20 African American Songs for Teaching with the Kodaly Method

This is a set of 20 African American Folk Songs and Spirituals that come with an analysis.

Songs include:
- 3 Singing Games
- 1 Spiritual suitable for singing at Christmas time
- 16 African-American songs that are also rich in heritage and fantastic for teaching a wide variety of musical elements!

More African American songs are also included in my ‘20 Traditional American Songs for Teaching with the Kodály Method’ Collections 1 and 2.

These resources and more also available on MySongFile.com

ANGEL BAND (THE)
• Sections of this catchy song are quite repetitive, giving plenty of opportunity for reinforcing the melodic elements 'low la' and 'low so'!
• The first part of this song can be used to teach the rhythmic element 'tie'.
• The second part of this song can be used to prepare or practise tum-ti.

BLIN’ MAN STOOD ON DE WAY AN’ CRIED
• This is a beautiful African American Spiritual in la pentatonic scale.
• Great for acquainting students with minor tonality.
• Fantastic for working with the minor chord 'l,-d-m'. This chord is used in both ascending and descending patterns.

BOATMAN (THE)
• Great for practicing d-r-m with older beginners.
• A very useful song for contrasting the rhythmic elements 'tum ti' and 'ti tum’.

C-LINE WOMAN
• 'C-Line Woman' is a simple African American song written in ‘la pentatonic scale’.
• With 'low so' only sung once, this is a useful song for discovering this melodic element in a song in minor tonality.
• You could have two groups of students singing this song, with the 2nd group only singing the 'cela' phrase. This would reinforce the 'do'-'low la' and 'low so'-'low la' intervals.

HOLD MY MULE
• This is a terrific song for preparing and practising the melodic elements 'low la' and 'low so'.
• The rhythmic element 'too' can also be taught with this song.
• This song finishes 'l-s-m-r-d' making it a great song for teaching the 'do pentatonic' scale.

HUSHABYE
• This beautiful lullaby is terrific for preparing and practising the natural minor scale.
• The rhythm 'tum ti' can also be prepared and practised with this song.

I’M GOIN’ HOME ON A CLOUD
• This is a beautiful African American song written in Mixolydian mode.
• A great song for teaching the melodic element 'ta' (flattened ti).

KUM BA YAH
This traditional song can be used to:
• Teach the melodic element 'fa'.
• Prepare and practise the rhythmic element 'tim-ka'.

MARY HAD A BABY
• This is a Spiritual that can be sung at Christmas time.
• A useful song for preparing and practising the melodic elements 'low la' and 'low so'.

O SINNER MAN
This version of 'O Sinner Man' is great for:
• Practising ascending and descending broken chords in a minor tonality! (mi-do-la; la-do-mi; re-ti-low so; low so-ti-re).
• Preparing and practising the rhythmic element ti-tika.

OH SINNER MAN
This African-American Spiritual is fantastic for:
• Preparing and practising the rhythmic element 'ti-tika'.
• Practising the melodic element 'fa' in minor tonality.
• Singing in natural minor.
• Singing as a partner song with 'Drunken Sailor'.

OLD ARK (THE)
This Spiritual is brilliant for:
• Preparing and practising the melodic element 're'.
• Preparing and practising the rhythmic element 'syncopa' (quaver, crotchet, quaver [eight note, quarter note, eighth note]).
• Teaching 'do pentatonic scale'. (The last line has a descending do pentatonic scale).
• Working with the tonic triad. (The intervals appear in the song as d-m; m-d; d-m-s; d-s; m-s and s-m.)

PHARAOH’S ARMY
This upbeat, catchy song can be used to:
• Teach the melodic element 'fa'.
• Teach the rhythmic element 'tim-ka'.

POOR ROSY
• With melancholic lyrics, this song has a beautiful, though slightly unusual melody.
• A great song for teaching the rhythmic element 'ti-tika'.
• Fantastic for practising the melodic element 'ti' in minor tonality.

ROCK-A MY SOUL
• With an easy swung feel, students enjoy singing this Spiritual.
• A great song for preparing and practising the melodic element 'ta' (flattened ti).

STOOPING ON THE WINDOW (Singing Game)
• 'Stooping On The Window' is a fun song with an easy melody. Students love to 'wind' themselves into a circle and 'unwind' themselves into a line.
• A useful song for practising the melodic element 'low la'.
• A great song to practise singing the tonic triad - 'd-m-s'.
• An effective song to practise swapping between speaking and singing voices.

THAT’S A MIGHTY PRETTY MOTION (Singing Game)
• Children love this improvisation game.
• The song can be used to teach the melodic element 're'.
• The rhythm ti-tum (eighth note-quarter note) can be practised with this song.

TISKET A TASKET (Singing Game)
• This is a fun, chasing circle game.
• This song can be used to prepare and practise the musical elements 'low la' and 'low so'.
• The rhythm 'ka-tim' can be taught with this song.
• The game is played the same way as the similar song 'A Tisket A Tasket'.
• Game instructions are included.

TRAIN IS A-COMING
• This is a useful song for practising the extended 'do pentatonic' scale.
• The melodic elements 'high do', 'low la' and 'low so', are all in this song.
• This song works well with modal transformation.

WAYFARING STRANGER
• 'Wayfaring Stranger' is a great song for teaching the la pentatonic scale and practising the melodic elements 'low la' and 'low so' in a minor tonality.
• The simple rhythms in this song make it a useful song for teaching the time signature '3/2'.