Every orchestra is made up of families "“ four to be exact. This lesson invites you to meet these wonderfully diverse families and the members who make up the voice we hear at the symphony.

Using Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, students will discover how difficult it is to compose music with a hearing loss. Children will develop an understanding of overcoming disabilities and preserving through life's struggles.

The North Carolina Symphony's Musical Meditations series offers moments to be calm, present, and mindful, supporting stress-management during the busy school day. Each short video features the NC Symphony playing musical excerpts from famous composers set to the breathtaking visuals from North Carolina State Parks.

Students will identify the character, setting, and plot of the story of Ballet of the Elephants and listen to Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant, composed by Igor Stravinsky for the ballet. Students will then listen to a piece of unidentified music to create their own character, setting, and plot diagram. They will use this diagram to create their own story that includes characters, a setting, and a plot (beginning, middle, and end).

Students examine and listen to a variety of forms of music to learn about the cultural, geographic, and stylistic diversity available within the United States.

Students will learn to appreciate the process of telling a story through song, while learning basic musical skills like rhythm, singing on pitch, and call-and-response format.

Students will understand the basic elements of a fanfare, and the significant role fanfares have played in history as a means of communicating information and emotions.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk
songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work
in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

This lesson was created for primary age students but can easily be adapted into the intermediate or middle school social studies lesson. Students will explore a period of time when African Americans were striving to make their mark on American music. Ragtime music will be experienced through listening to classics, observing performances, researching the life of Scott Joplin, learning dances, and wearing self-made costumes of the era. They will reflect on the Ragtime music, the struggle of African Americans, and the life skills of successful people who perservere.

‘Embolada” is a form of poetry and song that has set refrains. The refrains allow
singers to organize their next improvised stanza in their heads—even as the music is
sounding. (McGowan,1991) This form of traditional music is active in the northeastern
region of Brazil. Embolada has a fast rhythm and complex tone that deftly incorporate varied
lyrics and onomatopoeia. Embolada is mostly improvised following a dialogue by the
“Embolador”, who sings while hitting the Pandeiro at short intervals in between verses. The
singer needs considerable skill, experience, and a sense of humor . Embolada is sung in the
streets; it is influenced by American rap music and African music. Using the Embolada
rhythm, students can improvise lyrics and sing solo.

"˜Embolada" is a form of poetry and song that has set refrains. The refrains allow singers to organize their next improvised stanza in their heads"”even as the music is sounding. (McGowan,1991) This form of traditional music is active in the northeastern region of Brazil. Embolada has a fast rhythm and complex tone that deftly incorporate varied lyrics and onomatopoeia. Embolada is mostly improvised following a dialogue by the "Embolador", who sings while hitting the Pandeiro at short intervals in between verses. The singer needs considerable skill, experience, and a sense of humor . Embolada is sung in the streets; it is influenced by American rap music and African music. Using the Embolada rhythm, students can improvise lyrics and sing solo.

Students learn that it is possible to use some of the same strategies for understanding music that we use to understand literature. Students have an opportunity to identify a musical theme when played by in a variety of styles.

Students will compare and contrast Stravinsky's Rite of Spring to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, La Primavera (Spring). Pair the music of Stravinksy with the art of Edvard Munch. Pair the music of Vivaldi with the art of Claude Monet. Discuss the similarities and differences. Discuss Josef Albers'Homage to the Square entitled "The High Spring". Discuss how color and mood are connected. Create a color square in the style of Josef Albers to represent the pairings of Stravinsky and Munch and the pairing of Vivaldi and Monet.

This link goes to an interactive orchestra you can use with any age group. It breaks it down into the instrument families and then by instrument. (Conductor included)