South African Suite

Arranged by Henry Leck

1991 Plymouth Music Co., Inc.

2000, 2013 Transferred to Colla Voce Music
SAB

Ryan Moos
7th-8th grade Mixed Choir
 Table of Contents
Teachers Guide3
Student Learning Guide.3
Standards Addressed3

Unit Study
About the arranger..4
Historical Context..4
Text..5
Melody...5
Harmony....5
Rhythm.5
Form...6
Culture6
Lessons & Activities
Lesson 1 Text/ historical context of text.7
Lesson 2 Speak text in rhythm/ solfege..9
Lesson 3 Sight read /three part split/ cultural context..11
Lesson 4 Syncopation & Form 13
Lesson 5 Relating two cultures/ part independency15
Lesson 6 Phrasing & Dynamics.17

Assessment
Peer evaluation.18
Unit Exam..19

Resources..23

Student Guide.27
 Teachers Guide
Title: South African Suite
Arranger: Henry Leck
Publisher: Colla Voce Music
Grade Level: Middle School

Specifics:
SAB
Accompaniment: NA
Duration: 3:14

Student Learning Goals:

1. Students will learn the history behind Henry Lecks arrangement of South African Suite.
2. Students will identify and define syncopation in South African Suite and be able to
distinguish between syncopated and non-syncopated entrances visually and aurally.
3. Students will learn the history behind the South African language and speak the text
clearly in the correct dialect through language scaffolding (rhythmic language practice).
4. Students will identify and define where the form of the piece through score analysis and
aural examples.
5. Students will complete a reflective journal entry comparing and contrasting their musical
culture with the South African musical culture.
6. Students will sing in three part harmony becoming independent on rhythm, pitch, words,
and tonal accuracy from their two counterparts.
7. Students will identify the high and low peaks of phrases by working in small groups and
color coding and shading their scores (light blue for low, yellow for high)

National Standards:
Perform-Analyze-MU:Pr4.2.E.Ia Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how
compositional devices employed and theoretical and structural aspects of musical works impact
and inform prepared or improvised performances.
Perform-Rehearse, Evaluate, Refine-MU:Pr5.3.E.Ia Develop strategies to address expressive challenges
in a varied repertoire of music, and evaluate their success using feedback from ensemble peers and
other sources to refine performances.
Perform-Present-MU:Pr6.1.E.Ia Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in
prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music representing diverse cultures,
styles, and genres.
Respond-Analyze-MU:Re7.2.E.Ia Explain how the analysis of passages and understanding the way the
elements of music are manipulated inform the response to music.
Respond-Interpret-MU:Re8.1.E.Ia Explain and support interpretations of the expressive intent and
meaning of musical works, citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when
appropriate) the setting of the text, and personal research.

Unit Study
About the Arranger
Henry Leck is an internationally recognized choral director and an associate professor and Director of
Choral Activities at Butler University in Indianapolis Indiana. He is widely known as a specialist in choral
techniques, the childs voice, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and the boys changing voice. He is also a frequent
conductor of regional and national honor choirs, including the ACDA Southern, Southwest, North Central,
Central and Northwest Divisional Honor Choirs. In 1986 he formed the Indianapolis Childrens Choir which
has toured the USA, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Europe, and Greece.

Biography taken from Hal Leonard

https://www.halleonard.com/biographyDisplay.do?id=117&subsiteid=1

Score Analysis
Historical Context
South African Suite is based off of three traditional folk songs from South Africa. Henry Leck took
the three pieces Tshotsholoza, Siyahamba, and Gabi Gabi and arranged them into three movements for
SAB. Tshotsholoza was sung by miners working in South Africa and and migrant workers who made their
way from Zimbabwe to labor in South African gold and diamond mines. The word Tshotsholoza literally
translates to Go forward in Afrikaans or Make your way for the next man and encouraged solidarity
amongst the workers during hardships. The second piece Siyahamba translates to We are marching in
the Zulu language. This piece is often used as a representation of freedom and protest because of the
lyrics. The last movement is Gabi Gabi, another South African folk song that translates to Praise the
Father. The first song Tshotsholoza and the second song Gabi Gabi are both call and response songs.
These songs were used to spread news or information and passing time while others worked. This unit
will be focusing on the first piece Tshotsholoza.
Text
The text of this piece originates from a South African Folk song and were arranged for an SAB choir. This
piece is a traditional folk songs that encouraged the South African people to continue forward praising
their savior the whole way.

Tshotsholoza English translation

Go forward
Go forward
On those mountains
Train to South Africa
Go forward
Go forward
You are running away
You are running away
On those mountains
Train from South Africa

Melody
This is a piece written for SAB. The Sopranos lead the piece with the melodic call, the Altos and
Basss answer with a harmonic response. A lot of the melody descends step wise or skips
between chord tones. Quite frequently there is a leap upward followed by a descending
stepwise motion downwards countering the leap. There is also a point in the piece where the
melody stays on one tone which happens five times in measures four, eight, twelve, seventeen,
and twenty-two.

Harmonic
Most of the harmonies are chord tones with the 1, 3, and 5 scale degree. Typically the basss have the
root of the chord with the altos holding the third and the sopranos having the fifth. However, the scale
degrees sometimes vary depending on tessitura and melodic needs. When there is a descending step
wise motion in all three voices the scale degrees within each voice change. Meaning sometimes the fifth
is in the bass and the third is in the soprano.

Rhythmic
This piece alternates between off beat and down beat entrances with frequent syncopation occurring in
all three voices. The Sopranos are off on their own rhythm for the majority of the piece because they are
the lead voice while the altos and bass match up rhythms as they answer the sopranos calls. After the call
and response happens two times all three voices sing the exact same rhythm and text for a full measure
which happens four times throughout the piece.

Form
Tshotsoloza is a repetitive ABA form.

Section/Measure numbers Key Text

1-9 A G Major Tshotsholoza kwe zon taba
stimela si phu me zim ba bwe
9-18 B G Major Wenu ya ba leka He yak we zon
taba stimela si phu me zim ba
bwe
19-27 A G Major Tshotsholoza kwe zon taba
stimela si phu me zim ba bwe

Cultural
South Africa has 11 official languages and most residents are multilingual and are able to speak
more than one language. South Africa declared independence from Britain in 1934 but it wasnt until
1994 that they declared independence from the white minority rule. These three pieces we are studying
are all about promoting the idea of freedom and placing their trust in the lord. These pieces were sung as
they worked in hard conditions, the reason for these harsh conditions was the great amount of diamonds
found in 1990. The abundance of diamonds let to the white minorities taking control of the South
Africans and establishing laws that allowed for low wages and extremely dangerous working conditions.
Further down the timeline in 1913 all of the white minority claimed 90% of the land in South Africa
leaving only 10% for the black South Africans. Keep in mind only of the people in South Africa were
white and the rest were black. It wasnt until 1994 when the first multi-racial elections were held that
Nelson Mandela was elected and these unfair laws placed on the black South Africans were finally lifted.
 Lessons and Activities
Lesson 1: Introducing the text and the historical context behind the text
Standard
Respond-Interpret-MU:Re8.1.E.Ia Explain and support interpretations of the expressive intent and
meaning of musical works, citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when
appropriate) the setting of the text, and personal research
Objectives
Students will learn the history behind the South African language and speak the text clearly in the correct
dialect through language scaffolding (rhythmic language practice).
Students will learn the history behind the text of Henry Lecks arrangement of South African Suite and
relate their own experiences with the people who sang this folk song in a journal entry.
Materials
Projector, journal, pencil
Warmup
T will perform diction warmups with the students to put students in the mindset of concentrating on the
text and clarity of the vowels and consonants.
Diction warmup #1 Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese
Diction warmup #2 Seven sassy sailors sailed the seven salty seas
Diction warmup #3 Can I cook a proper cup of coffee in a copper coffee pot
Activity Sequence
T speaks through the text with S having them repeat the words after her
T then groups the words into phrases and has the students practice speaking the phrase together
T begins speeding up the tempo of phrases and students gain proficiency with the diction of the text.
Once students are proficient with the text T will speak through the English translation.
T has a discussion with S discussing what they think the text is talking about
T projects web page onto the following board and discuss the history of the text telling them it is from the
Zulu people and the language is Zulu
https://sites.google.com/site/bensmue332weblog/diversity-lesson-project/tshotsholoza-background
https://wildlifesafariadventures.com/zulu-people-of-africa/

T has open class discussion with students about songs that they listen to when theyre going through a
tough time
T has students write a journal entry about a song they listen to and relate their experiences to the miners
in South Africa who would sing this song
Assessment
T will assess through observation during the portion where the students are learning the text. T will
observe if the students are able to speak the text clearly with correct vowels and consonants up to the
tempo T wishes. T will use the students journal entries to assess if they understood the meanings of hope
and trust found in the piece.
Activity Checklist Assessment of Diction
3 2 1
Vowels Students are only using Students are mixing in Students are only using
vowels found in the American vowels with vowels found in the
Zulu language. Zulu vowels American language.
Consonants Students consonants Students consonants Students consonants
are clear and quick are clear but are not are not clear and lag
quick and sometimes quite frequently
lag
Tempo Student is able to speak Student Is able to speak Student is not able to
the text at the tempo the text at the tempo speak the text at the
given by the teacher given by the teacher tempo given by the
but occasionally slows teacher.
down and speeds up.
Lesson 2: Speak the text in correct rhythm and solfege the piece
Standard
Respond-Interpret-MU:Re8.1.E.Ia Explain and support interpretations of the expressive intent and
meaning of musical works, citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when
appropriate) the setting of the text, and personal research.
Objectives
Students will identify and define syncopation in South African Suite and be able to distinguish between
syncopated and non-syncopated entrances visually and aurally.
Working in small groups, students will solfege their line in the key of G major.
Materials
Djembe, evaluation sheets
Warmup
In unison on a G major scale students will sing the sequence Do, Do-Re-Do, Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do, etc..
T will have written measures two and three of the alto line on the board. As a class the students will help
the teacher to solfege the two measures by raising their hands and answering prompt questions from the
teacher. Such as
If we have on sharp what is the key?
If the key is G, what note is Do, and what note is sol?
What is the first letter name of the note? What is the solfege syllable? etc
Activity Sequence
T will have each section get into smaller groups of three to solfege their line together
T will facilitate student learning by answering questions
T will have small groups pair up with a group not in their section and copy their solfege.
S will compare their solfege to the other line of solfege and make observations such as Do we sing the
same note? Who has Do, Mi, and Sol? Whose part is lower? Do you think any of the notes will clash? If so
why?
T will facilitate a full class discussion about note relationships and observations they made about the two
parts they compared. T will encourage students to write these relationships down on their own score.
T will review text by having the students echo the phrases T speaks
T will begin to drum on a Djembe to act as a metronome
T will speak a phrase in the correct rhythm and have S echo back the phrase in correct rhythm
T will repeat phrases as necessary until students develop competency
Once students develop competency T will begin to layer on the different part of the soprano while they
remain steady on the alto and bass rhythm
T will have one section speak the rhythm on different sounds, one could be a dut, another is a higher
pitched noise, and the last could be a brassier noise. This will help students distinguish their line from the
other two parts
T will pass out student self-evaluation sheets and have S hand them to her as they leave class
Assessment
T will have students turn in their scores to see if they notated the solfege correctly and wrote down the
observations they made and their peers in the small group and class discussion. T will make observations
as S speak the phrases to see if they are able to speak the correct rhythms and how many tries it takes to
succeed. T will also have students complete a short self-evaluation sheet to evaluate how well they think
they contributed to the class/small group discussion that they will turn into me at the end of class
 Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Does not meet
expectations
Accuracy of solfege S has written solfege on S has written solfege on S is missing parts of the
their line as well as their line as well as solfege on their line,
another parts line. Only another parts line. their partners line, or
1-2 mistakes are made More than two both. Many mistakes
mistakes are made are made
Recorded observations S has recorded at least S has at least of the S has less than of the
of the comments said comments from the comments from the
in the class discussion class discussion class discussion
and has a few recorded on their score recorded on their score
additional they wrote and has 1 or 2 and has no additional
on their own additional comments comments written on
they wrote on their their score
own
Class/small group S is fully engaged S is fully engaged S doesnt look at peers,
participation through eye contact, through eye contact, frequently interrupts
respectful listening, and respectful listening, but with thoughts that do
dialogue doesnt contribute any not pertain to the
dialogue assignment

Class/Small group discussion self-evaluation Name:_______________________

1. When working with your small groups what was one way you felt like you contributed to the
group? This could be a comment, listening skills, or encouragement.

2. Name one thing you learned today from your peers.

3. If you could do this discussion again would you contribute to the discussion differently? If so
how?
Lesson 3: Sight reading with solfege singing in three parts/ cultural context
Standards
Perform-Analyze-MU:Pr4.2.E.Ia Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how
compositional devices employed and theoretical and structural aspects of musical works impact and
inform prepared or improvised performances.
Perform-Present-MU:Pr6.1.E.Ia Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in
prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music representing diverse cultures,
styles, and genres.
Respond-Interpret-MU:Re8.1.E.Ia Explain and support interpretations of the expressive intent and
meaning of musical works, citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when
appropriate) the setting of the text, and personal research.
Objective
Students will sight read the alto line on solfege with 80% accuracy.
Students will sing the correct pitches, solfege, and rhythm in three parts for the A section.
Students will learn about the culture this folk song came from through a short lecture and write a short
journal entry summarizing facts or comments about the South African culture.
Materials
Prezi
Warmup
Breath warm up, Breathe in on the word Hawaii then hum the pitch the teacher plays and then switch
to ahhh
T will model tricky excerpts from Tshotsoloza and students will echo the phrase back with the correct
solfege and rhythm. After a few minutes T will model an excerpt which S will echo and then T will ask
students to identify which measure they think that might be in the score.
Activity Sequence
T will take three minutes for students who do not have the alto line solfege written in to write it in
T will have S sight read the alto line on solfege. T will give the starting pitch of each measure on the piano
as students sing the alto line
T will have S sing the alto line again and being playing the soprano line over top.
S will probably stop singing so T will ask students to turn their listening ears on as they listen to how the
two parts fit together.
T will have all students sing the soprano part in their respective octave and count sing and march in place.
T will have students clap on the downbeat right before their entrance so they understand the
syncopation for the first measures as they continue count singing and marching
At this point T will have the altos and basss split off from the Sopranos and T will review their part again
with count singing, marching in place, and claps right before their entrances.
T will have students sing the two parts together.
If chaos occurs T will have S count how many times they step in place and clap before their initial
entrance on measure 2.
T will try both parts again
T will stop after S have successfully sang the A section in two part harmony.
T will begin to play the bass part along with the two part harmony and ask the bass section to sight read
their line as T plays their part.
T will isolate the Alto and Bass harmony
T will have all three parts sing together again once the altos and basss have worked on their harmonies
While T is working with the Altos and Basss extensively T will instruct the soprano section to go to a
corner in the room with their ipads and ask them to google south African culture and find two facts for
each person to share with the class
S will share their facts with the class
T will give students a presentation on the culture of South Africa through the use of a prezi
https://prezi.com/ssx_kcouenpx/south-african-culture/

Assessment
3 2 1
Count sing and march Student remained Student would Student could not step
in place actively engaged by occasionally step on the to the beat and would
stepping on the beats wrong beats and would not count sing
and count singing with stop count singing if
few errors they messed up
Matching pitch Student was staying in Student is working on Student does not try to
tune by using proper utilizing proper breath use deep full breaths
breath support and support and and their pitch
energy occasionally goes flat or continually fall flat or
sharp sharp
Part independency Student sings correct Student mostly sings Student is disengaged
pitches and rhythms correct rhythms and from rehearsal and
while singing in three pitches but does not makes repetitive
part harmony and notate mistakes if mistakes and does not
notates their mistakes made mark these in their
in their music if made score

Exit ticket Name:__________________

Name two new facts you learned today about the South African Culture.

Name a category in the South African culture youd like to learn more about. This could be social, music,
food, traditions etc..
Lesson 4: Syncopation & Form
Standard
Perform-Analyze-MU:Pr4.2.E.Ia Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how
compositional devices employed and theoretical and structural aspects of musical works impact and
inform prepared or improvised performances.
Objectives
Students will identify and define syncopation in South African Suite and be able to distinguish between
syncopated and non-syncopated entrances visually and aurally through a written assessment.
Students will identify and define the form of the piece through aural and visual analysis.
Materials
Djembe, assessment worksheets
Warmup
T will ask S to remain quiet and listen to the four beat clapping pattern she demonstrates while marching
in place. Some will have syncopated rhythms and some will not be syncopated. S will echo the rhythm
back to T while also marching in place.
T will demonstrate one of the syncopated rhythms again while counting out loud as she marches and S
will echo
T&S will take this rhythm and notate it on the board with the class asking questions to guide student
learning and participation
T will ask students if the notes begin on the downbeat
T will then define syncopation for S
Activity Sequence
T has S open Tshotsoloza and identify two measures they think uses syncopation and two measures they
think doesnt use syncopation
T will have an open class discussion to see what line they think has the most syncopation
T will have S speak through the whole line of syncopation
T will have sections break off into groups for five minutes and color the downbeat right before their
entrance in the measures of syncopation
T will then have S break off onto their lines and speak through their individual lines as T plays the Djembe
for a metronome
T will play an audio recording of the piece while students follow along on their scores.
T will ask students if they think any of the piece repeated itself or sounded the same
T will ask the student to give exact measure numbers
T will write the words on the board for the A section
T will ask if there is a section that sounded different than the A section and ask for specific measures
T will write the lyrics out on the board and label the sections with ABA
T will ask Class what did we just figure out?
S will answer The form of the piece
T will hand out the worksheet that will also be used as the assessment
Assessment
Name:______________________________
On the staff below please identify and copy two of the syncopations that occur throughout Tshotsoloza.
The syncopations can be taken from your line or another parts line and remember to include your counts,
key signature, and time signature.
Notation

Listening
Listen and notate the rhythm on the staff below. There will be two excerpts each four beats long and will
be played three times.

Form

The following song is in ABA format. Please identify and label the B section by underlining or highlighting
the words.

Checklist: Did student properly identify two areas of syncopation on the worksheet
above?
Could the student identify the B section in Twinkle Twinkle?
Could student notate syncopations when hear aurally?
Lesson 5: Relating two cultures/ Part independency
Standards
Perform-Present-MU:Pr6.1.E.Ia Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in
prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music representing diverse cultures,
styles, and genres.
Perform-Analyze-MU:Pr4.2.E.Ia Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how
compositional devices employed and theoretical and structural aspects of musical works impact and
inform prepared or improvised performances.
Objectives
Students will complete a reflective journal entry comparing and contrasting their musical culture with the
South African musical culture.
Students will sing in three part harmony becoming independent on rhythm, pitch, words, and tonal
accuracy from their two counterparts.
Materials
Prezi, website, student self-assessment paper, student journals
Warmup
T will have S sing Row Row Row your boat in a three part canon and Do-Do,Re,Do-Do,Re,Mi,Re,Do
etc..
Activity Sequence
T will use a metronome and have one part sing their line on a Loo another on Bim and another on Ti
so S can keep track of their own lines more easily at a slow tempo
T will begin to increase tempo as students become more confident
T will have only one or two parts sing their lines at a time as necessary to fix intonation and pitch errors.
Once students become more confident on the pitches T will have students sing the piece on text
T will then switch activities and S will begin learning more about the South African Zulu culture
https://wildlifesafariadventures.com/zulu-people-of-africa/
T will give this prezi presentation ^^^^^^^
T will stop on the slide that is about Early Musical Development and look at the phrase 2 or more linked
melodic phrases, which werent sung in unison but staggered to result in a simultaneous polyphony
T will help S decipher what all of those words in that phrase mean and relate it to the Tshotsoloza.
On the slide about the characteristics of Indigenous Music T will ask S to look at the characteristics and
raise their hand if they see a characteristic that applies to Tshotsoloza
T&S will then have a class discussion about where these characteristics can be found in the music
T will stop the presentation there
T will hand out an article from this website and put students into small groups
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html
As a group S will read bullet points 10-18 and discuss in their groups how the Zulu peoples lives are
similar and different than ours.
T will then have students write a journal entry comparing and contrasting the lives of the Zulu people
with their own life

Assessment
This assessment will be with a journal entry rubric and a student self-assessment
 3 2 1
Compares/Contrasts Student has made cross Student talks about Student only talks
the two cultures cultural connections both cultures about his/her own
effectively and has written about separately and does cultures with no
the way their cultures not compare/contrast reference to the Zulu
are similar and the two people
different
Sentence Entry contains full Entry contains full Entry does not contain
structure/organization sentences and the sentences but the full sentences and does
of thoughts sequence of thoughts sequence of thoughts is not make sense as a
does not jump around hard to follow sequence of thoughts
from topic to topic
Length Entry is at least two Entry is one to two Entry is less than one
paragraphs in length paragraphs in length paragraph with each
which each paragraph with each paragraph paragraph being 4-5
being 4-5 sentences being 4-5 sentences sentences

Student Self-Assessment Name:________________

While singing in three parts today what do you feel you succeeded/excelled at? This could be a specific
measure, rhythmic/pitch accuracy, text or concentration throughout the class.

While singing in three parts today what areas do you think need some work? This could be a specific
measure, rhythmic/pitch accuracy, text or concentration throughout the class.
Lesson 6: Phrasing & Dynamics
Standard
Perform-Rehearse, Evaluate, Refine-MU:Pr5.3.E.Ia Develop strategies to address expressive challenges in
a varied repertoire of music, and evaluate their success using feedback from ensemble peers and other
sources to refine performances.
Objective
Students will identify the high and low peaks of phrases by working in small groups and color coding and
shading their scores (light blue for low, yellow for high).
Materials
Colored pencils
Warmup
S will sing hehehehe on DMSDSMD while beginning the phrase soft and then getting louder as they
reach top D and become soft again.
T will continue this warmup and add body actions T will be crouched and as they crescendo they will
slowly stand up as they get to the peak of the phrase and then slowly crouch back down.
S will sing on the word bim and sing up the G major scale, as they sing the will paint the dynamic
phrase in an arc.
Activity Sequence
T will have students run Tshotsoloza straight through with no dynamic changes or phrasing
T will ask the students Weve got all the right notes and rhythms, is there anything else we should add to
this piece to make it more interesting?
T will guide students to answering Dynamics and phrasing
T will run Tshotosoloza again and ask students to focus all their attention on the dynamic contrast found
in each phrase T is giving them
T will work with S to develop contrasting dynamic phrases making sure they mark in crescendos and
dynamics with their pencils
T will then have students work individually after showing an example on the board of how T would like S
to shade in their scores
Individually S well shade the low parts of the phrases blue and the high peaks yellow on the measures
Assessment
T will have S turn in their scores at the end of class to make sure they wrote in all dynamic phrasing
changes in pencil and then shaded their scores accordingly.

Teacher Rubric
3 2 1
Dynamic changes and Student has every Student has every Student is missing
phrases notated with dynamic marking and dynamic marking and several dynamic
pencils phrase written down phrase written down markings and phrases
that T explained except that T explained except written down that T
for one or less for two or three explained
Dynamic changes and Student has shaded Student has forgotten Student has forgotten
phrases are shaded each phrase with the to shade one phrase to shade more than
accordingly appropriate colors
 with the appropriate one phrase with the
colors appropriate colors
Attentive and Student was active in Student was distracted Student was constantly
participated writing down dynamic a few times by talking distracted by talking to
throughout the lesson changes as well as to his/her peers and his/her peers,
showing them vocally missed a few dynamic distracted others
changes because of it throughout the lesson
and missed a lot of
dynamic changes
 End of the Unit Assessments
Student Self Assessment
At the end of the unit before the performance T will group a few students from each section into a small
group for a performance. T will then pair groups up and call them neighbor groups
While one group is performing their neighbor group will have this assessment sheet.

Student Peer Assessment

Name:__________________
Neighbor group number:
Your group number:

What was the strength of this group? This could be their dynamics, independency from the other parts,
pitch or rhythm accuracy, or facials

Think of yourself as the teacher, what is one thing you could help this group improve on and how would
you go about helping them?

In one to two sentences describe how their performance made you feel. Did they engage you as an
audience member? Make you feel happy? Sad?
 Unit Exam

Name:____________________
1. What language is Tshotsoloza written in?
Zulu
2. In one to two sentences what is the English translation of this piece?
Its about freedom and a train coming and taking the Zulu people away from slavery and to
freedom.
3. List one fact you learned about the Zulu people and their culture (hint: think back to your journal
entries)
This could be a fact they had written in their journal entry

4. What musical form is Tshotoloza?

a. AB form
b. ABA form
c. ABBA form

5. On the staff below write one of the syncopations found in Tshotoloza. Make sure to write in your
counts below as well

6. Listen to the following example and write and notate the rhythm the excerpt will be played three
times. It will be in 4/4 time and one measure long.

7. Compare/Contrast your culture with the culture of the Zulu people. This should be four to five
complete sentences in length and include at least two fact about the Zulu peoples culture.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Write in the solfege for the following example. (Hint the key is G major)
Proficiency Assessment

Student Learning Goals:

1. Students will learn the history behind Henry Lecks arrangement of South African Suite.
2. Students will identify and define syncopation in South African Suite and be able to
distinguish between syncopated and non-syncopated entrances visually and aurally.
3. Students will learn the history behind the South African language and speak the text
clearly in the correct dialect through language scaffolding (rhythmic language practice).
4. Students will identify and define where the form of the piece through score analysis and
aural examples.
5. Students will complete a reflective journal entry comparing and contrasting their musical
culture with the South African musical culture.
6. Students will sing in three part harmony becoming independent on rhythm, pitch, words,
and tonal accuracy from their two counterparts.
7. Students will complete self and peer reflections throughout the unit and at the very end.

Checklist
Did students write a reflective journal entry comparing and contrasting their musical culture with
the South African musical culture? Y N

Did students sing in three part harmony and successfully develop independency on rhythm,
pitch, words, and tonal accuracy? Y N

Did students identify and define the form of the piece accurately through score analysis? Y N

Did students identify the difference between syncopated and non-syncopated rhythms visually
and aurally? Y N

Did students speak the dialect using correct vowels and consonants? Y N
Resources
History Examples:
https://prezi.com/nychz_40ahds/south-african-history-culture/
https://www.revolvy.com/topic/Siyahamba&item_type=topic
https://prezi.com/fcve-xgj-12o/siyahamba-a-south-african-folk-song/
https://patch.com/massachusetts/southend/bp--tshotsholoza-go-forward
https://prezi.com/bnoljvkwvegd/west-africa-culture-and-daily-life/

Listening Examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd31UpFfrBI

Purchased From:
https://www.jwpepper.com/South-African-Suite/1863687.item#/submit
 South African Suite
Arranged by Henry Leck

1991 Plymouth Music Co., Inc.

2000, 2013 Transferred to Colla Voce Music
SAB

Ryan Moos
7th-8th grade Mixed Choir
 Student Guide
Student Learning Goals:
1. Students will learn the history behind Henry Lecks arrangement of South African Suite.
2. Students will identify and define syncopation in South African Suite and be able to
distinguish between syncopated and non-syncopated entrances visually and aurally.
3. Students will learn the history behind the South African language and speak the text
clearly in the correct dialect through language scaffolding (rhythmic language practice).
4. Students will identify and define where the form of the piece through score analysis and
aural examples.
5. Students will complete a reflective journal entry comparing and contrasting their musical
culture with the South African musical culture.
6. Students will sing in three part harmony becoming independent on rhythm, pitch, words,
and tonal accuracy from their two counterparts.
7. Students will identify the high and low peaks of phrases by working in small groups and
color coding and shading their scores (light blue for low, yellow for high)

About the Arranger

Henry Leck is an internationally recognized choral director and an associate professor and Director of
Choral Activities at Butler University in Indianapolis Indiana. He is widely known as a specialist in choral
techniques, the childs voice, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and the boys changing voice. He is also a frequent
conductor of regional and national honor choirs, including the ACDA Southern, Southwest, North Central,
Central and Northwest Divisional Honor Choirs. In 1986 he formed the Indianapolis Childrens Choir which
has toured the USA, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Europe, and Greece.

Biography taken from Hal Leonard

https://www.halleonard.com/biographyDisplay.do?id=117&subsiteid=1

Score Analysis
Historical Context
South African Suite is based off of three traditional folk songs from South Africa. Henry Leck took
the three pieces Tshotsholoza, Siyahamba, and Gabi Gabi and arranged them into three movements for
SAB. Tshotsholoza was sung by miners working in South Africa and and migrant workers who made their
way from Zimbabwe to labor in South African gold and diamond mines. The word Tshotsholoza literally
translates to Go forward in Afrikaans or Make your way for the next man and encouraged solidarity
amongst the workers during hardships. The second piece Siyahamba translates to We are marching in
the Zulu language. This piece is often used as a representation of freedom and protest because of the
lyrics. The last movement is Gabi Gabi, another South African folk song that translates to Praise the
Father. The first song Tshotsholoza and the second song Gabi Gabi are both call and response songs.
These songs were used to spread news or information and passing time while others worked. This unit
will be focusing on the first piece Tshotsholoza.

Text
The text of this piece originates from a South African Folk song and were arranged for an SAB choir. This
piece is a traditional folk songs that encouraged the South African people to continue forward praising
their savior the whole way.

Tshotsholoza English translation

Go forward
Go forward
On those mountains
Train to South Africa
Go forward
Go forward
You are running away
You are running away
On those mountains
Train from South Africa

Melody
This is a piece written for SAB. The Sopranos lead the piece with the melodic call, the Altos and
Basss answer with a harmonic response. A lot of the melody descends step wise or skips
between chord tones. Quite frequently there is a leap upward followed by a descending
stepwise motion downwards countering the leap. There is also a point in the piece where the
melody stays on one tone which happens five times in measures four, eight, twelve, seventeen,
and twenty-two.

Harmonic
Most of the harmonies are chord tones with the 1, 3, and 5 scale degree. Typically the basss have the
root of the chord with the altos holding the third and the sopranos having the fifth. However, the scale
degrees sometimes vary depending on tessitura and melodic needs. When there is a descending step
wise motion in all three voices the scale degrees within each voice change. Meaning sometimes the fifth
is in the bass and the third is in the soprano.
Rhythmic
This piece alternates between off beat and down beat entrances with frequent syncopation occurring in
all three voices. The Sopranos are off on their own rhythm for the majority of the piece because they are
the lead voice while the altos and bass match up rhythms as they answer the sopranos calls. After the call
and response happens two times all three voices sing the exact same rhythm and text for a full measure
which happens four times throughout the piece.

Form
Tshotsoloza is a repetitive ABA form.

Section/Measure numbers Key Text

1-9 A G Major Tshotsholoza kwe zon taba
stimela si phu me zim ba bwe
9-18 B G Major Wenu ya ba leka He yak we zon
taba stimela si phu me zim ba
bwe
19-27 A G Major Tshotsholoza kwe zon taba
stimela si phu me zim ba bwe

Cultural
South Africa has 11 official languages and most residents are multilingual and are able to speak
more than one language. South Africa declared independence from Britain in 1934 but it wasnt until
1994 that they declared independence from the white minority rule. These three pieces we are studying
are all about promoting the idea of freedom and placing their trust in the lord. These pieces were sung as
they worked in hard conditions, the reason for these harsh conditions was the great amount of diamonds
found in 1990. The abundance of diamonds let to the white minorities taking control of the South
Africans and establishing laws that allowed for low wages and extremely dangerous working conditions.
Further down the timeline in 1913 all of the white minority claimed 90% of the land in South Africa
leaving only 10% for the black South Africans. Keep in mind only of the people in South Africa were
white and the rest were black. It wasnt until 1994 when the first multi-racial elections were held that
Nelson Mandela was elected and these unfair laws placed on the black South Africans were finally lifted.
 Practice Guide/ Glossary
Key of Tshotsholoza is G major.

Vocal warmups:
Diction warmup #1 Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese
Diction warmup #2 Seven sassy sailors sailed the seven salty seas
Diction warmup #3 Can I cook a proper cup of coffee in a copper coffee pot
Scale warmup #1 Do, Do-Re-Do, Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do, Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Mi-Re-Do, etc.
Scale warmup #2 he DMSDSMD
Breath warmup #1 Breathe in on the word Hawaii sing S on an ah vowel then sing down the scale

Syncopation: In this unit weve discussed syncopation. Write in the counts underneath the following
excerpt.

Solfege: In this unit our piece is in the key of G major. Write in the solfege

Notating Rhythms: On the two staffs below write a rhythm that is four measures long. Your rhythm must
include two forms of syncopation, eighth notes, quarter notes, and half notes.
Syncopation: emphasis is placed on an off beat or weak beat in a measure. For example
instead of an entrance coming in on the downbeat of one, it may come on the & before one.

ABA Form: A ternary form where one theme is presented, a new theme enters, and then
the first theme repeats itself.

Diction: The way we pronounce and enunciate words when we sing

 End of the Unit Assessments
Student Self Assessment

Student Peer Assessment

Name:__________________
Neighbor group number:
Your group number:

What was the strength of this group? This could be their dynamics, independency from the other parts,
pitch or rhythm accuracy, or facials

Think of yourself as the teacher, what is one thing you could help this group improve on and how would
you go about helping them?

In one to two sentences describe how their performance made you feel. Did they engage you as an
audience member? Make you feel happy? Sad?
 Unit Exam

Name:____________________
1. What language is Tshotsoloza written in?

2. In one to two sentences what is the English translation of this piece?

3. List one fact you learned about the Zulu people and their culture (hint: think back to your journal
entries)

4. What musical form is Tshotoloza?

d. AB form
e. ABA form
f. ABBA form

5. On the staff below write one of the syncopations found in Tshotoloza. Make sure to write in your
counts below as well

6. Listen to the following example and write and notate the rhythm the excerpt will be played three
times. It will be in 4/4 time and one measure long.

7. Compare/Contrast your culture with the culture of the Zulu people. This should be four to five
complete sentences in length and include at least two fact about the Zulu peoples culture.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Write in the solfege for the following example. (Hint the key is G major)