Ya Habibi: A Musical Journey through the Arab World
Step-by-step lesson plans for grades 3-6
Teaching Artist Ronnie Malley takes you on a musical trip through the Middle East and North African regions. He’ll introduce Moroccan, Lebanese Dabke, Andalusian, Maqamat, and Tunisian trance music.
Students will play musical games, explore melodies, rhythms, popular children's songs, celebrated Arabic singers and composers, and traditional instruments.
LESSONS
This is the first lesson from the Ya Habibi course. Students will visit the Middle East and North Africa to learn about the region’s musical traditions, instruments, and cultures. Students will also learn Arabic words, songs, and about the rhythms from the region.
Lesson two of Ya Habibi explores percussion and rhythm, iqa’, more in depth. Students will visit Egypt and learn words from a song in Arabic with its specific rhythm. This video introduces the format for subsequent lessons as students journey with their travel diary through the Arabic speaking world in the Middle East and Africa.
Lesson three of Ya Habibi explores music and culture of the Levant, which includes Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. Students will visit and learn Arabic songs and words from this region located near the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The songs featured are primarily folk songs, with some over one hundred years old.
Lesson four of Ya Habibi explores the music and culture of Jordan and Iraq. Students will visit and learn Arabic songs and words from this region that flows from the eastern Levant to the area of ancient Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers. The songs featured include a traditional Arab folk song and a popular Iraqi folk dance song.
Lesson five of Ya Habibi explores Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the Arabian Gulf region known as al-Khaleej in Arabic. This lesson explores songs and the unique rhythms from this region, where the Arabic language was developed and the religion of Islam was born.
Lesson six of Ya Habibi explores the region of North Africa, visiting the countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Students will use percussive syllables to recite and play a rhythmic cycle: Iqa’ chaabi Maghribi, Iqa’ karachi, and Iqa’ ayoub.
Lesson seven of Ya Habibi explores the Arabic speaking African countries of Libya and Sudan. Students will use percussive syllables to recite and play a rhythmic cycle: Iqa’ Leebi chaabi and Iqa’ merdoum.
Lesson eight of Ya Habibi explores Arabic music and culture in America. Students will learn about contributions made by Arab American artists and their presence in New York and throughout America. We will also explore classical Arab music, hip hop artists, and famous authors such as Kahlil Gibran and the Pen League in America today.