Music

In this resource, a background of the music form of Mariachi is given along with images of instruments and the typical outfit of someone who plays in a mariachi band. A great tool when teaching about Mariachi and Mexican culture.

This resource gives background on where the word "mariachi" comes from and who the pioneers of the Mariachi music form were. This is a great tool to use when teaching about the Mariachi music form, Mexican culture and the country of Mexico in general.

An example of a corrido to be used when teaching about corridos and the country of Mexico.

A reading regarding what corridos are and why they are important to the country of Mexico. Can be given to students as homework or pre-reading before teaching about corridos.

This paper serves as a resource when teaching about Afro-Brazilian music. The paper discusses musical genres, traditional rural genres and ritual genres connected with Catholicism. A few songs are included as examples of the variety of genres within Afro-Brazilian music.

In this lesson, students will examine how a music education program is being used in Paraguay to bring about positive social change. They will then predict how Paraguay's economy, politics and culture might be different in 20 years as a result of the program. For more background information on Paraguay and the vision for this music program,

Students will learn about the traditional Mexican music form of corridos, which dates back to the 1800's and continues to be very popular. They will analyze the themes and literary devices used in corridos such as "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" and "EL Moro de Cumpas". This lesson will culminate in students writing their own corridos based on the traditional form.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to causes of the Mexican Revolution and key revolutionary figures. They will gain an understanding of a particular Mexican song form, the corrido, and its role as a vehicle for communicating the news and other important events. Students will be introduced to the causes and outcomes of the Mexican Revolution by learning about key figures. This lesson will culminate in the students creation of original corridos based on current events.

Through this set of lesson segments, students will engage with the mariachi music of Mexico through discussing audio and video clips, listening to individual instruments within ensemble and imitating them by ear, and through playing an arranged mariachi piece. Note: Music will need to be purchased from Smithsonian Folkways website to accompany the lessons.

Students will learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos by analyzing traditional corridos, their themes and finally writing their own original corrido.