CMP Teaching Plan

NAME
Matthew Gehrman
A Sailor Went to Sea
Unknown

Broad Description
 This piece is a story of what seems to be a new sailor going out to sea to see what he could see. This piece is great for
exploring homophones and developing energetic diction in your younger singers.

Background Information
 It was initially called 'My Father Went to Sea', before becoming more widely known as 'A Sailor Went to Sea'. It is
typically sung to the tune of The Sailor's Hornpipe.

Title A Sailor Went to Sea

Cultural Origin US
Source YouTube Audio Transcription https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=eYtBOvjr-jM
CSP E
Tempo 60
Tone r m f s l te t d Scale Plagal Do Octotonic
Set
Rhythm Quarter, eighth and 16th note variations. Meter 4/4
Form A
Game/activity:

Have students sway back and forth while they sing this song and also have them pretend
to look around. At the end of the song when singing “bottom of the deep blue sea, sea,
sea” have them look down at the ground and then up at you. (great to bring them back in
at the end of the song)

Pedagogical Analysis:

Melody: This song would be best to teach a 4th or 5th grade class as it uses a good portion
of the major scale and include one non-scale tone also.

Rhythm: This piece is also great to introduce 16th note variations and to help build beat
competency as there are a lot of consistent 8th notes throughout.

2
Elements of Music
Form
 Strophic: This piece is just a simple verse that can have the gender changed to he, she, they as needed. The text also
allows for the “sailor” to be changed to a name of a student if you wanted to use this as a call and response activity.

Rhythm
 This piece primarily utilizes eighth notes as its primary mode of rhythm. However we do see a ta-ka-di-mi and a ta-di-
mi that can be great to use to introduce or reinforce 16th note variations. The rhythm also puts a natural emphasis on
beats two and four which can be used to emulate the rocking of a boat and can really help students strengthen their
beat competency.

Melody
 This melody features a unique tone set that include te if you are using movable do. This melody also uses a sol-do-so-la
sequence in the beginning of the piece that is great for developing a sense of the interval between sol and do. The
melody offers an outside narration of the adventure that the sailor is doing so this could be sung by one student while
the other is performing some sort of dance or movement.

Harmony
 This piece utilized the I and V7 chords as an accompaniment. This chord sequence gives the piece a great adventure feel
and allows for easy accompaniment for the teacher or a skilled student pianist.
Timbre

Texture
 Monophonic: As stated above this piece seems to be sung by an outside narrator that is observing this sailor go to sea.

Expression
 This piece allows for the teacher to develop the singers voice by exploring unique melodic structures and adventurous
storyline.

Additional Considerations/Reasons to Perform this Piece

3
  This would be a great piece to perform at the beginning or end of the year as part of a class exchange or end-of-the-
year concert.

The Heart Statement

The heart of “A Sailor Went to Sea” is major and upbeat melody that allows the students to work on unique melodic sequences
and develop rhythmic independence through sixteenth note variations. The text of the piece allows students to work on their
affective skills through their performance of the piece and their expression of the work of a sailor.

Introducing the Piece

“Listen to my song about the life of a sailor. Move like the waves against the boat while I sing the song.” Song could also be
introduced by playing a short accompaniment and then asking if anyone has any ideas of what the song sounds like.

Affective Outcome: Use crescedi and decrescendi to express the text on the strong beats.
Strategies
1. Have the students only chant the words on the strong beats while whispering on the soft beats to reinforce the ebb and flow
of the dynamic contrasts.
2. Have students move forwards and backwards on a “volume/dynamic” line that you set up so that they can move and
visualize how they are moving the dynamic contrast of the piece.
Assessment
1. Teacher will check for dynamic contrast while the students perform the piece in day 3 of the class’s rotation.

Skill Outcome: Students will successfully perform the ta-ka-di-mi and ta-di-mi sixteenth
note variations through the performance of this piece.
Strategies
1. Have the students isolate the rhythm and have them chant it on the rhythm syllables before chanting it on the text.
2. Have the students visualize the rhythm with popsicle sticks and then have them follow along with the stick notation while
they chant the text.

4
Assessment
1. Teacher will access rhythmic progression in day 2 of the class’s rotation.

Knowledge Outcome: Students will be immersed in sea chanty history and use that
knowledge to make their performance of this piece more authentic.
Strategies
1. Make stations with small readings and group discussions that leads to a larger group discussion towards the end of class.
2. Have a small powerpoint ready to teach students the culture of sea life and have multiple opportunities for discussion and
class interaction.

Assessment
1. Teacher will access the level of understanding based on the performance of the piece.