CMP Teaching Plan

Joseph Barnett

Waltzing Matilda
Andrew Barton Banjo Paterson
Broad Description
Traditional

Composer Biography
Banjo Paterson was born in 1864 near Orange, New South Wales in Australia. He learned under a
governess and left school at 16 and became a law clerk. Then, he also pursued his career in writing.
Inspired by exposure to horse races and polo matches, he wrote about horses and nature. Many of his
poems were published in The Bulletin, a national work. His first published collection, The Man from
Snowy River, carried ballads and poems that became popular. Then, while on holiday, wrote Waltzing
Matilda, his most well-known work. He went on to become a war correspondent for the Sydney Morning
Herald. Throughout his journalism career, he went on to be promoted to Captain in the Australian Imperial
Force, and later retired to become a creative writer in the 1930s before his passing.

Background Information
This song is often considered the unofficial anthem of Australia. The vocabulary of the text is somewhat
difficult to interpret due to the time in which the text was written. The song follows the story of a traveling
man who steals a sheep and is later confronted by the police. Rather than dealing with the police, he later
takes his life. Waltzing Matilda is a term used when describing going for a hike or a journey. As the man
continues his journey, he continues walking and traveling, waltzing matilda. Some interpret this as the
man feeling guilt for what he had done. With Australia being founded as a penal colony, the impact of the
crime may have affected his decisions.

Elements of Music
Measur BIG Form Melody Rhythm Harmony Timbre Texture Expressi
e Form on

Overall, The form The The rhythm The The This piece In the
The the of the melody mainly harmony timbre is written different
piece is piece is verse is normally shows the mostly of the to be verses,
in duple, strophic abcb stays on disjunct stays in I as song is monophon dynamics
keeping , with the same style of the verse is unison. ic, the one can be
somewh Verse note traveling sung. While voice and used to
at of a and every folk music. During the this perspectiv emphasiz
march Refrain. two Also, it can refrain, the song e in the e certain
or Each beats. As often adapt harmony tells a story are words or
whimsic verse the to different then story, being told. create a
al has the melody styles, such switches the certain
feeling. same descends as being from I to IV singer is feeling
melody , it most swung or to I then V telling thats
and descends changing and I. This the wanted
different in a the rhythm can show story, as with the
text, stepwise to fit the how the if its a text.
but the motion, syllabic traveler is legend
refrain while as pronunciati constantly they
remains the on of the moving and heard.
constan melody text. The going to a
t. ascends, eighth new place,
it stays notes in the geographica
within song often lly as much
the help keep as
pentatoni the verses harmonicall
c scale. moving. y.
For the
second
half of
the
refrain,
the
melody
follows
the
ending

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 half of
the
verse.
The
melody
never
follows a
solid
pattern,
helping
to show
the
uncertain
life of a
traveler.

The Heart Statement

Waltzing Matilda is written to embody the life of a traveler. The disjunct rhythm and melody helps to show
the uncertainty in the life of a traveler. The verses all tell the story that unfolds about this mans life, but
his ideas and needs still travel and keep moving, even after his death, just as his storys being told with
this song.

Introducing the Piece

I will ask students about what people do when they travel. As they develop different answers, Ill ask them
to think about living life on the road, and explain the first part of the story of this man living in the bush.

Affective Outcome:
Students will compare the meaning of the text to this song and compare it to other songs in their personal
lives.

Strategies

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1. Once the students listen to the first verse, they try to translate what it means, with the help of a word
bank of words with the definition. Once they find out what the first verse means, they continue to the next
one. This can also later be used to make a matching activity to have the students understand the text.
2. The students can compare the song to other songs they may have heard, whether its a folk song or a
popular song and discuss in a group the different kinds of songs we can relate to.
3. The students can create a graphic organizer comparing one song they know and this song, describing
the text and its meaning.
4. The students can listen to three songs, specifically to the text, do a small activity to see if the text is
about something happy or sad. Then, we will discuss why we think a song may be happy or sad.
5. The students can do an activity where we discuss the different kinds of cultures that travel and how
their life differs from their lives.

Assessment
1. A journal entry, the prompt being, Why do you think people want to travel? What other examples of
traveling can you see in music?
2. An exit slip with a matching activity, using the vocabulary words from the song to words they can relate
to.
3. A worksheet, with a Fill in the Blank section for the students to use the new vocabulary, along with a
small short answer space to talk about the meaning of the song and other songs they know that have
similar meanings.

Skill Outcome:
Students will use a combination of eighth notes, quarter notes, and half notes in an eight measure
composition

Strategies
1. Students can use pieces of paper, each with different rhythms that they could use to create the
measures.
2. Students can use words that have the same rhythm qualities of some patterns and create the rhythmic
patterns.
3. Students can use pieces of paper to help explain the difference in space between eighth notes, quarter
notes, and half notes.

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4. Students can watch as I take three pieces of yarn of all the same size and cut one piece in half with the
third piece into quarters. They can then repeat the activity for themselves and mix the different parts to
get a bar and help them dictate the composition.
5. With an apple, I can show what an apple looks like when you cut it in half, then when you put it into
quarters. This can help them visualize the rhythmic differences.

Assessment
1. A rubric, this will help students keep up to the standard, with Proficient, Partially Proficient, and Minimal.
Proficient will have a good balance of all three types of notes, Partially Proficient will feature a small
amount of eighth notes with a larger balance of quarter and half notes, and Minimal, not featuring no
eighth notes.
2. A worksheet, this can have the students help dictate their compositions. It can provide a bank of
rhythms for them to use to compose the compositions.
3. A journal entry, in this entry, they can draw a rhythm staff in their notebook then dictate their rhythm.

Knowledge Outcome:
Students will explain the phrasal form of the individual verses.

Strategies
1. Students can do an activity where they stand at the beginning of the song and sit when the b section
appears. Once the a section begins, students can stand up again, but sit down for the b. This can be for all
of the verses.
2. Students can make a visual organizer that explains how the beginning of the first half of the verse and
the becindind of the second half sound similar but different.
3. Students can do a small activity sheet showing the three different melody parts and have them circle
the differences between them.
4. Students can use shapes and pictures to help them dictate the form of the verse.
5. Students can use different signs to show when the A/B/C section is in the song.

Assessment
1. A game, the students will sing the song, and I will ask them to raise the sign for a certain section. They
will raise it when that section comes up.

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2. An exit slip, it will have a matching activity with the three different sections and students will have to
match the section to the correct spot.
3. A worksheet, the worksheet will have the song and the students will have to highlight the different
sections a certain color.

Recommended Recordings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7X74yovfI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2DSil5RriU

References
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/paterson-andrew-barton-banjo-7972
http://www.hamilton.net.au/matilda.html