CMP Teaching Plan

Allie Cotton
MUED 310
A Big Ship’s Sailing
Irish Folk Song
Composer: Unknown
Voicing: Unison
Broad Description: Traditional
Type/Genre: Irish Folk Song
Origin: British Islands

Background Information
This is a song about the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, that was finished in
1894, which was the largest river navigation canal in the world at the time. This was a big
deal because up until this point when navigating between Manchester to the Irish Sea to
Liverpool, the freight had to change from trains or small boats to the big ocean ships. Many
of the traders and merchants of Manchester were upset because they thought that the
Liverpool docks charged too much money for this service. So, in order to load the ships
directly in Manchester, a canal was needed that was large enough to allow big ships to
navigate directly from the sea to the city and vice versa. This canal created many jobs in the
area which kept the money in that specific community rather than giving it to Liverpool
workers. Obviously, the people of Liverpool were not happy that they would be losing
revenue and they campaigned very hard to put a stop to the project, but they were
unsuccessful. Historians believe that this song was created by the residents of Liverpool to
mock the Manchester Canal considering that there are many historical quarrels between
the residents of the two cities.
https://nurseryrhymescollections.com/lyrics/the-big-ship-sailed.html
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/the-big-ship-sails

Elements of Music – See attached Folk Song Analysis

Form Phrasal Structure: ABAC

Strophic: Verse and Refrain
“A Big Ship’s Sailing” tells the story of a ship sailing and rocking in the
wild winds of the sea which is represented in the phrases as they
move stepwise like wind blowing and then have big leaps
representing a rocking motion.

Rhythm “A Big Ship’s Sailing” is enhanced by the rhythmic differences between

the a, b, and c phrase structures. The ta-ti pushes the melody forward
as if it were being blown by wind in a sail.
 Melody The a phrase begins with a leap from sol to do and then moves up
stepwise from do to sol before leaping down to re. The b phrase steps
up from the re beginning with mi leaping down a third to do, then it
steps up to re and leaps down a perfect fifth to sol. Next the a phrase
of the melody is repeated. The c phrase begins with a leap up to la,
steps down to sol, and finishes by leaping down the perfect fifth to do.
The large leaps in the melodic contour create a feeling a of rocking as
if the ship were riding in the waves of the water, and the stepwise
motion propels the melody as it were being blown by the wind.

Timbre Unison voice. This song was meant to poke fun at the residents of
Manchester by those who lived in Liverpool and were upset by the
creation of the new canal, therefore it needed to be simple and a
playful ditty.

Texture Monophonic; This song appears to be a playful ditty that could be

sung around town as a way for Liverpool residents to let out their
frustrations towards the construction of the Manchester Canal.

Expression This song presents many opportunities for dynamic contrast. The a
phrase could crescendo and grow as the line ascended and each “illi
ally O” could be a different tier dynamic.

Additional Considerations/Reasons to Perform this Piece

This piece can be a great tool to introduce ostinatos and ideas of form. Additionally,
the students will connect easily to the theme of the sea and be challenged by the
larger melodic leaps.

The Heart Statement

The heart of “A Big Ship’s Sailing” is the playful natural movement of the melody and
rhythm that is grounded in satire and themes of being at sea.

Introducing the Piece

T: “Today we will be singing about the sea. Can you show me with your bodies what the sea
looks like? Can anyone tell me something that is in the sea?”

Skill Outcome: Students will recognize, perform, and audiate notation

patterns in compound duple meter contain dotted quarter notes, eighth notes,
and quarter notes.

A. Strategies
1. Have students clap the rhythm of the words in their hands and stomp the
beat with their feet.
2. Have the students sing the song as a “Fill in the blank” – teacher sings;
when teacher stops, students sing the next part.

2
 3. Have students reinforce rhythmic concepts by doing ostinatos with body
percussion.

B. Assessment
1. Teacher will check for rhymical accuracy during various performance
opportunities throughout the unit.

Knowledge Outcome: Students will describe compositional devices used to

create different moods.

A. Strategies
1. Reintroduce all songs from unit into the room, ask students to show the
mood of the song through movement.
2. Students will use solfège and rhythmic icon cards to compare the songs
compositional features that they have become accustomed to singing and
hearing.
3. As a class, students will help the teacher create a short melody. The
teacher will have students select a mood and help determine which elements
will help the melody demonstrate the desired mood.
4. Students will take the skills and process they learned with the class
composition to create their own melodies that portray a mood.

B. Assessment
1. Students will identify the mood of each piece and describe the
compositional devices used to create that mood.
2. Students will choose a mood and create a pentatonic composition (8-16
measures long) that portrays that mood.

Affective Outcome: Students will describe ways in which they can be playful
with others while still being kind, caring, and respectful.

A. Strategies
1. Questioning: When do we think it is appropriate to be playful and silly with
our friends? Why do you think that?
2. Once the discussion establishes appropriate answers (ie. Playground, free
time, play dates, etc.) reinforce that being playful is only fun as long as we are
still being kind, caring, and respectful.
3. Ask students to identify/describe ways in which songs from the unit were
playful in nature and to list one musical element that made them sound that
way.

B. Assessment
1. Classroom discussion.
2. Exit ticket: draw or describe one way a student can be playful but still
respectful.

3
Recommended Recordings
https://youtu.be/uu4PPnnNBF8

References
https://nurseryrhymescollections.com/lyrics/the-big-ship-sailed.html
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/the-big-ship-sails
https://youtu.be/uu4PPnnNBF8