Minds On

Today’s vocabulary

Press the following tabs to access today’s vocabulary.

The level of softness or loudness, or intensity. Some examples include: crescendo, decrescendo; forte (f – loud), fortissimo (ff – very loud), mezzo forte (mf – moderately loud); piano (p – soft), pianissimo (pp – very soft), mezzo piano (mp – moderately soft).

The element of music that relates to the highness or lowness of a tone or sound.

The Anishinaabe means the “original person” and includes the Naakowe, Mississauga, Odishwaagaamii’ininiwag, Amikwaa, Boodiwaadmi, Ojibwe, and Odaawa Nations.

Let’s get started!

Sometimes music and visual arts work together.

Explore the song, “Wishi’ta”.

In this clip, the performer is Théo Redsky Paradis. Théo shares a teaching and sings this Anishinaabe water song called “Wishi’ta.”

Théo explains that in the first part, the drumming is like the drip, drip, drip of icicles melting in the spring.

In the second part, it is like the spring thaw. In early spring when the temperatures start to go up, the ice starts to melt and crack.

Think about the pictures you might create to show these two parts. You can record your ideas digitally, orally, or in print.

Did you know?

Did you know?

In Anishinaabe culture, women have a sacred responsibility to protect and care for the waters. This Anishinaabe teaching is shared in more detail by Sandra Indian from the Ojibway’s of Onigaming First Nation in the following video.

Explore this video entitled “Connection to the Water” to learn more about Anishinaabe culture.

Sandra uses the word “nibi” which means water in Anishinaabemowin.

Action

Get ready, get set…

We use lines, shapes, and colours to respond to the music.

For example, a line going up could be used to show the pitch going up.

A line going down could be used to show the pitch going down.

The element of music that relates to the highness or lowness of a tone or sound.

A vertical wavy line. At the bottom of the line are the words low pitch. At the top of the line are the words high pitch.

The size of a shape could be used to show dynamics or how loud or soft the music is.

For example, a soft sound could be a small shape. A loud sound could be a big shape.

The level of softness or loudness, or intensity. Some examples include: crescendo, decrescendo; forte (f – loud), fortissimo (ff – very loud), mezzo forte (mf – moderately loud); piano (p – soft), pianissimo (pp – very soft), mezzo piano (mp – moderately soft).

A small blue dot with the words soft sound underneath and a large blue dot with the words loud sound underneath.

Colour could be used for different instruments playing.

The element of music that relates to the unique sound of an instrument or voice (e.g., the characteristic sound of a trumpet versus a clarinet, or a knock on the door versus a bell ringing).

Explore the “Wishi’ta” song again.

“I learned this song at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, the teachings I received is that this song represents the snow melting in the spring and the ice breaking on our Rivers and Lakes.”
– Théo Paradis

In the song “Wishi’ta”, you might have noticed that each verse of the song is performed at a different tempo or speed. This is meant to represent the different forms and movements of water.

Water can move fast like in a stream, or slowly like in drips from an icicle in the spring.

Water is used in many Indigenous ceremonies and in Anishinaabe culture, women are responsible for protecting the waters. This song honours the water when it is performed.

For example, there are two instruments in “Wishi’ta”: the voice and a drum.

The colour yellow could be used for the voice. The colour blue could be used for the drum.

Here is an example of a response to the first part of “Wishi’ta” using lines, shapes, and colours.

Source: https://onlc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Anishinaabe-Language-Wookbook.pdf

The title is My Sound Map. The name of the song is “Wishi’ta”. There is a yellow line that looks like a bunch of icicles. There are blue lines that look like raindrops. The yellow line moves up and down and show how the pitch changes from low to high throughout the song. The blue raindrops show where the drum is played throughout the song. The drum is played in different patterns throughout the song so the raindrops are in different patterns.

Go!

Let’s test your learning! For each sentence, pick the image that matches.

Press ‘Hint’ to refresh your learning about sound and pictures.

Follow the shape of the line moving left to right. Are the shapes high or low? Are they big or small? What might the pictures sound like?

A vertical wavy line. At the bottom of the line are the words low pitch. At the top of the line are the words high pitch. A small blue dot with the words soft sound underneath and a large blue dot with the words loud sound underneath.

Consolidation

Putting it all together

Use lines, shapes, and colour to create your own response to the B section of “Wichita Do Ya.”

Access this video entitled “Wishi’ta” to create your artwork.

Complete the My Sound Map chart in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts. Consider adding this to your portfolio if you wish.

My Sound Map

Name of Song:





Press the ‘Activity’ button to access My Sound Map. 

Activity(Open PDF in a new window)

Portfolio

Portfolio

Examine your response. Record your thinking digitally, orally or in print.
  1. What lines did you use to show pitch (high/low)?
  2. What shapes did you use to show dynamics (loud/soft)?
  3. How did you show different instruments? If you used colour, what colours did you use?
  4. What was the most important or memorable thing you experienced in this lesson?
  5. What do you want to continue to practice?

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel…

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.