Music in Non-Music Classrooms.
I'm sure as teachers we've all used music and lyrics in one way or another in the classroom. And I'm sure as students we always wished that our teachers would use music and lyrics in the classroom. One of my goals is to read screenplays in the classroom with my students.
I think the Terminator 2 screenplay is something of substance and depth. It touches on many themes such as humanity & technology, dealing with personal demons, the consequences of our actions, how one can redeem themselves, and the idea of fate and can it be changed or not. You get the point.
Back to the topic at hand. I'm a big advocate of using music and song lyrics in the classroom. Song lyrics can serve as bridges that allow students to make deeper connections or to understand a piece of literature better. I have used Jimmy Webb's "Highwayman" when teaching literary elements/terms. Heck, I even used the Nine Inch Nails' song, "Hurt" to emphasize the suffering of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter.
Now for the centerpiece, I've taught Macbeth twice and both times I've used the lyrics from Jag Panzer's record Thane to the Throne to help my students develop an understanding of poor ol' Macbeth.
Here are some links to the lyrics of some of the songs:
This is a link to the lyrics of the first song on Thane to the Throne, which is shares its name with the record www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#1.
Here's a link to the song "Three Voices of Fate:" www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#8
Finally, here's another link to the song, "The Tragedy of Macbeth:" www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#17
Photo taken from www.jagpanzer.com/
Comments
Hi Julio, I love how much
Hi Julio,
I love how much thought you put into your lessons to help the kids connect ideas across media. As an ELA teacher, I'm jealous that you are allowed to teach books. In my middle school special ed class I am directed to teach things like finding the main idea but using paragraphs. It's all just test prep.
However, in social studies I use music alot. Sometimes it just plays in the background, helping to create a mood. Other times the music is the lesson's focus.
Hey, thanks for the comment
Hey, thanks for the comment and compliment. The hardest part is opening up the kids to the music, which they'll be very stubborn and snobbish about listening to. I could easily just have them read the lyrics but in some cases the music enhances the lyrics and understanding of the literature I'm trying to bridge it to. For me, Macbeth is the ultimate Heavy Metal play so it fits that a Heavy Metal band would create a record about Macbeth.
There are bands out there that have written records and songs about historical events. The band Iced Earth released the album The Glorious Burden a few years ago and it details numerous historical events, most of which are American. Some of the events they tackle include the American Revolution, and the Battle at Gettysburg as a 3 part, 32 minute epic with an accompanying orchestra and narration!
Here's the wiki page for the record.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glorious_Burden
I have played portions of
I have played portions of Verdi's opera "Macbeth" to my students, especially around Halloween time. Verdi's witches sing and dance to a tarantella! Lady Macbeth's entrance reading the letter from Macbeth is full of venom and powerful desire. Her sleepwalking scene is as poignant it could be under the bloody circumstances. I am now going to have to listen to "Thane to the Throne." I absolutely love using music in my English classes - always effective hearing another perspective.
Julio, I think it is a very
Julio,
I think it is a very effective way of teaching to include music in your lessons. It is a way of differentiating your instruction and opening pathways to the material for students that connect more to music than literature. This may very well be the way that many of your students learn to appreciate literature.
It makes me think of the way that little kids are taught. We memorize the alphabet through song. We learn many songs in the pre-school years and in grade school. I think somewhere along the way, we as educators lose our way and forget that we, as people, have a basic need to connect to things at an emotional level. I believe that happens (although not exclusively) through music.
I used to play Mozart and
I used to play Mozart and Chopin during silent reading. I'll never forget one 9th grade kid's (Lorena) reaction the first time I put it on: "You can't make me listen to that!" And she was serious. A few weeks later she was walking out of the room humming the Waltz in B Flat Minor.
That happened to me too. A
That happened to me too. A kid said to me, "Hey Miss, play that Mozart ____"
I used the lyrics to a rap
I used the lyrics to a rap song to motivate students to get into a nutrition project. It worked well. The students read the lyrics aloud instead of listening to the song.
Karen Levy, Library Media Specialist Columbus Campus H.S. 925 Astor Avenue Bronx, N.Y. 10469