Erin Yaremcio

001185125

ED 3891

Dr. Kathy Markin-Clapton

October 29, 2018

Mini-Lesson of “Peg Leg the Pirate”

Pedagogical Rationale

I chose the song “Peg Leg the Pirate” as my syn-co-pa song as I believe that is not only a

song that fits the objective but also a game that students of all ages will enjoy. Additionally, the

solfege is relatively simple but still contains challenging elements such as fa and the high do.

The song is quite catchy thus enabling students to be able to use this song continuously. With the

many examples of syn-co-pa that are exaggerated by the tone and words of the piece, students

should be able to identify where the syn-co-pas are in the song. I would choose to use this song

with either grade five or grade six especially when teaching the elements of syn-co-pa. However,

due to the catchy tune, and the game that can be exaggerated or simplified for students to have

fun at all age levels, and could be used to reinforce the idea of syn-co-pa after having the song in

their repertoire (a part of that make conscious stage). Additionally, I changed the ending of the

original piece from fa-re-do to mi-re-do as I believe that is it more catchy and easier to sing, thus

furthering student’s enjoyment.

Background: Detailing what the students already know melodically and rhythmically to ensure

that they are ready for this stage

Melodic Understandings:
 Students are already aware of (as dictated by the Alberta Music Curriculum for

grades 1-4); high/low sounds, middle sounds, movement of tones or stasis,

patterns of melody, melodies are based on major/minor/pentatonic scales,

symbols to show the direction of melody, sounds can move by whole/half steps

(steps/leaps), ending home tones, intervals and what they contribute to melody

and C major and its relative minor diatonic scale. In the grade five curriculum for

melody, students learn that melodies can be based on the G/F major scales and

their relative minors, and a melody is changed when its rhythm is changed. As

this song is in e minor (relative of G major), students are learning this aspect of

relativity. As well in grade five curriculum, they learn that a melody is changed

when its rhythm has changed. This contributes to the learning of syn-co-pa as

students are able to see how the “swing” feeling of the song is brought about

through the melody. This song doesn’t necessarily focus on the melodic aspects of

the curriculum, however I feel that what the children have learned in prior grades

will help them with their understanding of the song. Students will be able to draw

connections between their previous knowledge, songs that have been used

throughout their grade levels (such as Peg Leg the Pirate), in order to “make

conscious” and “reinforce” the ideas of syn-co-pa as well as that in music there

are often new elements of the piece that can be introduced.

Rhythmic Understandings:

Students coming in to grade five already have the following concepts mastered;

steady beat, even/uneven beat, types of sounds/silences and their durations,

strong/weak beats, rhythmic patterns and how they could accompany melody,
 rhythm is made of the beat and the divisions of the beat, beats can be grouped by

accents, sounds and silences have duration (ta, ti, too, whole note, sixteenth notes,

whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest) that could be extended (by dot, tie,

or fermata), beats can be grouped in 2s/3s/4s, some music doesn’t not have a

steady beat, time signatures group beats, and that meter changes can occur. In

grade five, students learn that patterns can now include multiple different types of

notes, and that rhythm is created by combining beat, tempo, patterns, metre and

duration. As students have already learned syn-co-pa in their prior lessons (as per

the assignment objective) they are also aware that accents may fall on beats that

are usually unaccented. The students are well prepared by the time that they reach

syn-co-pa, as they understand the different durations of notes and patterns, thus

the idea of syncopation and accents are a concept that isn’t too far out of their

reach.

Outline for Objective:

Introduction to Song Have students sit in a circle. Sing the song to the students using 2 min

good tonal quality and rhythm. Do not pat anything as students

are listening. Teach the song and have students pat the beat (not

the rhythm).

Game After teaching has proved successful, have students pass the 2 min

“treasure chest” around without vocal instructions, just start

doing so. When the song is done, keep singing, and on the word

“stolen” dramatically put hands behind my back and have

students copy. Ask a student to sit in the middle and close their

eyes, and explain that they have 3 tries to guess who has the

treasure chest, while singing the question and responses as

example. Play the game one (twice if time permitting).

Sing the song again as a group while tapping the rhythm (prompt 4 min

the rhythm not beat using as little vocal instruction as possible).

Next, ask students to tap the rhythm out as a group, counting

them in, without saying the words aloud. See if the group has the

rhythm together. Ask them what kind of rhythm it is. Give hints

if class is having issues remembering (“you may have learned

this term just recently”) Correct response is: syn-co-pa. Again in

small groups, ask each group to come up with an 8 bar speaking

and body percussion ostinato that uses syn-co-pa at least 4 times

using notation strips.

Ask each group to show their ostinatos individually. After every 2 min

group has shown their ostinato, count them in to do their own

ostinato, while I sing the song. (*if this was to be done with

children, I would have the children hand in their papers with

their notation, and then next class we would work on bringing

these ostinatos with their syn-co-pa elements to non-pitched

percussion and pitched percussion focusing again on having the

groups choose their instruments for non-pitched percussion and

explain why they chose it, and then on the pitched percussion
 instruments, allow time for improvisation and composition so

students are able to compose (within the pentatonic scale))

Resource:

Kate. “Peg Leg the Pirate.” Kate's Kodály Classroom, 29 Jan. 2014,

kateskodalyclassroom.blogspot.com/2014/01/peg-leg-pirate.html.