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Justin Mitch
Talbot
MUS_CLAS 149
13 April, 2020

Assignment 4.5: “Soran Bushi” History and Culture Lesson Plan

Context: 4th Grade General Music
Prior Knowledge: Students have learned about and created ostinati and rhythmic
accompaniments in previous lessons.
Essential Question: How is music present in different cultures and what is it used for?
Standards:

• MU:Cr1.1.4a Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms, melodies, and simple

accompaniment patterns) within related tonalities (such as major and minor) and meters.
• MU:Pr4.2.4c Explain how context (such as social and cultural) informs a performance.
• MU:Re7.1.4a Demonstrate and explain how selected music connects to and is influenced
by specific interests, experiences, purposes, or contexts.
• MU:Cn11.0.4a Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other
arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.

Learning Outcomes:

• Students will improvise rhythmic accompaniments to a preexisting song.

• Students will explore how a song reflects its compositional purpose.
• Students will explore how different cultures and lifestyles therein influence music.
• Students will explore how music is used in daily life of different cultures.

Key Terms & Resources:

• “Soran Bushi,” traditional. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH-ogzBUxeI
• Casey-Nelson, Colleen, and Cobb School. “Soran Bushi: Exploring Japanese Work Song.”
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, https://folkways.si.edu/soran-bushi-exploring-japanese-
work-song/music/tools-for-teaching/smithsonian
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Materials:

• Various small drums / percussion instruments for students

• Half-sheets of paper for each student
• Pencils for each student
• Speaker (w/ internet access via computer, phone, etc.)
Procedure:
1. Teacher will have students sit together in the middle of the room.
2. Teacher will have students listen to the song, “Soran Bushi,” making mental note of what
voices and instruments they hear, and think about what the context the piece might be
heard in.
3. After listening to the song, the teacher will pause the video and ask the students what
instruments and voices they hear, and then about the context of it.
4. The teacher will then explain that “Soran Bushi” is a traditional song of fishermen from
Hokkaido, one of the islands of Japan.
5. The teacher will ask students why they think fishermen might sing songs while they work
(Assessment #1).
6. Upon students answering, the teacher will explain that “soran” is an interjectory chant
that doesn’t have a real translation, and ask students why that word might be repeated so
much during the song if it’s just an interjection.
7. Teacher will guide students to reaching the conclusion that the song helps the fishermen
work together by keeping a steady pulse as they (in the case of “Soran Bushi”) moved
fish from large nets into smaller boats.
8. The teacher will count students off into groups of four, each student getting a number,
then being put in a group (so each group as one of each number). Teacher will then
distribute small percussion instruments to each student, and tell them that when the
teacher calls out a number, that member of the group will be the leader, and the rest of the
group will follow their rhythmic lead. They will improvise and repeat a small ostinato
and their group will follow (Assessment #2).
9. The teacher will play the song, and at regular intervals a new number, making a new
group member the leader.
10. Once the song is over, the students will return to their spots in the middle of the room.
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11. Teacher asks the students if they thought that the recording they heard would be the same
as what the actual fishermen would’ve heard.
12. Teacher supplements students answers by explaining that the recording is likely a stylized
version of the actual fishermen’s chant, with added instruments and female voices, which
would likely not have been on the actual fishing boats in ancient Hokkaido.
13. Teacher passes out the exit ticket with the questions: “How / for what purpose did ancient
Hokkaido fishermen use music in their daily lives? How do the prevalent musical
concepts in “Soran Bushi” reflect that purpose?” (Assessments #3,4).

Extension:
Teacher will guide class investigation into the dance associated with the “Soran Bushi”
song and what its movements represent.

Assessments:

1. Teacher will aurally assess students exploring how the work of Hokkaido fishermen
influenced their music (Procedure Step #5).
2. Teacher will aurally assess students improvising rhythmic accompaniments to “Soran
Bushi” using percussion instruments (Procedure Step #8).
3. Teacher will assess students’ responses to the question “How / for what purpose did
ancient Hokkaido fishermen use music in their daily lives?” written on a half-sheet of
paper on a + , - scale. (Procedure Step #13)
+: Student submitted an on-topic response to the question.
-: Student did not submit a response or their response was off-topic.
4. Teacher will assess students’ responses to the question, “How do the prevalent
musical concepts in “Soran Bushi” reflect [the purpose of ancient Hokkaido
fishermen songs]?” written on a half-sheet of paper on a + , - scale. (Procedure Step
#13)
+: Student submitted an on-topic response to the question.
-: Student did not submit a response or their response was off-topic.

I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic
work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code.
Justin Mitch