Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: The Elements Of Music

25 minutes

Part B: Music Analysis

10 minutes

Part C: Music Video Analysis - Optional

10 minutes

Part D: Written Analysis

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students understand...

what the elements of music are and how they are used
how music videos use symbolism and connect with the musical elements to create meaning
how the elements of music can be analysed individually and in combination to unpack hidden meaning in a song
how the quality of songs can be judged on a variety of levels.

Students can...

analyse how the elements of music operate individually and in combination
uncover hidden meanings in songs
use evidence to explain their analysis of a song
make judgements about the quality of a song.

Part A: The elements of music

Step 1

Invite students to share what they remember about the elements of music. You might like to create a mind-map on the board to record and sort student ideas.

Note: The Australian Curriculum lists the elements of music as being: rhythm, pitch, dynamics and expression, form and structure, timbre (tone colour), and texture. If your state uses specific terminology to describe musical elements at the Years 11 and 12 levels, you can use these instead.

Step 2

Distribute copies of the Student Worksheet to each student and invite them to form pairs. Working collaboratively, invite students to consider how each of the listed uses of the elements of music might contribute to creating mood or character. They should write these in the table on the Student Worksheet (possible answers included in italics):

Musical element	How this element creates mood or character
Fast, uneven rhythms	Creates excitement (or fear) by destabilising the pace.
Repeated rhythms or ostinatos	Creates certainty and comfort by being predictable.
Small range of pitches	Creates comfort as the tune is easy to follow. Could also create boredom, depending on the pace and rhythm.
Very low-pitched melody line	Creates a sense of mystery or authority.
Extreme and varied dynamics	The unpredictability of dynamics could create fear or anxiety.
Dynamics that grow throughout the whole song and quickly fade at the end	Leads the audience towards a feeling of climax and resolution. The build creates anticipation.
Stretching and contracting the beat	The instability of this could express passionate emotions, or a sense of laziness and casualness.
A catchy melodic theme or hook that repeats throughout the song	Repetition creates a comfort and familiarity. The audience might be tempted to sing or hum along with the tune, making it feel fun or giving them a sense of ownership over the music.
Muddy and mellow tone colour	Could create confusion or sadness.
Distorted tone colour	Creates anxiety and tension.
Only a few instruments and voices spread across background, mid-ground and foreground	Creates a sense of depth and space, like the musicians are performing in a very large hall.
Many voices singing different melodies over one another	Creates intensity, confusion and possibly anxiety.

An option to save time, or increase student interaction, would be to divide the rows between pairs or student groups and get them to share their answers with another pair/group.

Note: There are not necessarily any ‘right’ answers in this activity, or in any musical analysis activity. The secret to success when analysing music is to provide evidence to support your case, which is usually a reference to one or more of the musical elements and how they are used.

Part B: Music analysis

Step 1

Inform students that they will be analysing the theme song from The Final Quarter using the elements of music. This song is called ‘Every Day My Mother’s Voice’ and was written by Paul Kelly and performed by Dan Sultan, Paul Kelly and the band. The song plays in the closing credits of the film. It won the 2019 Screen Music Awards for Best Original Song Composed for the Screen.

Play ‘Every Day My Mother’s Voice’ by Paul Kelly. In this first listening, just encourage students to listen and get a feel for it:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1AaL8LeanSrdhjn8TSeodV

To avoid visual distractions in musical analysis activities, try to avoid using video and play the audio-only tracks. (However, if you don’t have a Spotify account, you can access the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3OJ0kzSXQE)

Step 2

Draw the students’ attention to the Analysis Table on the Student Worksheet and explain each of the areas as below:

Rhythm

How the notes are organised in time.

Pitch and variation

How the notes are organised in high and low pitches.

Dynamics and expression

How loud or soft the notes are played and how they are performed.

Form and structure

How the overall song is structured using parts or components.

Timbre/tone colour

The particular character and definition of the sound of each instrument and/or voice.

Texture

The layers of sound and how they sit together.

Mood

The feelings that the overall song, or parts of the song portray.

Melodic shape

A visual representation of the pitch and texture.

Mix

Where the sounds are sitting in space (background, foreground, mid-ground) - usually manipulated by editing.

Note: Mood, melodic shape and mix have been added to the table of musical elements as they help students view the song on a more holistic level and provide interesting points for discussion.

Step 3

For this next activity, students will be listening to the song again and recording their observations about the musical elements in the song. They will then be responsible for writing down their observations and reporting back to the class so you can build a full picture of how the elements work together.

Differentiation tips: You might like to differentiate the task in the following way:

Assign just one or two elements to students who will need more support or time (elements in the first row are the easiest).
You could also have them analyse just the opening section of the song (e.g. first verse and chorus).
Divide up the elements and get students to work in pairs or small groups.
Have students complete the full table in pairs or individually.
Encourage students to incorporate musical terminology you have been working on with the class (e.g. staccato, legato, crescendo, homophonic, syncopation).

Make sure each student is aware of which, and how many, elements they are analysing.

Step 4

Play the song again, twice through, instructing students to take notes on their assigned elements. They should record any observations they have. They may also want to think about how what they observed impacts on the character (or feel) of the song.

Note: If students are completing the full table, you may need to play it additional times.

Step 5

Invite students to share their observations and analyses with the class and record these on the board to build a full picture of the song. Discuss with students the potential impact of the way the elements are used individually and in combination.

Here are some examples of how you could interpret the use of musical elements in the song:

The ostinato in the lead guitar in the song intro is played evenly, with a bright tone. It’s repetition and steadiness support Paul Kelly’s statement about making the song sound like “getting through each day” (Source). The brightness of the tone in the guitar cuts through the initial background noise and brings positivity to the song.
The tone during the bridge (overlayed with film footage) gets slightly more fuzzy, using reverb and moving to the mid-ground. There is an echo or layering of harmonies in the backup vocals (“everyday”). These changes in tone, texture and mix create a feeling of distance, such as experienced in memories. The repetition of the echo might indicate that these memories are repeated.

You may also like to discuss these musical moments with the students, getting them to create their own meaning:

The use of drums at the start of the bridge
The repeated use of the hook, “Everyday I hear my mother’s voice”
The falling melody in the hook
The high keyboard notes towards the end
The melody being echoed in the bass guitar at the end of the song
The use of film footage and sound bites throughout the song
The use of two lead voices that have very different tones.

Part C: Music video analysis - optional

Step 1

You might like to repeat the analysis process using the visual images in the music video. Students won’t need to list the things they notice in the analysis chart, although they may like to refer back to it to compare the musical elements with what they notice in the imagery.

Play the music clip and as they watch invite students to take notes about the use of visual imagery:

Paul Kelly & Dan Sultan - Every Day My Mother’s Voice (Official Video) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3OJ0kzSXQE)

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around their observations. Consider the following in your discussion:

How images link with musical elements
How the set being a football locker room, strewn with white and red objects ties into the Sydney Swans
The use of key moments in the film/story
The use of still images and how they relate mostly to celebration, triumph and moments shared with his mother
The use of Aboriginal-themed images of Adam Goodes during the drum solo at the start of the bridge.

Part D: Written analysis

Step 1

Inform students they will now take their notes to create a written analysis of the song, ‘Every Day My Mother’s Voice’.

Students should make reference to the elements of music they analysed earlier, and any notes on the music video they made, to determine if this song adds value to the film, The Final Quarter. They should also determine whether it was worthy of winning the 2019 Screen Music Award for ‘Best Original Song Composed for the Screen’.

Students can use a variety of styles to write their analysis including:

Academic, or ‘exam style’
A music blog, podcast or vlog
A newspaper article or review
A judging panel statement for the 2019 Screen Music Awards.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to respond to these questions on the Student Worksheet:

What do you think is different about writing songs for film than for a standard album?
What songwriting ideas stood out to you that you might like to use in your own composition?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

You could use this unit of work to lead students into writing their own songs for film. You could choose an existing film/documentary for them to write an ending credits song to, or you could make up a sample film.
In Part B, you could consider the following differentiation strategies:
- Have students complete the full table in pairs or individually
- Encourage students to incorporate musical terminology you have been working on with the class (e.g. staccato, legato, crescendo, homophonic, syncopation).

Provisions for Learning Support

In Part B, you could consider the following differentiation strategies:
- Assign just one or two elements to students who will need more support or time (elements in the first row are the easiest)
- You could also have them analyse just the opening section of the song (e.g. first verse and chorus)
- Divide up the elements and get students to work in pairs or small groups.
In Part D, students with weaker written literacy skills could create a podcast or vlog instead of a written piece.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Final Quarter - Analysing The Theme Song

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