Objectives Students will arrange an accompaniment to a folk song, preserving or reinterpreting the song's original intent. Students arrange pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written in ways that preserve or enhance the expressive effect of the music.
Students can compose and notate simple melodies using conventional music notation.
Discuss with students what an accompaniment in, as Wyclef says, the style of Johnny Cash does to the expressive effect of the music. Lead students into a discussion of what the song might sound like in another style, for example, surf, 1950s rock, or Gregorian chant. Discuss the reasons for creating an arrangement different from the original. Explain to the class that they are going to create a new accompaniment for a familiar song. Present a number of folk songs to the class and help them arrive at a consensus about which five or six songs to use.