CMP Teaching Plan

Emily Chiesa

Title: Cobbler Cobbler

Composer: Unknown
Publisher/Source: Padlet/Kodaly Center for American Music
Broad Description: Traditional American Folk Song
Instrumentation: Unison
Background Information: There are many versions of Cobbler Cobbler that are played around the world. Cobblers
originated from Europe and were brought over to America. A cobbler is a repairman of shoes. They trained several years less
than a cordwainer (a maker of shoes). Cobblers later on would make house calls to fix shoes.
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4
m m s s m m
s s s s m s s m

s s m m
s s m s s m m s s m
Analysis:
Elements of Music
Form: Phrase structure is aaaa. This makes it very easy to follow along and not get lost.

Rhythm: The rhythm is simple, helping students to reinforce a steady beat or pulse. The rhythm also sounds like a
cobbler at work. A cobbler could be hammering away in the rhythmic pattern of the song.

Melody: The phrase of this song occurs every two measures which portrays sentence structure. It also makes it more of
a conversation. The first phrases two are asking for a favor. Then the third phrase asks a question which the cobbler m ust
reply too in the fourth phrase. The notes of this song are also the universal interval which is a minor 3rd. This interval occurs
when teasing someone else for example singing nah nah. There is a point in which the cobbler is teasing the costumer that
they cannot have their shoe back that soon.

Harmony: The harmony fits inside the one chord. It stays there the whole time. This helps with the feeling that the
cobbler works all day doing the same task over and over again.

Timbre: Unison. The song is a conversation though so there could be different people singing different lines.

Texture: Monophonic. Again, it is a conversation as the text asks a question in the third phrase and there is an answer
in the fourth line.

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 Expression: Different voices could be distinguished here. The costumer and the cobbler are two different people. This
could be done by a contrast in dynamics.

Additional Considerations/Reasons to Perform this Piece

It is a fun piece! Works on a lot of skills for beginning musicians.

The Heart Statement

The Heart of “Cobber Cobbler” is the steady rhythm that drives the piece and enhances the imagery of a cobbler hard at work,
hammering away at mending shoes.

Introducing the Piece

Ask the students if they know what a cobbler is. Start conversation there and then introduce song.

Affective Outcome: Students will describe ways that different things can be fixed.
Strategies
1. Have students come up with a list of things that could be broken or hurt.
2. Have students match broken things to people who can fix them.
3. Have student come up with their own ways that they could fix something that was broken.

Assessment
1. Have students present something that was broken that they fixed.

Skill Outcome: Students will perform and iconicily recognize a steady beat while
singing.
Strategies
1. Have students pat the steady beat on different parts of the body.
2. Students use hammers to keep the steady beat.

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3. Have the students point to the steady beat while looking at rhythm cards.

Assessment
1. Teacher will observe the students demonstrating maintaining a steady beat during the many times the song is sung.

Knowledge Outcome: Students will explore compositional techniques with the same
pitches used to differentiate between two people speaking.
Strategies
1. Students will sing different lines of the song to explore how people can sound different.
2. Students will work with small groups to try singing loud and soft for different phrases of the song.
3. Student will move to the story of the song.

Assessment
1. Students will perform the song using the strategies above.