Emeline+and+Haitian+Music-Culture

Emeline and Haitian Music/Culture We have been studying Haitian music and culture through our Carnegie Hall Musical Explorers program, and have been extending this learning to ways we can compare and contrast using musical terms, as well as connect our own lives to those of the Haitian people.

toc

Haitian Creole:
So far, we have learned about Haitian Creole, and the connections between languages we already may know, and how we can use these similarities in the ways words look and sound to determine what the Creole lyrics mean. Haitian Creole is a mixture of:
 * English
 * French
 * Spanish
 * African Languages

In the songs, "Fais Dodo," and "Tonton Bouki," students used their previous knowledge of language to translate such phrases as, "Fais dodo, bebe pour mama." (Go to sleep baby for mom) and "Ou ap domi?" (Are you sleeping?) What Haitian Creole words do you see that //look// or //sound// similar to ones you know in another language? Do they //mean// the same thing? This is a great decoding skill to use when reading any kind of text. Using words we already know to determine the meaning of words we are unsure of is something we can use throughout our lives. This is why my mom always tried to make me learn Latin! And boy do I wish I had- the SATs would have been so much easier! Good thing your kids are brilliant and are already well on their way to knowing how to use the root of a word to determine the meaning.

Comparing and Contrasting:
Using musical vocabulary, students in all grades **compared** and **contrasted** the song "Tonton Bouki" with other songs they may know. Some of the musical vocabulary they used was:
 * Pulse
 * Rhythm
 * Harmony
 * Lyrics/Language
 * Expression
 * Melody
 * Pitch
 * Diction

Listen to the song yourself. Can you compare and contrast it with other songs you may know? Your kids sure did! And wait until you hear what they discovered...

media type="file" key="tonton_bouki.mp3" width="240" height="20"

Lesia's class **compared** and **contrasted** "Tonton Bouki" with other songs, and discovered songs in **four** other languages that were remarkably similar. Being the brilliant musicians they are, they chose to sing the melody in all **five** languages in a round. Listen for the languages. You will hear:
 * English
 * Spanish
 * French
 * Haitian Creole
 * **Chinese!**

media type="file" key="Lesia's Class 5 Language Round.m4a" width="300" height="50" Are they cool, or are they cool?!

Rara Music:
Marilyn and Lailany's class learned about the Rara music of Haiti, which is played during the festivities leading up to Easter, similar to Carnival or Mardi Gras. Rara music involves playing many instruments, including trumpets made from bamboo, drums, maracas, bells, and many other percussive instruments. Students recorded their own Rara-type music, using our own percussion instruments. They watched a video of Haitian students being taught to drum a rhythm, and they listened for a sound pattern similar to one they have heard before from Gaidya in our Syrian unit of study! Can you hear the "tak-a-dum" rhythm?

media type="file" key="Marilyn's Class Rara Music.m4a" width="300" height="50"
 * Marilyn's Class:**

media type="file" key="Lailany's Class Rara Music.m4a" width="300" height="50"
 * Lailany's Class:**

media type="file" key="Drum Class in Haiti!.avi" width="300" height="300"
 * Video on Haitian Drumming:**