Submitted by David Saphra, Irvington, New York
Idea posted January 18, 2010
This treatment of the African chant, "Funga Alafia" will probably be known to some of the older folks [on the MusicK8.com Mailing List]. It's very easy and doable.
1. Teach the chant, "Funga Alafia."
2. Teach the "Tom, Tom Gready Gut" poem for the purpose of learning the ostinato percussion parts, then start your layering. You could try your hand drums on the 1st part (ta, ta, titi, ta), your seed rattles and shakers on the 2nd part (titi, ta, titi, ta), and have the cowbells/agogo bells do the 3rd, "Eat all the meat up" part (synco-pah ta ta).
3. Teach the arm/hand movement poem to be used as an interlude.
In performance you could have the students start with the percussion parts, adding one at a time, two bars per entrance times three could equal six bar introduction. Then, have the students continue with the regular "Funga Alafia" chant together with the instruments for another eight bars. The instruments can stop while everyone recites the English language poem, "With my thoughts I welcome you... " along with the motion for another five bars, then finish up with with ostinato instrument parts and chant one more time together.
Check YouTube for choreography ideas using the search words, "Funga Alafia." One of the videos describes "Funga Alafia" as a Liberian song of welcome. I think I may also try the dance steps shown on the video with my younger students.
Here's everything else:
FUNGA ALAFIA
|_ | |_ | | |_ | |_ | Z
d' d' s l s m s mi s
Funga A - laf-ia, ashay ashay
|_ | |_ | | |_ | |_ | Z
d' d' s l s m m r d
Funga A- laf-ia, ashay ashay
|_ | |_ d |_ | |_ d
m s m s l s m r
Ashay, Ashay Ashay, Ashay
|_ | |_ | | |_ | |_ | Z
d' d' s l s m m r d
Funga A-laf -ia, ashay ashay
-------------------------------------
Percussion Poem (Divide into three group ostinato):
| | |_| |
||: Tom, Tom Greedy Gut :||
|_| | |_| |
||: Greedy Gut, Greedy Gut :||
|_ | |_ | |
||: Eat all the meat up :||
Motions poem:
With my thoughts I welcome you.
[Both hands to top of head, both hands outstretched at hip level]
With my words I welcome you.
[Hands to either side of mouth, then hands outstretched at hip level]
With my heart I welcome you.
[Hands to heart, then hands outstretched at hip level]
See, I have nothing up my sleeves.
[Point to eyes, then show open palms with nothing in them, then run hands along opposite wrists where sleeves would be]
Explain what the expression, "nothing up my sleeves" means. I often clumsily show a magic trick and let them spot how I'm hiding something in my sleeves and talk about how it could be a weapon, etc.
-------------------------------------
SYMBOLS KEY:
|_ one eighth note
|_| two eighth notes
| quarter note
|. dotted quarter note
d half note
d. dotted half note
o whole note
7 eighth rest
Z quarter rest
*:|| * repeat sign
d do
r re
m mi
f fa
s so
l la
t ti
d' high do
t, low ti
etc.
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