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An Irish Lilting Song Grade Levels: 4–6, 7–8What Would You Do? — Elizabeth Cronin, Cork [Audio coming soon] Return to All Lessons Lesson Plans
Activity #1: Catching the Rhythm of a Lilt 1. Listen to the song, as sung by an elderly woman (Elizabeth Cronin) from County Cork in the south of Ireland. Q: What is she singing about? A: In verse one, she sings of a soldier and in verse two, she sings of a kettle and cows. After that, she "lilts", making up her melody and syllables that sound something like "diddledee". 2. Listen again to the singing of the first two verses, and pat and clap the one-two pulses. 3. Listen and fill in the missing words for the two verses:
(1) What would you do if you (married a soldier)?
4. Tap the rhythm of the melody while listening to the sung verses.What would I do but to (follow his (gun). What would you do if he (died in the ocean)? What would I do but to (marry again). (2) What would you do if the kettle (boiled over)? What would I do but to (fill it again). What would you do if the cows (ate the clover)? What would I do but to (set it again). 5. Sing the two verses of the song. 6. Play the rhythm of the melody on hand drums, interspersing the sung verses with verse-length hand drum rhythms. Activity #2: Composing a Lilt 1. Listen for the lilting section that follows the sung verse. Q: What syllables are sounding in the lilting section? A: Syllables like "dee-ade-dil-lee" and "did-di-lee". Q: What is a lilt? A: Vocalized dance music, similar to the Scottish genre of mouth music, a song for dancing, where syllables roll rapidly off the tongue in characteristic rhythms. 2. While listening to the lilting, pat and clap the one-two pulses, and count a quick 6 pulses (1-2-3 4-5-6) in the rhythm of the lilt. 3. 3. Chant these syllables one-by-one in call-and-response fashion: T: "Dee-ade-dil-lee" Ss: "Dee-ade-dil-lee" T: "Did-dil-dee" Ss: "Did-dil-dee" T: "Did-dil-dee Dum---dee" Ss: "Did-dil-dee Dum---dee" T: "Dee-ade-dil-lee Ay---dee"Ss: "Dee-ade-dil-lee Ay---dee" Continue chanting these syllables, feeling the two strong pulses and the 6 quick pulses while chanting. 4. Create new syllables in the large group, in small groups, partners, etc. Consider the many possibilities of tripping "dee"s off the tongue, even while holding the pulses steady. 5. Experiment with singing these syllables. Initially, keep the melody within five (1-2-3-4-5 tones of a scale), and then release to lilting the syllables in a larger melodic range. Cultural Link IrelandDesigned by Rachel Bernstein and Patricia Shehan Campbell |