Anatomy of a Lesson #1

Lesson Plan

Ostinato

1. Students find their own space in the room and then walk to the music improvised by the teacher.¹
   • Encourage students to explore different directions – forward, backward, sideways, and diagonal!²
   • Use different levels in space – high, medium, low.
   • The teacher can play with different nuances within the walking music, such as heavy, light, quicker, or slower, or use different tonalities. Different locomotor movements or rhythm patterns can also be explored here.³
2. However, if the music becomes “stuck,” the students move one body part of their choice to show the beat – fingers, head, elbows, knees, hips, shoulders, toes.⁴
   • Discuss and define the word “ostinato.” (It translates from the Italian word “obstinate” or “stubborn”.)
3. In a seated circle, hand out rhythm sticks.⁵
   • Create an ostinato pattern that everyone plays together (e.g., beat-beat-beat-rest), while another person improvises on a hand drum or by singing an improvised melody.
   • Invite students to suggest a new pattern or way of using the rhythm sticks. Invite others to play or sing the solo part.

Repertoire Application

1. Listen to “Umoja” by Valerie Coleman and ask questions to guide a discussion, such as:¹
   • Who is this music about? What’s happening in the music?
   • What does it sound like to you?
   • Does it sound heavier or light? Smooth or prickly? Joyous or melancholy?
2. Give context for the composition:
   “Umoja” is the Swahili word for “unity” and is the first day in seven in the African American celebration of Kwanzaa. During the celebration of Kwanzaa, families enjoy sing-along songs that include lots of call and response, where one group sings a melody, then another sings a response melody.
3. Listen again, this time, seeking out the ostinato.
   • Create a gesture or movement that everyone could demonstrate when the ostinato is heard.
   • Improvise movement when there is no ostinato, then show the ostinato gesture when it comes in.

Commentary

1. When students match the music with their bodies, this is a type of association. ↩︎
2. Such types of instructions help students to explore the space as well as use of their own bodies. ↩︎
3. These are great examples of how to incorporate a simple follow into your class (a follow is an aural reaction of nuance). ↩︎
4. This is an aural reaction: when students hear a change in the music, they make a change in their movement. This is also a type of improvisation, where the students get to choose how they show demonstrate the aural reaction signal. The idea that theory follows practice is crucial for eurhythmics activities. After performing an exercise, the teacher can lead a discussion where students learn about what they have just experienced. ↩︎
5. Here we have a group activity that incorporates association (everyone matches each other) with some solo improvisation. The use of another ‘voice’ for the improvisation is important in that the group can hear the improvised part as distinct from the ostinato. ↩︎
6. These are all great questions not only for analysis, but also to lead towards a plastique animée activity, where students perform within a lesson (as opposed to a plastique animée that is designed over the course of several sessions). Plastique animée involves several Dalcrozian teaching strategies, including group activity, improvisation, use of space, association, and others, depending on the eventual choreography. ↩︎