Home/Curriculum resources/Fire in song/Activity 1 – Building background knowledge
Learning Area:
The Arts
Year levels:
Level 5, Level 6
Activity 1 – Building background knowledge
This activity is a part of the Fire in song resource.
Fire up close. Mornington Island, Lardil country. Photographer: Joe Sambono. Source: Ngarrngga. © Joe Sambono 2023. Used with permission
In this activity, students are encouraged to build their understanding of Yolngu culture and beliefs, including their societal structures and the significance of fire in their narratives.
* NOTE: Seek permission from respective communities for non-Indigenous students to learn and perform music from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Step by Step guide
Step 1: Develop background knowledge
Students build their knowledge of the Yolngu people, where they are from, their basic societal structures and their fire narrative from the background information presented above and/or from suitable websites such as the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation 0 . Students share and discuss their findings, asking questions that arise from their reading.
Step 2: Exploring musical examples
Once students have established some understanding of Yolngu culture 0 and beliefs, they will have a context for exploring some musical examples as follows:
Bäru (Saltwater Crocodile) by Yothu Yindi (1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcOCPPoJDDw&list=PLplvyiPnAKbdRCiHd2clxP0iO-uLYm2ey&index=56
Bäru (Saltwater Crocodile) by the Saltwater Band (1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvmw82hweFk
Gurtha (Fire) by Dhapanbal Yunupingu (2016) 0 : https://soundcloud.com/mulka/gurtha-dhapanbal-yunupingu
Waru (Fire) by the Warumpi Band (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLSJkq-JSdM
Related activities within this resources:
Activity 2 – Evaluating examples
In this activity, students will listen to the Yothu Yindi song 'Fire' and analyze various musical elements such as structure, pitch, duration, tone color, texture, and dynamics.
Required resources:
Computer and speakers to play the soundtrack
Activity 3 – Performing
In this activity, students begin by singing along with the song 'Fire' and gradually progress to playing chord instruments like guitar and keyboard in synchronization with the recording.