Voice Box TV

This week on the show, we have a special show dedicated to traditional music and traditional musical instruments. Our special guest is Andrew Colwell, a talented American musician who is living in Ulaanbaatar studying Mongolian music. He sings khoomii and plays a wide range of musical intruments and he tells us all about how he got interested in Mongolian music and why he finds it so fascinating.

Dave also demonstrates and explains a very ancient traditional Australian instrument called the didgeridoo.

This week’s exercises and activities are ready for you to use, so download them below, or check them out online.

traditionalmusic.doc

And don’t forget about the Makes Some Noise concert this Saturday (30th of July) at 2pm at Freedom Square, near Tenghis Cinema. It’s free and is being put on by Amnesty International. There will be many great bands and singers playing for free in support of human rights. Some of the many performers are Quiza, BX, the Lemons, the Pilot, Altan Urag, Black and White, Nisvanis and the Max Family. Don’t miss it!

As always, you can download and print this lesson right here:

traditionalmusic.doc

Exercise1: Discussion Questions
In groups, discuss the following questions in present perfect tense. Present perfect tense is speaking from the present about the past.

1. Have you ever played a musical instrument?
2. What instruments have you played (or tried to play)?
3. Were they Mongolian traditional instruments or western instruments?
4. Have you ever been to a live musical concert or performance?
5. What kind of performances have you seen? (Opera, Mongolian ensembles, long song, pop concerts, hip hop concerts, etc.)
6. Have you ever performed yourself? What was the situation (at a concert, karaoke, for friends)?

Exercise2: Jumble
In this episode of VoiceBox, Dave explains how the didgeridoo, an Australian traditional instrument, is made. Match the pictures with the sentences, then put the sentences in the correct order.

1. The bark is cut off
2. It starts as a normal tree branch (a eucalyptus tree).
3. They cut both ends of the branch
4. It is made hollow by white ants, or termites.
5. They start playing it.
6. The Aborigines come along, tap on the wood and hear that it is hollow.
7. It is painted.
A.

B. C.
Exercise3: Questionnaire
Who are your favourite bands/singers? Fill out the chart below by asking other people in your class some questions in English.
Eg. ‘Have you heard the Lemons?’ ‘Do you like their music?’ ‘What is your favourite song of their’s?’

Name of band or singer | Tick if heard | Good (√√) | satisfactory (√) | bad (X) | or very bad (XX)

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Variations
To make it more difficult, you could change it songs and ask questions about certain songs.
Eg. “Have you heard BX’s ‘My Love’?”, “Do you like it?”, “Why or why not?”.
To make it even more interesting, ask what their favourite song is (Mongolian or other) and get them to explain what the song is about in English.

Exercise4: Describe the picture
Describe what is happening in this picture in present tense. What are the people doing? Who is playing what instrument? What are they wearing? What do they look like? Provide as much information as you can.

by Steppenwolf - Street Karaoke

Dave talks to Onon, the species officer at WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Mongolia, about endangered species in Mongolia.

Dave and Bolor talk about some different endangered species.

The introduction for our episode on Endangered Species.

Dave and Bolor talk about the Yak Festival.

Dave and Bolor interview a yak herder, while she’s milking a yak.

Dave and Bolor visit a yak farm.

The introduction to our episode about yaks, from Terelj.