WMD Objectives

Upon completion of the curriculum students will:     

  • Communicate better with their fellow students and others by having learned:
    • how to listen to others,        
    • respect for the need of others to have their own musical and personal space,
    • the importance of leaving spaces (silence) for others to drum (speak),
    • how to lead and how to follow (solo and back– up).
  • Understand and demonstrate the value and techniques of cooperative teamwork.
  • Demonstrate techniques for playing various types of drums and other percussion equipment.
  • Sing songs with percussion and other instruments from various multicultural traditions.
  • Improvise new drumming ensemble patterns which are complementary to those played by other students.
  • Move to music while singing or playing instruments.
  •  Create (with a small group of fellow students) new drum ensembles in the style of various drumming traditions.
  • Listen actively and critically to various styles of music which include percussion. While listening, students will:
    • echo drum patterns played by others
    • identify the type of instruments being played
    • recognize and label styles of music
    • identify the probable culture from which the music comes.
  • Understand and place greater value on the peoples and musical cultures of Africa and the Caribbean. Students will:
    • describe the way drumming is done in at least two contrasting traditions
    • discuss how traditional drumming may be the same or different from contemporary styles in various cultures
    • have greater respect for the people represented by the traditions studied.
  • Understand how music reflects similar cultural themes and patterns found in art, dance, literature, social patterns, work, etc. of the cultures studied