Lesson 1: Learning “Two Step des Yeux Bleus” (“Blue-Eyed Two Step”)

Aim: How can we explore steady beat in duple meter with the song “Two Step des Yeux Bleus?”
Summary: Students learn to sing and dance in duple meter along to “Two Step des Yeux Bleus” while building vocabulary to describe Cajun music.
Materials: Musical Explorers CD or online audio, scissors, markers or crayons
Time Required: 40 minutes (four 10-minute activities)
Standards: GA: MK-2GM.1, MK-2GM.6, MK-2GM.7, MK-2GM.8, MK-2GM.9, MK-2GM.10
SC: MGK-2.1, MGK-2.4, MGK-2.5, MGK-2.6
Vocabulary: Cajun, meter, fais do-do, two-step

Meet Megan, Drew, and Kelli

  • Meet Megan, Drew, and Kelli on SG12.

 

Find the Steady Beat in “Two Step des Yeux Bleus”

  • Listen to “Two Step des Yeux Bleus” ( Track 10). This is a traditional Cajun song.
  • Invite students to describe what they hear in the music (man singing, instruments, foreign language, steady beat). 
  • Megan, Drew, and Kelli sing and play in a band called T’Monde, which means “little world” in Cajun.
  • In this song, like other Cajun songs, Megan, Drew, and Kelli are singing in French. Read the English translation to your students.
  • Listen to Drew speak the French lyrics to the first verse in a Cajun dialect ( Track 11).

    Practice saying the first verse with Drew.
  • Listen again and encourage students to try to sing along and tap the steady beat on their bodies along with the music.

 

Two Step des Yeux Bleus (Blue-Eyed Two Step)

Samedi soir j’ai été au bal pour voir tous mes amis
Il y avait un tas des femmes mais une qui était si jolie
J’ai marché ouais à elle et gardé dedans ses chères yeux bleus
C’était là que moi je savais elle était la seule que moi je voudrais
On a dansé toute la nuit s’amusé et courtisé
Je l’ai demandé pour marier et je l’ai promis de tout le temps soigner
Aujourd’hui on est marié avec un chère belle tite fille
Je suis content que c’était elle que moi
Je voudrais pour toute ma vie
Saturday night I went to the dance to see all my friends
There were many women, but one was very beautiful
I walked to her and looked into her beautiful blue eyes
I knew then that she was the only one that I wanted
We danced all night, had fun and courted
I asked her to marry me and I promised to always take care of her
Today, we are married with a beautiful little girl
I am so happy; she is the one I wanted my whole life

Explore Instruments in Cajun Music

  • Cajun music features a number of different instruments, including the fiddle, accordion, triangle, and guitar.
  • Using SG13, examine pictures of fiddle, accordion, triangle, and guitar. Complete the activity with cut outs of musical instruments.

 

Explore Meter in “Two Step des Yeux Bleus”

  • Meter is a musical word that describes how we group steady beats. Usually, beats come in groups of 2 or 3. Some of the beats are strong and others are weak. If the beats are in groups of 2, we call it duple meter. The beats feel like this: STRONG-weak, STRONG-weak, STRONG-weak.
  • Brainstorm a list of things that come in groups of 2 (twins, duet, gloves, socks, shoes). Make a list or draw pictures on the board.

 

Sing and Dance to “Two-Step des Yeux Bleus”

  • Many Cajun songs are played and sung for dancers, often at big parties with other people, called a fais do-d0 (FAY doh DOH).
  • The two-step is a dance where the dancers move their bodies to duple meter. Using SG14, teach your students the basic two-step.
  • Play “Two Step des Yeux Bleus” ( Track 10).
    ***10
    Encourage students to move in place with the music. After they learn to do it alone, group students in pairs and practice the two-step. Modifications include dancing together as a class in a circle, or with a lead pair.

 

Learn About Cajun Music

Cajun music comes from the Acadian people of Canada, who immigrated down the Mississippi River to Louisiana in the 18th century. Some of the earliest songs were ballads (narrative songs, often unaccompanied), and fiddle tunes. The accordion became popular in Cajun music at the turn of the century, and the music could be heard on porches, large parties, and in dancehalls.

 

Musical Word Wall

Add the words Cajun, meter, fais do-do, and two-step to the Musical Word Wall.

 

PDF Downloads

SG12 ↓ Download File
SG13 ↓ Download File
SG14 ↓ Download File

 

Musical Explorers Audio Tracks