Overview

The teacher resource guide has been created to support the Class Notes Artists Video featuring an
interview with Lyz Jaakola. You will find a variety of information and media that will support your
teachings as you work to meet the following Minnesota Music Education Standard:
Music

4.1.3.3.1

3. Demonstrate
understanding of the
personal, social, cultural
and historical contexts
that influence the arts
areas.

1. Describe the cultural and historical traditions of

music including the contributions of Minnesota
American Indian tribes and communities.

Feel free to use whatever material you feel will best engage and excite your students.
Table of Contents:

Correlation of State Music Standards ............................................................................................ 2

Background on Lyz Jaakola........................................................................................................... 3
Background on Ojibwe-Anishinaabe People ................................................................................. 4
The Music of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe .......................................................................................... 5
Ojibwe-Anishinaabe Musical Elements ........................................................................................ 6
References...................................................................................................................................... 9
Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 10
YouTube and video list................................................................................................................. 11
Student Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 13
Student Quiz Key ......................................................................................................................... 14

Correlation of Minnesota State Music Standards

Below you will find the revised Minnesota Music Standards. Those standards that most readily apply to
this resource guide are in bold.

4-5

Music

4.1.1.3.1

1. Artistic
Foundations

4.1.1.3.2

1. Demonstrate
knowledge of the
foundations of the arts
area.

4.1.1.3.3
Music

4.1.2.3.1

2. Demonstrate knowledge
and use of the technical
skills of the art form,
integrating technology
when applicable.

4.1.2.3.2

Music

4.1.3.3.1

1. Describe the cultural and historical traditions of

music including the contributions of Minnesota
American Indian tribes and communities.
2. Describe how music communicates meaning.

2. Artistic
Process:
Create or
Make

3. Demonstrate
understanding of the
personal, social, cultural
and historical contexts
that influence the arts
areas.
1. Create or make in a
variety of contexts in the
arts area using the artistic
foundations.

3. Artistic
Process:
Perform or
Present
4. Artistic
Process:
Respond or
Critique

1. Perform or present in a
variety of contexts in the
arts area using the artistic
foundations.
1. Respond to or critique
a variety of creations
and performances using
the artistic foundations.

1. Sing alone and in groups such as rounds and part songs

or play instruments alone and in a group.
2. Revise performance based on the feedback of others and
self-reflection.
1. Justify personal interpretations and reactions to a
variety of musical works or performances.

4.1.3.3.2
4-5

Music

4.2.1.3.1
4.2.1.3.2

4-5

Music

4.3.1.3.2
4.3.1.3.2

4-5

Music

4.4.1.3.1

1. Describe the elements of music including melody,

rhythm, harmony, dynamics, tone color, texture, form
and their related concepts.
2. Describe how the elements and their related concepts
such as pitch, tempo, canon, and ABA are used in the
performance, creation or response to music.
3. Identify the characteristics of a variety of genres and
musical styles such as march, taiko, mariachi and
classical.
1. Read and notate music using standard notation such as
quarter, half and eighth notes and rests, the lines and
spaces of the treble clef, and time signatures.
2. Sing and play alone and in a group demonstrating proper
posture, breathing, technique, age-appropriate tone quality
and expressive intent.

1. Improvise and compose rhythms, melodies, and

accompaniments using voice or instruments to express a
specific musical idea.
2. Revise creative work based on the feedback of others
and self-reflection.

About Lyz Jaakola

Elizabeth (Lyz) Jaakola (Anishinaabe, enrolled member of Fond du Lac band of Lake Superior
Ojibwe) has a richly varied musical background, which informs her career in both music education and
American Indian studies at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Earning her Bachelor of music
degree in vocal performance in 1992, Lyz taught at a tribal school as a music specialist before
embarking on a performance career.
Performing and writing in many styles and
genres, she resists categorization, a
nimbleness only natural for a Native woman
who readily embraces her mixed heritage.
Among many other venues, Lyz has
performed in the Rome Opera festival as a
mezzo-soprano, Carnegie Hall as a choral
singer, at traditional ceremonies as a
ceremonial singer, and in clubs and
elsewhere as a jazz scat singer, blues siren,
and regional soloist. Her Native-based
compositions have been heard on radio
stations, television, video, and many stages
near to her home on the Fond du Lac
reservation in Minnesota. Shes currently
compiling her Native-based choral pieces, striving to promote Anishinaabe music performances and
education, occasionally gigging around town in her Blues band (Lyz Jaakola & the Smokin Chimokes),
recording various projectssuch as the Native women's hand drum group, Oshkii Giizhik Singers'
sweetheart CD and Anishinaabe Youth
Chorus' sophomore recordingin
between teaching and parenting three
children.

About Ojibwe-Anishinaabe People

The Ojibwa people radiate out from the shores of Lake Superior. See map below in pink:

Tradition indicates that the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe people settle on and around Madeleine
Island near Bayfield Wisconsin in the 1400s.
Ojibwe-Anishinaabe are also called the Chippewa, a slang name for the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe
used in government documents.
Ojibwe people call themselves Anishinaabe
Each reservation has its own government, courts, police and economic structure.

There are seven Ojibwe

reservations in Minnesota: Red
Lake, White Earth, Grand Portage,
Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, Bois
Forte and Mille Lacs.

Adapted from
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=855
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of American Anishinaabe
Indian Trust

Reservations

Indian Affairs - State of Minnesota :: Tribal Nations

http://www.indianaffairs.state.mn.us/tribes.html

The Music of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe

There are 560 federally recognized tribes in the United States, each with its own musical
practices, styles, and culture.
Repetition is common in vocal melodies
Most accompaniment is percussion
The melodic scales used notes that do not fall on a piano keyboard, but may fall in-between
these notes.
Harmonic structures of major or minor chords are not used with most singing close to unison.
Much of the traditional music is of a spiritual nature.
Singing includes stories and vocables non-word syllables (such as: wey ya hey ya hey hey)
Contemporary Ojibwe-Anishinaabe music represents a wide range of musical styles.

Traditional Native Music

Western Music

Composed but not written

4 instrument families: drums, voice, blown, shaken
Songs are melody centered
Songs are functional
Mostly descending melodies
No harmony

written and composed

variety of instruments
songs are harmonic lyric centered
songs are functional and non-functional
melodies may be any contour
simple to complex harmony: triadic

Ojibwe-Anishinaabe Musical Elements:

Below you will find background information on various cultural and musical elements given in
summary from dialogue with Lyz Jaakola.
Comparison of between Bel Canto and Ojibwe-Anishinaabe Vocal Styles
Technically, singing each style is different and I am not a master at either... I have sung both on the
opera stage and for Ojibwe ceremonies. It is different production with the same equipment. In all types
of singing, there are selective tensions in the physical instrument which are controlled by the singer.
There is also selective absence of tension (or relaxation). To sing bel canto style, I believe the tension
happens in staying out of the way of the breathing mechanism and activating specific muscles for
phonation within a generally relaxed instrument. To sing Northern woodlands style, its just a different
set of muscles. Maybe its more directing the air like on an airplane wing for lift off and landing... In
any case, both techniques require an attention to detail and much practice. They are an acquired skill.
Both communities value singers for that skill and for their personal commitment to learning and
continuing their highly stylized mode of expression.
Instruments of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe
Instruments are often understood to have spirit. Every community has their own protocol for who,
where, how, and why instruments are sounded.
Drums
A Drum is respected as the heartbeat of the Earththe heartbeat of the people. Drums are
awakened through ceremony and their spirits are feasted on a regular basis as they are considered to
be an animate being. There are 3 different types of drums, generally: The sacred waterdrum, large
dance drum, and frame hand drums. Some Drums are only for ceremonial functions and wont be seen
outside of those ceremonies. Other Drums will be found in both sacred and secular settings while still
others are only for fun. Each Drum has a story or set of teachings that accompanies it and the keepers
of the Drums are responsible for following and maintaining those teachings. Generally, the large dance
Drums are sounded by men the instrument and group of singers/drummers carry the same title,
Drum. If women sing with those Drums, they will sing back-up or zhaabowe, which is at a
particular place in the song form and an octave above the main melody sung by the men. Other types of
drums, waterdrum or hand drums can be sounded by men or women, but individually may be considered
gender-specific as in This drum is a womens drum.

Shakers
Shakers are considered to have specific function, as well.
In the Midewewin (Grand Medicine Society, the indigenous
Ojibwe-Anishinaabe belief system) shakers are thought to
be the first sound in Creation. Shakers are considered an
important instrument for that reason, and often shakers are
reserved only for ceremonial activities.
Flutes
Many woodlands tribes have flutes. Flutes in Ojibwe culture are played solo, not in any ensemble.
They were intended to be used for personal entertainment. There are at least three different origin
stories for flutes A flute player knows these stories better than I. In short, one story says the flute was
given to a woman who was mourning her man, another was a man that missed his girlfriend, another
story tells of a man who copied the design of a tree branch to make the flute. In any case, the flute is
most often considered to be played by men who would
be wooing a girl. Each flute was made uniquely to fit
the player so it had a unique timbre and tuning.
Standard tuning for flutes is a relatively new
development. Flutes were usually made to scale based
on the length of a mans arm and the spread of his
fingers, giving each flute a unique scale and timbre.
The song he would play would be improvisational in
nature but a girl would have listened so intently that
she could know him by his tune. I think they are often
called courting flutes.
The use of rhythmic tension
Rhythmic tension between the voices and drum I guess it signifies an older song. To many who are
aware, thats one of the markers of the old songs. When one hears the old songs or newer songs like
the old songs, there is an independence between the drumbeat and the main pulse of the vocals. Thats
the mark of skilled singers/drumgroup.
Personal History of Evolution of Music Culture
My experience is since the 1960s and mostly Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. When I was a
child, there was one main public pow-wow at FDL and when there were ceremonies, they were secretive
due to the fact that our spiritual practices were illegal until 1978 when the Indian Religious Freedom
Act was passed. I heard elder women sing but it was usually a cappella songs in Ojibwe or church
songs, sometimes in Ojibwe. Men would sing with the Pow-wow Drums. Both men and women sang in
ceremony, depending on the purpose and context. We didnt have many women singing back-up at powwows when I was young. As I got older, pow-wow started picking up speed and people were traveling
farther to pow-wows, picking up traditions from all over as well as bringing our traditions all over.
One example is the jingle dress dance which originated with the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe and now most

pow-wows will have jingle dress dancers from any tribe. The pow-wow
repertoire is constantly growing while Drums keep old songs and make
new ones regularly. Womens music kind of took a hiatus while pow-wow
grew. Some say it was to protect the women from certain persecution,
others say it was because the women have been silenced due to tribes
adopting the male-dominated forms of community from the colonizers. In
any case, womens songs are being revitalized just as our language use is
being revitalized. I started singing with a hand drum in 1990s because I
had a dream that that was what I should be doing. We are taught that the
spirits guide us in our dreams. I started asking elders about singing and
drumming and 20 some years later I have met hundreds of OjibweAnishinaabe women who sing with hand drum and even a few who sing
seated at the Big Drums. Some have been singing longer than I have and
some started about the same time I did and some are just starting to learn
about singing with drums. Its so hard to know what the natural evolution
of our music would have been since our culture has survived such an
assault over the last 200 years. But I do know that elders from various
communities where women havent been singing come to me and others
saying how we remind them of their grandmothers who used to sing to
them with a hand drum.
Elizabeth Jaakola as a child

Pow-wow

This is an ever-changing organic music tradition. Its generally thought that pow-wow as we know it
began in the mid-1800s1860 is an often used date. Ever since then, each community has developed its
own set of protocol in regard to their celebration. Not all tribes have pow-wow but Minnesota has had
pow-wows for at least 130 years and today there are generally four types of pow-wows: traditional,
contest, ceremonial, and school pow-wows. Pow-wow is a way of life for some people today, and many
families are on the pow-wow trail for the majority of weekends during the summer. Songs and
traditions are always maintaining tradition while adding novel twists to the cultural arena.
Traditional womans melodies
Each person may have his or her own songeach family might have a song, or each community or
village. Songs are considered to have a place, an owner, to use that term. It is not thought that one
person sings another persons song without asking permission. Often, that permission is sought by
offering tobacco (a pinch of loose tobacco, offered earnestly, is sufficient), or sometimes an appropriate
gift, depending on the song. That person whose song it is may choose to grant permission or to not
grant permission. Some songs are freely shared by many. We see today with the schizophonic nature of
recordings that it is very challenging to maintain our cultural protocol when it comes to songsbut we
try the best that we can to make our offerings so that we can know and sing songs that are considered
traditional in a good way.

English to Anishinaabe translations:

Thank you = Miigwech
Hello = Boozhoo or Aaniin
See you later = Giga waabamin
Wow = Howa
Drum = Dewe'igan
Shaker = Shiishiigwan
Let's all sing = Nagamodaa
Songs = Nagamon
Flute = Biibiigwan

References:
http://www.lyzjaakola.com/
Documents from Perpich Center
https://sites.google.com/a/pcae.k12.mn.us/professionaldevelopment-in-music-education/curriculum/americanindian-resources/american-indian-music-resources

Ojibwe language and traditional song site www.umich.edu/~ojibwe/lessons

Glossary
? A cappella singing without instrumental accompaniment.
? Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin the natural language spoken by Ojibwe-Anishinaabe
tribal peoples
? call and response a common form used in traditional Native North American music where one
singer calls and a group of singers respond
? double beat any variation of a drum beat in groups of two (short-long, long-short, strong-weak,
weak-strong, etc)
? Incomplete repetition - Common description of pow-wow song form where the first statement
(lead)is sung by a solo male who is answered by the group which then adds more musical
phrases on to the response. After all the new musical material is sung, the group will repeat the
later portions of the song, eliminating the lead in the repetition.
? Ojibwe/Anishinabe (Chippewa) an Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region
? Pow-wow a Native North American celebration of music and dance characterized by use of a
Dance Drum and male groups singing while they sound the Drum
? push ups a common term to denote form in pow-wow music
? Recitative the singer takes on the rhythm of ordinary speech.
? single beat a steady regularly occurring repeating drum beat
? tail a closing phrase on a pow-wow song, similar to a coda in Western music
? Vocable a style of singing with non-word syllables, like fa la la la la, or wey ya hey ya hey hey.

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YouTube and other Videos

relating to the above curriculum:
The following are a list of some YouTube clips that you can show to your students. They tie into the music Lyz
Jaakola will performing, and give your students a reference for the upcoming performance.
Lyz Jaakola http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uKp0I290K0
Ask students what they learned about Lyz from this video. How was she a pioneer in Anishinaabe music?
Ask students if they recognize the melody of the song that the childrens choir is singing.
Lyz Jaakola - Anishinaabe - Musical Tribute To A Great Nation - 031110.3gp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP4YaHSMnUU
Where might Lyz Jaakola be singing and who might her audience be?
I Am Anishinaabe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg8CB8T04KM
All things are connected to what? (Mother earth)
What food is traditionally gathered in the fall? (Wild rice)
Every outfit (regalia) has a special meaning. Can you see the meaning in the design of the regalia?
In The Beginning -Ojibwe-Chippewa.wmv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vN_LUkplo
Idle No More Round Dance - Ottawa J28 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEo-XYBuT4Q
Pow Wow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9z3IOpH1g
Mens Fancy Dancing 1996 Champion of Champions contestant 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woxf8tBIV9E&feature=related
2007 Gathering of Nations Womens Jingle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yPAwU6M0AU&feature=related
Native American Indian women's fancy shawl Pow wow dancers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxE7TQGXAjQ
Navajo Nation pow wow 2007 grass dance special http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF_BA8e14Bw
White Owl Song Native American http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIOXQ0uEbYg&feature=related

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Free software for You Tube conversion:

Keepvid keepvid.com/
Save Vid www.savevid.com/
Youtube Grabber www.freeyoutubegrabber.com/
Free software to play those files:
FLV Player www.flvplayer.com/
Zamzar
www.zamzar.com
Many school districts block YouTube for security reasons
making
it difficult to show students this resource.
There is a simple and free way to side step this hurdle so that you can access this resource.

Using YouTube Videos when Blocked at School

Items Needed:
Computer at home and at school
Memory key, thumb drive, or USB Drive
A means to project video clip at school: computer screen,
LCD Projector, or interactive white board.
How to Transfer files from home:
On your home and school computer download the free
video software: FLV Player or a similar program, in order to run video files on each machine.
Go to the Keepvid site or similar site to capture, format and save the videos. Choose FLV when saving
the file.
Use a USB memory key or thumb drive or flash drive to transfer saved files from home to school.

12

Quiz

1. What do the Ojibwe people call themselves?

2. Which of the Great Lakes do the Anishinaabe People surround?
3. What instrument family is most common accompanying traditional Ojibwe music?
4. What are vocables?
5. Lyz Jaakoa teaches at what college?
6. What does the sound of the drum represent?
7. What musical styles are used in contemporary Ojibwe music?

13

Quiz Key

1. What do the Ojibwe people call themselves? Anishinaabe

2. Which of the Great Lakes do the Anishinaabe People surround? Lake Superior
3. What instrument family is most common accompanying traditional Ojibwe music?
Percussion
4. What are vocables? Non-word syllables
5. Lyz Jaakoa teaches at what college? Fond du Lac Tribal Community College
6. What does the sound of the drum represent? The heartbeat of the Earth and of the people.

7. What musical styles are used in contemporary Ojibwe music? All styles

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