Music of the Pacific Islands

Music of the Pacific Islands and Oceania

Pacific Islands and Oceania

The next stop on our musical world tour is the Pacific Islands.

Moana is a fictional island inspired by real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. The music in the Moana clip has a very distinctive "island" sound, which we will explore today.

As you will see, the music of this region is strongly influenced by the surroundings.

Where exactly are the Pacific Islands located?

Multiple Choice

Which ocean surrounds the Pacific Islands and Oceania?

• Atlantic Ocean

• Indian Ocean

• Pacific Ocean

• Arctic Ocean

Our Students

We have students in class whose family roots come from Tonga and the Philippines.

See if you can find those places on the next map.

Traditional Music from this Region Reflects Nature

• Pacific percussion is frantic and full, barreling forward like a rapidly approaching storm.

• Some vocalists chant and stomp and grunt like beasts.

• Some singers and guitarists sing sweetly as the wind dancing through the trees.

  
  

Multiple Choice

Traditional music from the Pacific Islands is inspired by

• plants

• animals

• weather

• all of the above

Percussion in Pacific Island Music

Percussion from Oceania and the Pacific Islands is a confident and cacophonous (noisy) way to communicate.

Multiple Select

Which instrument(s) belong to the percussion family?

• flute

• drum

• violin

• maracas

Percussion as a Means of Communication

• Drummers “speak” with rhythm.

• Their beats form into patterns similar to sentences.

• The patterns create background rhythms for dancers.

• The dancers use the rhythms and their movements to tell stories.

Multiple Choice

Percussion is used to

• communicate stories and other messages

• scare predators and enemies

• put children to sleep

• perpetuate their natural resources

Polynesian Drum Ensembles

• Ensemble means group.

• The ensembles are composed of multiple drums of different sizes and pitches.

• All of the drums are made from materials found nearby.

Tahitian Drum Ensemble

Notice the materials the costumes and drums are made with.

Open Ended

What materials did you notice in the costumes and drums?

To-ere Drum

The to'ere drum, pronounced "to-eddie," is made from a hollowed-out log and hit with a wood stick.

Pahu Drum

This pahu drum is more resonant.  Drummers hit it with padded sticks.

It is also used in Hawai.

Cook Islands

This is where much of the Polynesian drumming is thought to have originated.

Notice the use of the to'ere and pahu drums.

Papua New Guinea - Kundu Drum

The kundu is a wooden hourglass-shaped drum with a snakeskin head, most often held and struck horizontally.

Vanuatu Water Music

On another Pacific Island called Vanuatu, the water is used to make percussion sounds instead of wood.

Te Vaka - Sei Ma Le Losa

Our final musical example is more contemporary. These performers come from the Pacific Island region.

How do these performers incorporate traditional music?

What is similar to the other musical examples we saw today?

What is different?

How do they show that they are still truly in tune with nature?

Multiple Choice

The music of the Pacific Islands and Oceania

• reflects elements of nature

• involves a lot of drumming

• often includes dancing or some kind of movement

• all of the above