Daniel Ho, a musician native to Honolulu, Hawaii, has helped bring Hawaiian music to the popular scene. In Stronger & Stronger, the singer has a clear and empowering message in his voice and lyrics. The song, which is part of the award-winning album Simple as a Sunrise, is based upon the artist’s own life and a way that Ho has found to share his personal experience. In this song, the artist sings about his decision to chase his dreams without being brought down and discouraged by people who do not think he has what it takes to achieve them. It is a song about believing in yourself and about fighting to reach your full potential. In this song, we hear the beautiful sounds of the slack key guitar, which is commonly used in Hawaiian music.

Teachers will find a rich variety of lesson plans and activities here, all tried and tested by Peace Corps Volunteers in communities around the world.  Find a new recipe, read a folk tale, practice new vocabulary in a different language, or paint a mural, all while learning and having fun.

Some bands have an incredibly broad set of musical genres. Ozomatli is certainly one of those bands. The Los Angeles-based group, which has been named a U.S. Department of State Cultural Ambassador, has written songs belonging to a variety of musical genres: hip hop, salsa, cumbia, samba, funk, merengue, Jamaican ragga and others. Many of the genres are Latin genres, which has become increasingly popular in the United States.

The song Can’t Stop models the type of Latin music that you often hear on American radio stations. The song has influences of both salsa and rock, and combines rhythms from the two genres. With a special touch of Latin vibe, it’s hard to listen to the song and not want to dance along. And once you start dancing, you simply Can’t Stop, as the song title indicates. The song title applies both to the powerful rhythm of the song as well as the message of the song itself. Ozomatli wants listeners to know that we need to believe in the power of love and think positively about the future. In other words, we can’t stop believing and should not look back. The future is ahead of us.

Lyrics and Classroom Activities
Do you want to use this song in your classroom? Here are the lyrics and classroom activities to get started.

In Simple Down, California-based artist Lael Neale uses guitars and the banjo to sing about living a simpler life. Many of us have probably at some point in our lives desired a simpler life, in which we give importance only to the things in life with a deeper meaning.  For the singer, who started playing her guitar at the age of 12, these include things such as love, nature and a life without excess.

The origins of folk music are related to a genre of music in which songs are made by the common people and for the common people. Each country has its specific varieties of folk songs, which are closely linked to the local culture. Folk artists from different cultures and backgrounds will use local instruments in their songs and sing about topics that people from their culture will be able to relate to. However, folk music has a common core, no matter where it is played: it is music that we can all relate to one way or another. The lyrics of folk songs tend to be simple and real-life to most of us.