Songs Children Sing in Haiti

Volume 5, #18 and #20: 'La Crocodile' and 'C'est le Piston Qui Fait Marcher de Machine'
La Crocodile — Group of children in Haiti

La Crocodile —Group of children in Haiti

C'est le Piston Qui Fait Marcher de Machine —Group of children in Haiti

Activity #1: Song about the Crocodile
1. Listen to 'La Crocodile' (Volume 5: #18), and direct students to tap the steady pulse on a desk- or table- top, and on the knees or lap, shoulders, and head.

2. Listen again to the selection. Ask students to focus their attention on seeking answers to these questions:

3. Describe the song as a humorous tale about the crocodiles of the Nile River (in Egypt), and how they were headed off to war to fight the elephants. The song is known throughout France, and is sung by French-speaking boy scouts in Haiti. This recording dates to 1936, when sung for Alan Lomax in a school in Port-au-Prince.

4. Sing some of the phrases of the song's melody, using solfege syllables. The teacher may sing and cue the students' imitation of each phrase, several times and in mixed order.

5. Play the recording again, and ask students to listen for the phrases they have sung.

6. While listening to the song, find and clap these rhythm patterns:

7. Share the translation of the song; play the recording again while students silently read the English words.

8. Share the French text for the song. Challenge students to listen while reading the text, in order to match some of what they read with what they hear. Help them to discover that French is spoken and sung differently than English, and that they will need to listen carefully to hear French words like "crocodile" (kro-ko-dee-leh"), "guerre" (gehr, meaning war), "enfants" (a-fahnts, meaning elephants), "marche militaire" (mar-see mil-i-tah-ree, or military march).

9. Ask the students to sing the children's songs quietly with the recording, focusing on the melodic pitches, the rhythms, and the French text, until the song is learned.

10. 'Le crocodile' can be added to a repertoire of children's animal songs, such as "Bingo," "Did you Feed My Cow?," "All the Pretty Little Horses," and "The Bear Went Over the Mountain."

Suggested Activity #2: Song of a Car Engine
1. Listen to 'C'est le Piston Qui Fait Marcher de Machine' (Volume 5: #20). Draw students' attention to the components of the song by asking the following questions:

2. Listen again to the selection. Tap the beat, changing places at changes of phrases or sections, beginning on the lap or knees, shifting to the shoulders, the head, and to other surfaces (desk- and table-tops, floors, and walls.

3. Describe the song as a favorite of boy scouts in Haiti (the Plaisance Boy Scout Troupe), who were recorded singing it by Alan Lomax in 1936. Ask for an explanation of a piston, which is a component of engines, pumps and gas compressors located in a cylinder. An engine's piston transfers force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft by way of a piston rod. For descriptions of piston engines, click here.

4. Sing some of the phrases of the song's melody, using solfege syllables. The teacher may sing and cue the students' imitation of each phrase, several times and in mixed order.

(S)dmdmdmd * drrrdrm d (Note that the S is sol below do)
(d)f fm * mrrrdrm d
sfmmmsmmmm * rrrdrm d

5. Play the recording again, and ask students to listen for the phrases they have sung.

6. While listening to the song, find and clap these rhythm patterns:

(/) / / / / / / / /
(1 eighth upbeat, 8 eighth)
/ / / // / - / -
(3 eighth, 2 sixteenth, 2 quarter)
(/) /. / /. /
(1 eighth upbeat, dotted quarter/eighth, 1 eighth upbeat, dotted quarter/eighth
/ / / // / - / -
(3 eighth, 2 sixteenth, 2 quarter)

7. Share the translation of the song; play the recording again while students silently read the English words.

8. Share the French text for the song. Challenge students to listen while reading the text, in order to match some of what they read with what they hear. Help them to discover that French is spoken and sung differently than English, and that they will need to listen carefully to hear French words like "piston" (pee-stone, meaning engine piston), "machine" (mah-shee-neh, meaning car), "wagons" (wah-gone, meaning wagons).

9. Sing with recording. Ask the students to sing the children's songs quietly with the recording, focusing on the melodic pitches, the rhythms, and the French text, until the song is learned.

10. Add to repertoire of songs about transportion. "Riding in the Car, Car," "Big Boat Up the River," "The Boatman's Song," "500 Miles," "I've Been Working on the Railroad."


Designed by Patricia Shehan Campbell