Lesson Plans from Edumate

Grade 6

Lesson 3 – Music of Japan

WEEK 3 

Period 1 - Bilingual/International 
Introduction to Japanese Musical Culture 

(I) Top 10 Amazing Facts about Japan  (15 minutes) 

The teacher will first ask the students who had been to Japan, and what do they know about Japan. 

Students who had been there will be asked to share briefly their memorable experiences in Japan. 

Then the class will watch a short documentary about Japan. 

(W)  Discussion no Japanese Musical Culture (15 minutes) 

Then the following topics will be briefly discussed

1. Traditional Japanese Music 
2. Japanese Vocal Styles and Vocal Forms 

(W/I) Song Study (10 minutes) 

The class will first watch a short clip on Sakura Festival. 

Then students will  study the song "Sakura."

Sakura! Sakura!  Ya-yo-I-no

so-ra-wa, Mi-wa-ta-su ka-gi-ri
Ka-su-mi-ka ku-mo-ka, Ni-o-i-zo
  i-zu-ru. I-za-ya, I-za-ya,
Mi—ni—
Yu-ka-n.

Period 2 - International 
The Musical Instruments of Japan

(G) Groupings for Performance Test and Song Review (10 minutes) 

The class will be divided into two groups.  And each group will pick the song that they will perform. 

Each group will have to sing their assigned song twice. 

The class will practice both songs for ther performance: "Fengyang Flower Drum Song" and "Sakura"
(W) Discussion on Musical Instruments  (15 minutes) 
The teacher will discuss the Horbostel-Sachs Classification and  enumerate Japanese Instruments that fall under
each classification
1. Aerophones - Sho, Hichiriki, and Shakuhachi
2. Chordophones - Shamisen, Biwa, and Koto
3. Membranophones - Da-daiko, Kakko, and Tsuri-daiko
4. Idiophone - Shoko

The teacher will also discuss the Gagaku ensemble of Japan. 

(W) Videos of Musical Instruments (15 minutes) 

The students will watch short video clips of the Japanese Musical instruments so they will have an idea of how
they are used and how they sound. 
Core Tactic – Use of Multimedia
Using multimedia not only catches the attention but also assures the retention of a particular topic, video
materials will be shown to the students to show them the beauty of Japanese music. 
Resource
Our World of MAPEH 8, Vibal Publishing HouseHyperlink
Text
This textbook allots the Music section to discuss the different musical cultures of Asian
countries from different regions. In East Asia, it explains the Music of China, Japan, and South
Korea

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Japan

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzscchJeoE
As the title suggests, the video zooms in to 10 amazing facts about Japan that will serve as a
backgrounder before the discussion on Japanese musical culture