or function to better meet the demands of one surroundings.

Ngoni -A stringed instrument and the African ancestor of the banjo.

Banjo- A stringed instrument invented in the United States by African slaves. Show overhead of Atlantic Slave Trade Routes on MAP 3 and ask students to identify and name the coastal African countries from which the slaves were being shipped on the wall map. For these slaves, music and entertainment provided a rare respite from the harshness of slavery. Because many societies in Africa used drums to communicate, drums were banned on plantations. Ask students to identify reasons why slave owners would ban drums?

Answer: If slaves were allowed to communicate in code they might organize escapes.

Have student suggest ways in which one could communicate with drums.

String instruments were not banned. Musicians from African built instruments similar to those that were taken from them before they were sold as slaves.

Show overhead of man playing ngoni.

The ngoni, from Mali, is built from a hollowed out piece of wood, covered with a cowhide head, much like the head of a drum. A ngoni is strung with 4 to 8 strings, once made from animal gut but now frequently made with fishing line.

Play sample of ngoni: http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/ngoni.html (online sample of ngoni) or Tunga, [sound recording] by Mamadou Diabete.

When the slaves from Mali arrived they did not have their instruments from Africa or access to the natural resources used to build their African instruments.

So they had to invent new instruments with the natural resources of the American south. The banjo is one of those instruments. The first banjos were built out of dried, hollow calabashes. The calabash gourds were cut in half and an animal skin

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was stretched across the hole. Then a neck and strings were attached. Later banjos were built out of wood, like the ngoni. Historians have offered guesses as to how the first banjos were played. Most agree that they were played similarly to how the ngoni were played (and are still played today).

Play sample of banjo music: http://www.drhorsehair.com/recordings.html or

Civil War Banjo, [sound recording] by Bob Flesher. Recorded at Reel to Real Recording Studios, Stockbridge, GA; 1992.

Discussion Questions:

How do the banjo and ngoni sound similar? In what ways do they sound different? Why might the African slaves have chosen calabash gourds to built the first

banjos from given that the ngoni was made out of wood?

Possible Answers: Wood was more difficult to attain than the gourds. Slaves did not have tools to hollow out the wood because they could not bring

any belongings from Africa. It was more time consuming to build the instruments out of the wood and they

did not have much leisure time as slaves. 40 min Project Description In small groups have students discuss the vast cultural change that was forced upon the African slaves as a result of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Music was obviously only one aspect of their lives that changed. Encourage students to consider how language, diet, health, families, housing, clothing, religion, etc would have changed in moving to the America. What changes were forced by a new social/political environment? What changes were forced by a new geographical environment? Bring class back together and have each group share what came out in their discussions. Then have each student write about a time when he or she had to move and leave something behind. Perhaps it is as simple as moving to a new classroom or as big as moving to a new country. The students can focus on one aspect of the story. For example, the students could find an example of how movement has changed some aspect of their own life (language, food, clothing, environment, weather). And they should explain what they did to adapt to the change. It might be helpful if the teacher has written an example story of his /her own before class and reads it to the class.

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5-10 min Wrap up Review vocabulary Discussion Question:

How did forced migration change African culture in America?

Possible Answers: Loss of possessions Loss of instruments New instruments were made Loss of communications means Students will likely have more ideas.

ASSESSMENT Review writing assignment for students’ comprehension of adaptation to a new environment. SELECTING A GUEST PERFORMER Select a banjo player who can speak about the roots of banjo music in the United States. Someone who could involve the students in a music making experience would be ideal. It is probably not likely that the students would be able to play the banjo, but they could sing along to a traditional banjo folk song or clap a rhythm. Invite your guest to share his/her personal story relating the banjo. How did he/she come to play?; to own their instrument?; how ling has he/she been playing the banjo? SUGGESTED LISTENING “Samba/E Falaba Lewe” by King Sunny Ade. From the album Juju Music.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/juju-music/id340558 Contemporary music from the West Indies (suggestion: “Jammin” by Bob Marley) Sample of banjo music: http://www.drhorsehair.com/recordings.html or

Civil War Banjo, Bob Flesher. Recorded at Reel to Real Recording Studios, Stockbridge, GA; 1992.

Sample of ngoni: http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/ngoni.html (online sample of ngoni) or Tunga, [sound recording] by Mamadou Diabete. Available online at:

http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/artist_profiles_fs.html

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PART II: MUSIC EXTENSION DAY 3 Lesson: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade This ArtsBridge America lesson was developed in conjunction with unit lessons in Mapping the Beat: A Geography through Music Curriculum suitable for fifth grade. This lesson was developed by Sarah Tochiki (Lawrence University ArtsBridge scholar, 2006-2007) with support from Matt Bonson (fifth grade host teacher), Phillip Swan (ArtsBridge faculty mentor) and Jasmine Yep (ArtsBridge director).

Activity 1: African Drumming Ensemble Learning Objectives: Students will be able to recreate a West African drumming ensemble. Students will know a little about the culture the African slaves came from. Students will understand why slaves were not allowed to play drums. Vocabulary: Ensemble- a group of musicians playing or singing together. Solo- a musical composition or a passage in a musical composition written for performance by one singer or instrumentalist. Stereotype- oversimplified standardized image of a group of people, held by another person or group of people. Sequence of Instruction: Read any “Anansi the Spider” story to the kids. Talk about how they are going to learn a West African drumming ensemble written in honor of the spider. Activity: African Drumming Ensemble Using the preprinted cards, teach the students how to read the music. Teach the

different parts and have them come up with different sounds to help imitate what the instruments sound like.

Give them actual instruments and rotate the students on each part. After they have done this, let them improvise their own drumming ensemble, each coming up with a different rhythm using 1-8.

Supporting Materials and Documents: MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_MapWorksheet MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_DrumEnsembleMusicActivity MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_DrumEnsembleMusicCards MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_ListeningJournal

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Activity 2: Make your own Banjos Learning Objectives: Students will be able to recognize the various parts of the banjo. Students will know the history of the banjo and the process the slaves had to go

through to make their banjos. Students will understand the process of making a banjo. Vocabulary: Slave trade- the transportation of slaves from Africa to North and South America between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Banjo- a stringed instrument invented in the United States by African slaves. Ngoni- a stringed instrument and the African ancestor of the banjo. Prep: Acquire materials needed to make the banjos: paper core and cardboard, sticks or 18

inch long pieces of molding, screws and wing nuts, fishing line or RexLace, thick shower curtain, electrical tape, and triangle lengths of balsa wood in two sizes.

Cut a hole in the top of the paper core. Cut the balsa wood into 1.5 inch lengths. Cut shower curtains or similar material into 6 inch by 10 inch rectangles. Drill holes into the end of the sticks. Sequence of Instruction: Students complete the first page of the worksheet. Review the answers as a class. Discuss the banjo making process. Pass out the materials to make the banjos. Activity: Make your own banjos Students draw a design for the body of their banjo. Students sand the neck and edges of their paper core. Glue the design to the back of the body. Have the students tie a knot at the end of their strings and tape these strings to the end

of their stick on the side that does not have the hole drilled into it. Trace the ends of the paper core on the pieces of cardboard and have them cut out the

circles. Glue these on to the ends of the paper core. When dry, trace the stick on the straight edge of the cardboard circles section and trim the sides. Bend the flaps of cardboard and glue the stick to it with the strings facing downward.

Tape the shower curtain tightly over the paper core with electrical tape. Lightly screw on the screw and wing nut. Glue the skinny balsa wood to the end by the screws. Glue the fat balsa wood in the

middle of the shower curtain. String the strings tightly around the screws. Supporting Materials and Documents: MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_BanjoNgoniWorksheet

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PART III: ON-LINE RESOURCES FOR USE WITH LESSON Suggested Listening “Samba/E Falaba Lewe” by King Sunny Ade. From the album Juju Music.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/juju-music/id340558 Contemporary music from the West Indies (suggestion: “Jammin” by Bob Marley) Sample of banjo music: http://www.drhorsehair.com/recordings.html or

Civil War Banjo, Bob Flesher. Recorded at Reel to Real Recording Studios, Stockbridge, GA; 1992.

Sample of ngoni: http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/ngoni.html (online sample of ngoni) or Tunga, [sound recording] by Mamadou Diabete. Available online at:

http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/artist_profiles_fs.html Mali music on Nat Geo Music (online samples)

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/mali_7

PART II: Additional Worksheets for the Mapping the Beat Music Extension Map Worksheet MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_MapWorksheet.doc Drumming Ensemble Music Activity MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_DrumEnsembleMusicActivity.doc MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_DrumEnsembleMusicCards.doc Listening Activity MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_ListeningJournal,doc Atlantic Slave Trade Lesson Worksheet: Banjo and Ngoni Worksheet MTB_AtlanticSlaveTrade_Worksheet_BanjoNgoniWorksheet.doc

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PART IV: SUPPORTING MATERIALS Additional Mapping the Beat Lessons, Activities and Resources Powerpoint Presentation for Educators

Introduction to African Rhythms: Music & Culture of Mali http://www.clta.uci.edu/documents/MusicCultureofMali.ppt

Picture/image of ngoni http://www.clta.uci.edu/Ngoni/ManPlayingNgoni.pdf

Map of Atlantic Slave Trade http://www.clta.uci.edu/Ngoni/MapOfAtlanticSlaveTrade.pdf

On-line Sources/References for Educators National Geographic Xpeditions Atlas: Maps and Activities

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/atlas/ British History 1700-1930: The Slave Trade

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/slavery.htm Congo Square: Keeping the African Beat Alive. Thomas L Morgan, 1992, 2000.

http://jass.com/congo.html The Banjo, Our American Heritage

http://www.drhorsehair.com/history.html The ngoni, a plucked lute from West Africa

http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/ngoni.html

Ama, A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade http://www.ama.africatoday.com/

Information on the History of Sugar Plant Cultures: Sugar cane – and the slave trade http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/sugar_cane_history_slave_trade.html Plant Cultures: Sugar can – early origins and spread http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/sugar_cane_history_early_origins_and_spread.html Information on the History of Tobacco Tobacco Timeline: The Seventeenth Century http://www.tobacco.org/resources/history/Tobacco_History17.html History of Tobacco http://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/tobacco/history.htm

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PART V: CLASSROOM HANDOUTS, WORKSHEETS & VISUALS Select resources are attached to this lesson plan. Please refer to the resources provided in Part II and III for additional materials. Mapping the Beat materials available on-line at www.clat.uci.edu. Picture/image of ngoni http://www.clta.uci.edu/Ngoni/ManPlayingNgoni.pdf Map of Atlantic Slave Trade http://www.clta.uci.edu/Ngoni/MapOfAtlanticSlaveTrade.pdf Map of United States of America (Detailed) http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=usofam&Rootmap=&Mode=d&SubMode=w Map of United States of America (Blank) http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=usofam&Rootmap=&Mode=b&SubMode=w Blank Map of Africa http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=africa&Mode=b Map 1: Blank World Map or Detailed World Map Blank World Map http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=world&Mode=d&SubMode= Detailed World Map http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=world&Mode=b&SubMode=w Map 2: First Settlements on Eastern Coast of North America http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/maps/settlements/ Map 3: Atlantic Slave Trade Routes http://www.clta.uci.edu/Ngoni/MapOfAtlanticSlaveTrade.pdf Blank map of the British Colonies in North America, c. 1750 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Colonies_in_North_America_c1750_v2.png Map of the British Empire http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_Empire.png

43

Source: New York Life’s, Slavery in America website at http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_trade.htm

MTB Overhead

44

Source: http://www.swt.edu/anthropology/mansa/images/image17.jpg

MTB Overhead

British Colonies in North America, c. 1750

The numbers represent the following: 1: Newfoundland 2: Nova Scotia 3: The Thirteen Colonies 4:Bermuda 5: Bahamas 6: British Honduras 7: Jamaica 8: Lesser Antilles

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Colonies_in_North_America_c1750_v2.png

The British Empire

Current are underlined in red. British overseas territories

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_Empire.png

Name:__________________

Answer the following questions using the map below. What was the main industry in the South? _____________________________ How many slaves were brought to America? _____________________________ Where did the most slaves go to? _____________________________ Which part of Africa did the slaves leave from? _____________________________ What is the name of the ocean the slaves traveled on? _____________________________

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave TradeMap Worksheet

Anansi Claves

12345678 Gankogui

(like a cow bell) 12345678

L*H*HH*H Medium Drum

12345678 Donno

(softly) 12345678

HLMLHLML Low Drum 12345678

Axatse (gourd shaker)

12345678 DUD*DUD*

Anansi is the name of a spider often found in

West African folk tales.

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Activity

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Claves

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Gankogui (like a cow bell)

2 4 7

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

* * *

Medium Drum

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Donno (softly)

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Low Drum

4 8

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

Axatse

(gourd shaker)

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Anansi: Drumming Ensemble Music Cards

4 8

* *

Name

Listening Journal

Music Title: ____________ Ngoni__________________ Choose one from each row:

fast or slow loud or soft

smooth or rough happy or sad

Write down three words to describe the sound of the instrument: _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ********************************************************** Music Title: _____________ Banjo_________________ Choose one from each row:

fast or slow loud or soft

smooth or rough happy or sad

Write down three words to describe the sound of the instrument: _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave TradeListening Journal

Name:_____________________________

You will turn this sheet in at the end of class. Use this worksheet to help you make your own banjo. The picture with the scary man is a picture of a gourd banjo, a more modern version on the ngoni. The other picture is a picture of an ngoni. Name 2 similarities and 2 differences:

Similarities: Differences:

1)____________________ 1)___________________

2)___________________ 2)___________________ Draw a line from the words in the boxes to that part of the instrument in the picture:

Parts: Neck Body Bridge Pegs Strings Tail Piece Resonator-Cover

Natural Resources: Fish guts Wood Leather Gourd

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave TradeBanjo and Ngoni Worksheet

1

Name:_____________________________

Mapping the Beat: The Ngoni, the Banjo and the Atlantic Slave Trade Banjo and Ngoni Worksheet

2

Match the man-made material we will use for our banjos with the natural resource they used to make earlier banjos: Gourd Neck Wood Pegs Fish Guts Leather

Plastic String Wood Molding Nuts and bolts Shower Curtains Paper Core and Cardboard

Order the steps we will use when we make our banjos: _____Glue cardboard circles to the sides of paper core _____Decorate paper core _____Tie strings onto neck _____Attach the bridge _____Glue the neck onto the body _____Stretch shower curtain over the body and attach _____Screw on pegs