Lassana Diabaté is a world-renowned musician who was born in Guinea and now lives in Mali, West Africa. He is an instrument builder and master balafón player. Inspired by the beauty of the land and the people he spent time with during several trips to Nova Scotia, Canada, Lassana composed and recorded a song called “Cape Breton”. This lesson is designed to raise discussions on matters of Nova Scotian and Canadian identities, “place”, traditional music, and creative expression. Students will explore the unique sounds of the balafón and Lassana Diabaté's song, "Cape Breton", through listening and creative movement. Next, they will perform layered rhythmic patterns using various percussion instruments. Finally, they will have a chance to create/improvise their own rhythms.

Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

1. Music and Place: Cape Breton

   • Note similarities and differences between several songs from Unama’ki / Cape Breton.
   • Explain who Lassana Diabaté is and why he decided to write a song called “Cape Breton”.
   • 15+ minutes

2. Balafón in Cape Breton

   • Explain what a balafón is and identify where this instrument originated.
   • Describe the timbre of balafón and how it is played.
   • Identify and demonstrate some musical and stylistic characteristics of Lassana Diabaté’s song, “Cape Breton”.
   • 15+ minutes

3. Playing "Cape Breton"

   • Perform rhythm patterns (drawn from the song) on several percussion instruments: alone and with others; with and without a recording.
   • Improvise, document, and perform your own rhythm patterns—inspired by Lassana Diabaté's music.
   • 20+ minutes