Composer Portraits - Influences of Many Musics

Dear Teacher,

The Teacher's Guide is an educational tool designed to help you implement Canadian music content into your curriculum. The Guide is a supplement to the Influences of Many Musics Website (http://www.musiccentre.ca/influences) drawing on the guidelines of several provincial curricula to guide your students' interactions with the site's content. The Teacher's Guide is organized according to the website's six thematic categories, and all activities are organized around and within these themes. Each category has four educational components:

1. A vocabulary builder that helps students to understand and use new musical terms that they encounter in that specific category (pertaining to contextual items, musical features or instruments);
2. A quiz that encourages students to gain an overview of the category's focus and content;
3. An activity that encourages and develops students' awareness of musical (aural, analytical, technical) skills and concepts;
4. An activity that encourages and develops students' contextual awareness, and their ability to think through issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and immigration.

In addition to the thematic categories, the website also features an interactive Instrument Gallery, where students can see, hear, and read about the non-Western instruments that composers use in their musical works. We hope that the Teacher's Guide will help you to incorporate the diverse music and inspiring stories of new Canadian composers into your curriculum. We welcome comments and suggestions from your experiences implementing this material at info@musiccentre.ca .

FAQ:

Why should I consider implementing the Influences of Many Musics website content into my music program?

1. It is fully complementary to all provincial music curricula in Canada (see next question);
2. It is reflective of local and current Canadian culture, which is often shortchanged in music curricula;
3. It engages with issues of multiculturalism and diversity, which are of interest both to educators and to students in our country.

How does the Influences of Many Musics site complement provincial music curricula in Canada?
Educational curricula in Canada are developed provincially; music requirements therefore vary in content and focus from province to province. The Teacher's Guide for the Influences of Many Musics project website was developed in consultation with these curricula. For those provinces with world music requirements in their music curricula, the website offers an ideal way to integrate online and digital media into the student's educational experiences. Interaction with these composer profiles through the activities in the Teacher's Guide advances skills as they are described in these curricula, fostering intercultural understanding, encouraging an appreciation for the musical traditions of other cultures, and questioning the value and nature of multiculturalism in Canada's musical communities. Many music curricula do not have a world music, or even Canadian music content requirement. In the effort to make music relevant on a local and social level for Canadian students, the Influences of Many Musics website is an ideal supplement to the music curriculum in any and all Canadian provinces.

How is Influences of Many Musics pertinent to my students?
Influences of Many Musics is a fun and educational way for students to learn about multiculturalism, history, geography, society, and politics in Canada in the 20th century. It is a discovery space where curiosity, cultural diversity and Canadian talent are explored through detailed profiles of 80 composers. The cultural artefacts on this site offer students the opportunity to really "get inside" Canadian music, and to engage with culture makers on a first-hand basis through their stories and voices. The website is a wonderful place to introduce students to Canadian music and to broader issues of culture and citizenship.

What IS Canadian music?
In this project, we look at the definition of what 'Canadian music' means. The Influences of Many Musics project exists to show the mosaic of diverse international influences and experiences that each composer has brought to Canada. Using audio and visual material, photographs and their own personal voices through interviews and stories, the Influences of Many Musics website provides an opportunity to explore the very definition of Canadian music, an exciting and empowering topic for students of all ages.

Who is the target audience for this educational tool?
The Influences of Many Musics learning materials are primarily targeted at students in grades 6-12, but its content can be presented in different ways to both younger and older students.

How is this site organized? How will my students navigate it?
Essentially, the site consists of 80 profiles of internationally-born Canadian composers who came here from points across the globe, thereby contributing to our cultural mosaic. Each composer is featured in their own mini-website, which features a collage of information that tells us about their personal story and about their music. Each composer profile is a part of a larger thematic category, of which there are six. These larger thematic categories organize these composers based on the influence (instrument, text, visual art, cultural exchange) that is most prominent in the musical work featured in their mini-site.

Where can I find ready-to-use activities for my students?
Activities are based on the six thematic categories, each one exploring the nature of the most prevalent influence on each composer's works. Each category has a vocabulary builder, a comprehension quiz and two activities to help students learn about these composers and their work. We suggest assigning the corresponding vocabulary list first, to get students acquainted with the terms used in the category. A general class discussion surrounding the focus of the category would also be ideal as an introduction to the section's content. The quiz tests the students' depth of understanding of the composer profiles in that section. Finally, the two activities provoke further inquiry, asking questions of a more involved nature.

How can students get a handle on the nuts and bolts of these musical traditions and compositions?
In each category's 'vocabulary builder' section, students are given the opportunity to learn new musical terms and concepts, helping them to understand and discuss these pieces. Additionally, we've included a glossary of music terms that are used throughout the website. Check out the Instrument Gallery, where students can learn about 25 non-Western instruments from around the globe. Images of these instruments, a sample of how they sound and a brief written history of their development and use in their country of origin are included.

Use of this website signifies your agreement to the CMC's Terms and Conditions http://www.musiccentre.ca/ter.cfm.