Exploring Dorian with Dorian Fall
Modal music is an area that not always gets the attention it deserves. Modes allow us to expand our musical thinking beyond the traditional major and minor scales. Growing up, there were certain tonalities that I knew I loved, but just couldn’t articulate why. Later, I discovered that what drew me to certain songs was the modal component. I learned what the modes were in college, but it wasn’t until I really spent time with them in Orff Levels 2 and 3 that I really understood them. Although it’s been a few years since Orff Level 3, I’m embarking on a journey to help my 5th grade students experience what modal music is.
After establishing and targeting ti in the diatonic scale. I have discussions and provide songs and activities for my students that allow them to experience and understand the full major and natural minor scales. I haven’t gotten close to perfecting my pedagogical approach to discovering the modes, but I have found that having them play C to C on a barred instrument, calling it a major scale (I don’t use the term Ionian yet), improvising in that scale, then pivoting from A to A and labeling it as a minor scale, and specifically a mode called Aeolian Mode, then improvising in that mode has helped. After experiencing Aeolian mode through songs and activities, it’s time to pivot to Dorian mode through playing D to D on the barred instruments followed by some improvisation.
Music for Children Volume 4 has a wonderful little melody on page 46. Song number 2 is a simple triple meter tune in Dorian Mode. I decided to take this melody (only the A section), and develop a little piece out of it for my students to play. I love the swaying of the major IV chord to the minor i chord, then to the major VII chord. This is a quintessential Dorian tune that is great for exploring the mode. Because it’s the season of Fall, I decided to name my arrangement as such.
In case you haven’t noticed, the video is almost 18 minutes long. It’s not a single video, but several components compiled into one. The first section is an instrumental play along featuring the main melody of the piece. Section two is a notation play along for students wanting more of a challenge, or for solfège singing. Sections three, four, and five are dedicated the Bass Xylophone, Alto Xylophone, and Bass Metallphone respectively. Finally, section four is with all parts together. If you choose to have all parts play together with your class, I strongly suggest spending time with the individual parts first.
You will notice there is a body percussion C section with both body percussion and percussion instruments in the background. The idea is to have students perform the body percussion first, then if you have time (hah!) you can have students explore the unpatched percussion instruments of your classroom and create their own little percussion ensemble using the written body percussion pattern as a foundation.
To make things easier for you, here is a score of the entire song. It does not include the extra percussion instruments, but as I stated, you are encouraged to have your students create percussion parts to this.
Have a question or comment? Please let me know! Make a comment on the video, in my Facebook group, send me a private message on Facebook, or email me at awreyna@gmail.com.
Enjoy!