african sketches
James curnow - Grade 1
About the music
African Sketches is a medley of three folk songs from Africa. Africa is a vast continent of many nations, and this medley offers a taste of the great variety of traditional music (folk songs) to be found there. The three songs are as follows:
1. Oteng' teng' - In the language of the Lou of Kenya, this means "creeper" and is a dance.
2. Mwana Wange - This is a Buganda lullaby. The arrangement captures the graceful movement of the mothers rocking their babies to sleep.
3. Zira! Zira! - This is an Ethiopian war song used to call its warriors to war.
1. Oteng' teng' - In the language of the Lou of Kenya, this means "creeper" and is a dance.
2. Mwana Wange - This is a Buganda lullaby. The arrangement captures the graceful movement of the mothers rocking their babies to sleep.
3. Zira! Zira! - This is an Ethiopian war song used to call its warriors to war.
Tempo & style
Moderately Fast and Stately (QN=112)
Quiet and Gentle (QN=92)
Fast and Energetic (QN=120)
Quiet and Gentle (QN=92)
Fast and Energetic (QN=120)
Ranges
instrumentation
WOODWIND
Flute Oboe Bassoon Clarinet 1-2 Alto Clarinet Bass Clarinet Alto Sax 1-2 Tenor Sax Baritone Sax |
BRASS
Trumpet 1-2 French Horn Trombone Baritone Tuba |
PERCUSSION
Shaker Maracas Tambourine Triangle Suspended Cymbal Snare Drum Bells Chimes (opt.) Xylophone Timpani (Bass Drum) |
teaching concept categories
Teaching considerations
This piece correlates to the Essential Elements Band Series Book 2, page 14. Each student part also includes a resource that covers sight-reading, rhythm, and melody of the piece. The piece is broken into three contrasting sections. The first and last section are a marcato style, and middle section is legato. The unison octaves in the first section and the open fifths in the third section provide great opportunities to work on intonation. Students may well be studying world history (depending on the grade level), and this piece could potentially be used for some cross-curricular activities.