Vakavanha Väinämöinen​ Experience Design 

1. Rationale​: This design focuses on the literary connections in music 

throughout history. The Kalevala is the great Finnish national epic, and 
has been told for centuries through song. Selecting one melodic passage 
to begin, the teacher will engage with the students in identifying 
components in the passage including the connection between rhythm 
and text, melodic repetitions, and rhyme. After this initial discussion, the 
students will adapt the song to a story of their own choosing, and reword 
it so it aligns with the music chosen. Improvisation will be incorporated 
throughout the lesson. This activity legitimizes music beyond the music 
room and draws on literature and literary ideas to support the musical 
goals.  
2. Understanding Statements 
1. Students can perform the given excerpt ​Vakavanha Väinämöinen 
singing or on instruments. 
2. Students will know the origin of the ​Vakavanha Väinämöinen​, and 
provide examples of other national epics (including Shahnameh, 
The Eddic Sagas, Song of Roland, Beowulf, Epic of Sundiata, etc.) 
3. “I can” statements/standards:  
1. I can play/sing this song with my classmates (VA 6.2.3) 
i. B: I can chant/speak the song… 
ii. B: I can distinguish high/low pitch when sharing the song 
iii. F: I can beat on my body and sing the song 
iv. F: I can improvise within this song 
2. I can identify how this song connects with other subjects and give 
other examples of similar songs (VA 6.7.1) 
i. B: I can identify the country/continent of this song… 
ii. F: I can connect this story with other stories I know 
4. Materials​:   
1. Slide with image of Finland, Väinämöinen, Kantele 
2. Pitched Instruments (any!) 
3. List of National Epics 
i. Epic of Sundiata, Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Nibelungenlied, Epic 
of King Gesar, Song of Roland, Epic of Manas, Poetic Edda, 
Ramayana. More can be added! 
4. Access to recording devices (cell phones would work) 
5. Paper and pencils 
5. Detailed Process​: Pedagogical steps including thoughtful questions and 
time stamp of how long each step will take. Remember: Prepare, present, 
and practice; Enactive, iconic, symbolic; and questions (have many). 
Make this clear enough that someone you don't know could take your 
plan and make it run. 
1. Students enter classroom to a ​Recording​ of the song, and are 
asked to go to their seats. Waiting at their spots are pencils and a 
note card. Students will record their thoughts about the song, 
working to answer the questions: (4 min) 
i. What do you notice about the words being used? 
ii. Who is making the music? 
iii. Do we hear the notes one at a time, or are there chords in 
this song? 
2. Students will share their observations with their neighbor (1 min) 
3. Teacher will ask students to raise their hands and share their 
observations (1 min) 
4. Teacher will play the song again, and ask the students to tally the 
different number of melodies they hear (4 min) 
5. Students will share results and discuss (2 min) 
6. Teacher will play the initial melody on the guitar, and ask the 
students to determine the number of beats (1 min) 
7. Repeat 2 times, asking for the division of the beats (2 min) 
8. The teacher will ask the students to sing the line with them (1 min) 
9. Students will find the starting pitch of the melody on a pitched 
instrument while the teacher sings the song again (1 min) 
10. Students will be asked to figure out the melody with a partner 
on their instrument (2min) 
11. Students will play the melody with the teacher (1 min) 
12. Repeat listening for unity of sound (1 min) 
13. Teacher will explain background of song - National Epic from 
Finland, first written down in 1830’s, origin sometime in iron age 
(500 BC-1200 AD) Väinämöinen builds the Kantele and produces 
beautiful music (using slide) (6 min) 
14. Teacher will play the next melody for the students (1 min) 
15. Repeat process with singing, asking questions for guided 
listening: (6 mins) 
i. What is different about this melody? 
ii. How does the rhythm compare to the first melody? 
 16. Teacher will ask students to notate the melodies using “fish” for 
quarter note “jaw-bone” for eighth notes, and “kan-te-le” for 
eighth-sixteenth-sixteenth rhythm. (4 min) 
17. Students will perform the melodies using their instruments as a 
group. (2 min) 
18. Students will work in small groups/individually to learn the 
remainder of the song on instruments with notations (12 min) 
19. Teacher will present list of other national epics, and students 
will select their song and group, to learn for the next class (6 min) 
20. Include timestamps for each activity/step.  
6. Assessments​:  
1. Teacher will assess informally by looking around the room to check 
that each student is participating. As they are working 
individually, the teacher will walk around and check on them, 
checking for rhythmic consistency, awareness of different 
melodies, and notation/note accuracy.  
7. Adaptation​: How will you open this experience up for learners with 
different ways of engaging and knowing? Consider adaptations to: 
1. - Color - Color of slides can be adjusted to better suit specific 
learners 
2. - Shape/Size - Images can be increased in size for ease of view 
3. - Pacing - Students who are struggling with the new melody can 
continue to refine the first segment, and work on the second 
segment after class or at home.  
4. - Modality - Students who struggle aurally can be given an iconic 
score for the tunes and an instrument with physical notes (orff, 
keyboard). Students can choose to make up movements to go along 
with the tune instead of creating music for the other epics. 
8. Extension​ (what would you do next and/or how could you make this 
experience longer?) 
1. After this, the lesson can be used to incorporate the natural 
improvisations that are found throughout performances of the 
Kalevala.​ The students can choose to add small embellishments, 
or write their own melody to be used in tandem with the given 
tunes.