A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Music: Why People Make Music, Here and Around the World

C3.1 C3.2 C2.1About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can name reasons why people make music (to celebrate, comfort, worship, tell stories, work, play games, cheer, have fun).
I can name places and times where people make music in my daily life.
I can listen to, sing or play music from different communities, times and places, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit music.
I can respond to music from many cultures with respect, using music words.

Words to know

context
The place, time and situation where something happens, like a concert, a ceremony or a hockey game.

tradition
Something a community has done for a long time and passes on to the next generation.

folk song
A song shared by the people of a community and passed down over time, often without knowing who first wrote it.

composer
A person who writes music.

anthem
A special song for a country, school or group. "O Canada" is Canada's national anthem.

throat singing
An Inuit vocal tradition (in many places called katajjaq) in which usually two women face each other and make rhythmic sounds with the voice and breath.

A day full of music

Think about yesterday. Did you hear music...

when you woke up (an alarm song, the radio)?
at school ("O Canada", music class, a clean-up song)?
on a screen (a show's theme song, an ad)?
at the rink, the store, a place of worship, a party?
at bedtime (a lullaby)?

Music is part of daily life almost everywhere. But why do people make it?

A fiddle and its bow resting on a wooden kitchen table in a cozy home kitchen. — A fiddle on a kitchen table. In many homes, music is part of daily life, played at family gatherings and celebrations right in the kitchen. AI-generated image

Music all through one day. At each stop, notice why the music is there: to wake up, have fun, show pride, celebrate or comfort.

Reason	Examples
To celebrate 🎉	"Happy Birthday", wedding music, Canada Day concerts, Diwali and Lunar New Year festivals, powwows
To comfort 💤	lullabies sung to babies in every language
To worship or for ceremony 🙏	songs, hymns and chants in places of worship; some First Nations ceremonial songs
To tell stories and remember history 📖	folk songs, ballads, story songs passed from grandparents to grandchildren
To help with work 🛶	work songs that help people move together, like voyageur paddling songs sung in French while paddling canoes
To play games 🎲	clapping games, skipping songs, and Inuit throat singing, which is traditionally a friendly contest
To cheer and show pride 🏒	"O Canada" before a hockey game, school songs, team chants
To have fun and dance 🎶	parties, concerts, kitchen dance parties

Reasons people make music, with examples.

Music from many communities

Every community makes music in its own ways, with its own instruments, pitches and rhythms. Here are some you can hear in Canada:

Music	Community	What you might hear (music words!)
Powwow drum and singing	Many First Nations	A group of singers sits around one big drum and drums together with a steady, strong beat while singing high, powerful melodies. Many people call the drum the heartbeat of the people.
Water drum songs	Haudenosaunee	A small drum with a little water inside gives a special tone colour. It is played with horn rattles for social dances like the smoke dance.
Fiddle music	Métis	Fast, lively fiddle tunes (stringed) for jigging, often with foot tapping. The Red River Jig is a famous Métis tune with two parts.
Throat singing (katajjaq)	Inuit	Two singers (usually women) face each other and trade quick, rhythmic sounds, low and high, until one laughs or runs out of breath.
Drum songs (with drum dancing)	Inuit	A large frame drum (membrane) hit on its rim, with singers.
Taiko	Japan	Huge drums played with big, powerful arm moves. Very forte!
Gamelan	Indonesia (Java and Bali)	Many gongs and metal xylophones (pitched percussion) playing together in layers.
Mariachi	Mexico	Violins, trumpets and guitars together, often at celebrations.
Steel pan band	Trinidad and Tobago	Bright, ringing metal pans playing melodies. You can hear them at Caribbean carnivals in Canada.

A few of the many musical traditions you can hear in Canada.

Music from different times

Music changes over time, and old music is still played today:

About 300 years ago, Antonio Vivaldi in Italy wrote The Four Seasons for violins and other strings.
More than 200 years ago, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a famous set of variations on the tune we know as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".
In 1880, Calixa Lavallée composed the music of "O Canada". The first words were in French.
Folk songs like "Alouette" (a French-Canadian song where a leader sings and everyone echoes) have been sung for a very long time.
Today, people also make music with electronic instruments and computers.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit music traditions are very old and are still made, taught and changed by musicians today. Many Indigenous musicians in Canada also make new music, mixing traditional sounds with pop, rock, hip hop and electronic music.

A timeline of music from this lesson, with years spaced evenly. Old music like Vivaldi's is still played today.

Listening with respect

Listen quietly and with an open mind. "This is new to me" is a great thing to say.
Some songs are sacred or belong to a family or community. We can listen to and learn about them, but we do not sing them as a joke or a game.
Learn songs from people of that community or from recordings they share, whenever you can.
Use correct names: say Inuit throat singing, Haudenosaunee water drum, Métis fiddle, not just "Indian music."

Worked example

Example: Thinking about a song's reason and context

Before every Toronto Maple Leafs home game, a singer sings "O Canada" and everyone stands. Why do people make this music, and what is the context?

Reason: to show pride in Canada and to begin an important event together.
Context: a sports event in an arena, with thousands of people.
What we notice: the singer often sings forte (loud) and legato, and people stand still and respectfully.

"O Canada" at a hockey game is sung to show pride and bring people together, in the context of a big sports event.

Worked example

Example: Responding to music from another community

Ravi listens to a recording of Inuit throat singing shared by two Inuit singers. How can he respond with music words and respect?

Feeling: "It made me feel amazed and a bit like I was in a game."
Music words: "The rhythm was very fast and repeated. One singer's sounds were low and the other's were high. It used only voices and breath, no instruments."
Reason and context: "Throat singing is traditionally a friendly contest. The first one to laugh or run out of breath loses."
Respect: "I don't know how they do it! I'd like to learn more about it from Inuit performers."

Ravi shared a feeling, used music words (rhythm, repeated, low, high, voice), named the reason, and was respectful and curious.

Just for fun

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Lettuce.

Lettuce who?

Lettuce sing "Happy Birthday" together, because celebrating is one of the best reasons to make music!

Hands-on activity

Family music map

You need: paper, crayons, and a grown-up.

Draw a big map of your week: home, school, places you visit.
Draw a music note 🎵 wherever you hear or make music. Write why the music is there (celebrate, comfort, cheer, work, game, fun).
Ask an older family member: "What songs did you sing when you were little? Are there songs from our family or culture?" Learn one and sing it together.
With your grown-up, listen to two pieces from the table above (look for recordings shared by the musicians or their communities).
For each one, say: how it made you feel, two music words about it, and why people make that music.

Your turn

Name three reasons people make music.

Name two places you hear music in your daily life.

Why do people sing lullabies?

Who composed the music of "O Canada"?

What instrument is at the centre of powwow music?

Which community has a famous fiddle tune called the Red River Jig?

Listen to a song from a culture that is new to you. Say how it makes you feel and one music word about it.

More practice: warm-up

Is a birthday song mostly to celebrate or to comfort?

True or false: Only grown-ups on stages make music.

Inuit throat singing is traditionally a friendly ___.

What is a song that a country sings to show pride called?

Name one instrument family heard in mariachi music.

More practice: on your own

How is a lullaby different from a cheer at a hockey game? Think about reasons and elements.

Why did voyageurs sing while they paddled?

What gives the Haudenosaunee water drum its special tone colour?

Name music from two different times.

Your friend says another culture's song sounds "weird". What could you say?

Challenge

Choose one piece of music from this lesson. Tell its community or time, a reason people make it, and two music words about it.

Taiko and the powwow drum both use big drums. Name one way they are similar and one way they are different.

Why do you think communities keep singing old songs, like folk songs, anthems and traditional songs?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a reason people make music?

"O Canada" is Canada's ___.

A group of singers sitting around one big drum is part of ___.

Inuit throat singing traditionally uses ___.

A gamelan from Indonesia uses many ___.

Which is the most respectful response to new music?

Long ago, voyageurs sang while paddling mostly to ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 2 students identify reasons why people make music in daily life (C3.1), and perform or listen to music from different communities, times and places (C3.2), including First Nations, Métis and Inuit music, responding personally and respectfully (C2.1).

Teaching respectfully:

Use specific names (Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Cree, Métis, Inuit) and present tense. These traditions are alive and many Indigenous musicians also create contemporary music.
Some songs are sacred or owned by particular families or communities; listen and learn about them, but don't teach your child to perform ceremonial songs. Social songs and public performances shared by artists are great choices for listening.
Choose recordings made or shared by the musicians themselves.

How to help:

Share your own family's songs and ask grandparents to teach one.
Visit free community festivals, library music programs or outdoor summer concerts.
Ask, after any music: "Why do you think they made this music? How does it make you feel?"

Common difficulties: Children may judge unfamiliar music as "bad" or "funny." Model curiosity and connect to what they know: "It has a drum, like your pot drum. What else do you hear?"