Words to know
role
The job something does. The role of music might be to celebrate, to pass on history, or to help people work.
tradition
A way of doing things that is passed down from older people to younger people.
griot (jeli)
In parts of West Africa, a musician, storyteller and keeper of history. The role is often passed down in families.
kora
A West African harp-lute with many strings (usually 21), played by many griots.
troubadour
A poet-musician who sang songs in parts of Europe, mainly in what is now southern France, about 900 years ago.
work song
A song sung while working, to keep everyone moving together and make the work feel easier.
call and response
One person sings or plays a phrase (the call) and a group answers (the response).
katajjaq
Inuit throat singing, traditionally a friendly contest between two women facing each other.
Remember from Grade 3
In Grade 3 you explored how music was used in Upper Canada about 200 years ago (fiddles at bees, voyageur paddling songs, First Nations songs and drums) and how it is used today.
This year we will look further back in time and further around the world, and ask: What role did music play in a community then? What role does it play now?
Before recordings
The phonograph, one of the first machines that could record and play back sound, was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. Before then, if you wanted to hear music, someone almost always had to make it, right there, live (a few machines, like music boxes, could only play a set tune). Music was something people did together: singing at work, at home, at celebrations and at gatherings.
Today you can hear almost any music at any time on a phone, a speaker or a computer. That changes music's role in a community a lot!
Then and now: four examples
1. Griots of West Africa. For hundreds of years, in places that are now Mali, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia, griots (also called jeli) have been musicians, storytellers and historians. Long ago, in kingdoms like the Mali Empire, griots remembered the history of kings and families and sang it, often playing the kora. There were few written books, so their songs kept the community's history. Today, griots still sing at weddings and celebrations, and some perform on stages and recordings around the world.
2. Troubadours of Europe. About 900 years ago, troubadours travelled in what is now southern France, singing songs and poems about love, heroes and news. Without newspapers or radio, travelling musicians helped share stories and news. Today, singer-songwriters share their stories through concerts, videos and streaming.
3. Sea shanties. Sailors on sailing ships sang work songs called shanties to pull ropes and raise the anchor together, on the beat. Today, few people need shanties for work, but people sing them for fun. In 2021, a sailors' song called The Wellerman became popular all over the world on social media!
4. Inuit throat singing (katajjaq). Traditionally, two Inuit women face each other and make rhythmic sounds with their voices and breath, as a friendly contest: the first to laugh or run out of breath loses. It was a way to pass the time, to have fun and to share skills. Today, throat singing is still shared in Inuit communities and is also performed on concert stages by Inuit artists, such as Tanya Tagaq, from Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay), Nunavut. Inuit communities are teaching it to young people so it stays strong.