AN AMUSING JOURNEY ALONG THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SONGS.
What do you do in your free time? Do you enjoy listening to music? Take your time and stop for a while to consider: How many English songs do you already know? How many of them are your favourite songs? How many of them are hits at this moment? Music is perhaps the main vehicle of mass communication for the younger generations; they enjoy the music, sing the songs, copy their favourite singers and groups appearance and identify with their attitudes and actions. And have you noticed that by listening to English songs you can learn a lot of English vocabulary and improve your oral and speaking skills? We hope you enjoy this awesome journey...... First of all spend a few minutes watching and listening to this wonderful video about the evolution of music:
But, before we start investigating the development of English songs all along history, please have a look at this report and think about how 20 songs have managed to change the world. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21143345 The different activities will have to be performed on a special "notebook" that each group will have to design. Your notebook must have a cover page with the name of the group on it, and the following title: THAT´S ENTERTAINMENT
DO NOT FORGET TO BRING YOUR HEADPHONES. IT IS ABSOLUTELY COMPULSORY TO USE THEM INDIVIDUALLY. EVERY GROUP MEMBER HAS TO LISTEN TO ALL THE SONGS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH THE REST OF THE GROUP
DELIVERY DEADLINE: 25 MAY
TASK ONE: Folk Music and Folk Songs Folk Music can consist of Folk Songs (music with lyrics) or instrumental Folk Music (often played to accompany Folk Dancing). Although there are many contemporary artists writing new folk music in traditional styles, most people think of Folk Music as being the older Traditional Music itself. English folk music has been everywhere in our lifetime. Folk Music often has a National flavour to it with different countries or cultural groups having their our distinctive styles, though there can often be an overlap in styles either between neighbouring countries or following the movement or emigration of large numbers of people. The origins of the oldest Folk Tunes can be obscure and they are frequently communicated by imitation, handed down from generation to generation often without the aid of music notation, or passed on by cultural interaction of folk musicians with other communities and perhaps adapted and changed over time. There is such a wide range of Folk Music that it includes a number of specialist categories e.g. Nursery Rhymes are Folk Songs sung to and by children, National Anthems and Patriotic Songs are frequently Folk Songs used to express national solidarity, and many of the older Christmas Carols are Folk Songs sung at Christmas time.
Browse the web and look for a really famous folk music song that you have heard ever since you were a child. Then write down the lyrics and translate them into Spanish. DO NOT MAKE A LITERAL TRANSLATION. TRY TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION. This should'nt take you more than ONE SESSION.
You must complete the questionnaire about the contents of the messages that the songs want to transmit. 1.You must read the lyrics of the songs carefully and then, listen to the songs on the videos.Pay attention to the key words which will give you a clue about the messages that the songs carry. 2.Once you have gone through the lyrics, read meticulously the questions and go back to the lyrics to find the answer.
QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTION ONE :In which song does the singer say that she will continue loving him forever?_____________________________________________________________ QUESTION TWO: Which song is a protest song which complains about "war" and"lack of freedom"?_____________________________________________ QUESTION THREE: In which song did people try to help her but she rejected their help?_________________________________________________ QUESTION FOUR:In which song did the lovers meet when they were kids? ___________________________________________________________ QUESTION FIVE :In which song is the singer following all the moves of his/her lover?______________________________________________________________ QUESTION SIX: Which song says that the distance will not be an obstacle to stop her from loving him?____________________________________________________ QUESTION SEVEN:In which song has a member of her family tried to help her? _____________________________________________________________________ QUESTION EIGHT: In which song is the answer in " the nature"? _______________________________________________________________ QUESTION NINE:in which song does the singer say that he wants to have a baby with his lover?________________________________________________________ QUESTION TEN:Which song expresses he suffers even when he breaths? ______________________________________________________________ QUESTION ELEVEN:Who of these singers has won the Nobel Prize of literature recently? ______________________________________________________________
TASK THREE: YOU WILL BE GIVEN A DOSSIER WITH DIFFERENT HANDOUTS ABOUT DIFFERENT MUSIC DECADES (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s AND MILLENNIUM). YOU ARE ASKED TO FILL IN THE FOLLOWING ANSWERING SHEET (ONE FOR EACH DECADE) ACCORDINGLY TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN. YOU ARE REQUESTED TO ILLUSTRATE THESE ANSWERING SHEETS INSPIRING ON EACH DECADE CHARACTERISTICS. YOU CAN DISTRIBUTE THE DIFFERENT DECADES AMONG THE TEAM MEMBERS.
DECADES WORKING SHEET DECADE: MAIN SINGERS/GROUPS: FAMOUS HITS: IMPORTANT ACTORS/ACTRESSES OF THE TIME: FILMS: FASHION (SIGNIFICATIVE CLOTHING ITEMS):
FINAL TASK :
Now it is time for you TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION. YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH MANY ENGLISH SONGS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT DECADES WITHIN THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SONGS. YOU HAD ALREADY HEARD SOME OF THEM, BUT SURELY IT WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO SOME OF THEM. YOUR FINAL TASK WILL BE TO CHOOSE ONE OF THESE SONGS. WRITE YOUR OWN LYRICS AND CHORUS, FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL MUSIC AND TUNES. WRITE ABOUT A TOPIC THAT IS INTERESTING TO YOU AND THAT YOU THINK WILL BE ATTRACTIVE FOR THE REST OF YOUR CLASSROOM. THIS NEW SONG WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE CLASSROOM AND WILL BE YOUR SPEAKING MARK FOR THIS 3RD TERM, SO TRY TO DO IT THE BEST THAT YOU CAN. YOUR GROUP MIGHT BE THE NEXT TOP HIT SINGING GROUP. FAME IS AWAITING FOR YOU OUT THERE. GOOD LUCK!