Classroom Resource

Call and Response from San Francisco Symphony

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

2, 3

Overview

In this resource, students will be introduced to the concept of call and response. Call and response is a form of communication that is used every day and can also be heard in music. It is a type of communication that uses rhythms and patterns. In this activity, students will create a new call and response. 

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Music

AE17.MU.2.6

Convey expressive intent for a specific purpose by presenting a final version of personal musical ideas to peers or informal audience.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.MU.2.6

Vocabulary

Rhythm
  • Eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest
  • Strong/ weak beat — 2/4; 3/4 meter
  • Accelerando/ ritardando
Melody
  • Pitch Set: Do , Re, Mi, So, La
  • Five-line staff
  • Treble clef
  • Names of lines/ spaces (treble staff)
Harmony
  • Melodic ostinati
  • Partner songs
Form
  • AAB, AABA, Rondo
  • Verse/ Refrain
Expression
  • Orchestral instrument families
  • Piano (p), forte (f)
  • Crescendo/ decrescendo
  • Orchestral Music: programmatic
  • Indigenous music: Native American
  • American music: slave songs, colonial folk songs
Other
  • Age-appropriate pitch matching (B3-D5)1
  • Mallet/ drumming technique: alternating hands

Essential Questions

EU: Musicians evaluate, and refine their work through openness to new ideas, persistence, and the application of appropriate criteria.
EQ: How do musicians improve the quality of their creative work?

Skills Examples

Performing
  • Perform original melodic patterns in do pentatonic as an introduction to a known song.
  • Perform original rhythmic patterns on body percussion or unpitched percussion, containing eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest, as an introduction to a known chant.
Creating
  • Create a melody on pitched instruments using speech rhythms from a selected poem.
  • Improvise with a partner in question/answer style, using pitched or unpitched percussion instruments.
Reading/ Writing
  • Notate speech rhythms from a selected poem, using iconic or standard notation.
  • Using music composition software, create an original composition based on a personally selected topic.
Responding/ Evaluating
  • Refine compositions based on self-evaluation of a recorded performance.
  • Indicate dynamic markings for original compositions.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Music

AE17.MU.2.16

Demonstrate and describe how a response to music can be informed by its structure, the use of the elements of music, and context (such as personal and social).

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.MU.2.16

Vocabulary

Rhythm
  • Eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest
  • Strong/ weak beat — 2/4; 3/4 meter
  • Accelerando/ ritardando
Melody
  • Pitch Set: Do, Re, Mi, So, La
  • Five-line staff
  • Treble clef
  • Names of lines/ spaces (treble staff)
Harmony
  • Melodic ostinati
  • Partner songs
Form
  • AAB, AABA, Rondo
  • Verse/ Refrain
Expression
  • Orchestral instrument families
  • Piano (p), forte (f)
  • Crescendo/ decrescendo
  • Orchestral Music: programmatic
  • Indigenous music: Native American
  • American music: slave songs, colonial folk songs
Other
  • Age-appropriate pitch matching (B3-D5)1
  • Mallet/ drumming technique: alternating hands

Essential Questions

EU: Response to music is informed by analyzing context (social, cultural, and historical) and how creators and performers manipulate the elements of music.
EQ: How does understanding the structure and context of music inform a response?

Skills Examples

Performing
  • Demonstrate understanding of musical intent when performing, through attention to expressive markings.
Creating
  • Demonstrate understanding of cultural authenticity by performing music with appropriate stylistic expression
Reading/ Writing
  • Identify repeat signs and multiple verses in a verse/refrain song
Responding/ Evaluating
  • Explain musical decisions that contribute to the expressive intent of the music.
  • Describe the context of lyrics in a verse/refrain song.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

AE17.MU.3.6

Present the final version of personally created music to others and describe its expressive intent.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.MU.3.6

Vocabulary

Rhythm
  • Bar lines
  • Measures
Melody
  • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
  • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
  • Middle C to high G
  • Ledger lines
Harmony
  • Partner songs
  • Rounds
  • Ostinati
Form
  • Theme and variations
  • Coda
  • D.S. al coda
  • Repeat sign
  • Fermata
Expression
  • Phrase/ phrasing
  • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
Other
  • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
  • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
  • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

Essential Questions

EU: Musicians' presentation of creative work is the culmination of a process of creation and communication.
EQ: When is creative work ready to share?

Skills Examples

Performing
  • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
  • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
Creating
  • Use pitch and rhythm to improvise vocal, instrumental, and/or movement ideas within a context (such as question and answer phrases or simple accompaniment/ostinato).
Reading/ Writing
  • Use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to sequence and document personal musical ideas.
Responding/ Evaluating
  • Demonstrate a final version of personal musical ideas using created vocal, instrumental, or movement pieces through performance.
  • Develop criteria to critique and refine selected musical examples.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

AE17.MU.3.16

Demonstrate and describe how selected music connects to and is influenced by specific interests, experiences, or purposes.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.MU.3.16

Vocabulary

Rhythm
  • Bar lines
  • Measures
      • Melody
      • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
      • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
      • Middle C to high G
      • Ledger lines
      Harmony
      • Partner songs
      • Rounds
      • Ostinati
      Form
      • Theme and variations
      • Coda
      • D.S. al coda
      • Repeat sign
      • Fermata
      Expression
      • Phrase/ phrasing
      • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
      Other
      • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
      • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
      • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

Essential Questions

EU: Individuals' selection of musical works is influenced by their interests, experiences, understandings, and purposes.
EQ: How do individuals choose music to experience?

Skills Examples

Performing
  • Using movement, manipulatives, or visual representation, demonstrate and describe how specific music concepts are used to support a specific purpose in music (such as different sections, selected orchestral, band, folk, or ethnic instruments).
Creating
  • Express melodic contour through movement.
Reading/ Writing
  • When analyzing selected music, read and perform rhythmic patterns and/or melodic phrases with voice, body percussion, and/or instruments, using iconic or standard notation.
  • Develop criteria and use them to critique their own performances and the performances of others.
Responding/ Evaluating
  • Identify and respond to simple music forms (e.g., AB, ABA).
  • Identify elements of music using appropriate vocabulary.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Link to Resource
https://www.sfsymphony.org/SanFrancisco/media/SanFrancisco/PDFs/Education-Music…

CR Resource Type

Learning Activity

Resource Provider

San Francisco Symphony
Accessibility
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

https://www.sfsymphony.org/Privacy-Terms

Comments or Notes

The San Francisco Symphony contains free resources available for educators. 

Approved Date

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