This lesson will contrast Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring (classical) and Stephane Furic's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (jazz), and the role the poems Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman and The Bridge by Hart Crane, bring to the music.
Students will assign an orchestral instrument to an African animal, using characteristics which
they have in common. The students will write a cinquain poem and create a poster (collage) with their
African animal as the theme.
Students will generate descriptive language of several animals (with special focus on verbs), culminating in the writing of a poem about the animal of their choice. Use Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals as a stimulus prompt.
Students work in groups to learn and perform a piece on non-pitched percussion instruments and develop rhythm reading and ensemble skills.
This lesson develops students' ability to hear subtle dynamic levels in orchestral music, and to recognize
sudden and gradual differences. They will use their collective perception to make relative aural judgments
about levels and changes. Data will be recorded on a bar graph marking real time and 6 dynamic levels
roughly equivalent to 6 primary markings of standard dynamics: pp to ff.
Students discover how music can create a visual image in one"™s mind as they listen to Beethoven"™s Sixth Symphony "“ Pastoral. As the image takes shape, the students create a visual representation of their image to include the aspects of nature which Beethoven included in this wonderful composition.
Students write a descriptive essay explaining their thoughts and feelings while listening to Beethoven"™s 5th Symphony, learning how to describe the musical elements that cause them to feel this way, and transpose these feelings into a watercolor art piece. The students will present their essay and art work orally, and act out their responses during a physical education exercise.
Students will be introduced to American Bluegrass music and Appalachian songs through singing,
listening and conversation. A number of songs will be compared leading to a conversation on the
characteristics of Traditional American music.
Students will complete two language arts activities for this lesson. In the first activity, students use folk
songs from the era of the California Gold Rush, which are introduced in the early chapters of By the Great
Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleishman, to identify folk song motifs in the classical music of AntonÃn Dvořák. This
will be explored by the students' creation of a labeled line drawing of one of Dvořák 's compositions. In the second activity, students will write a letter to Dvořák from the point of view of Master Jack, a character in Fleishman"™s novel, inviting Dvořák to continue his American tour into the gold fields of California for
musical inspiration.
Students will explore the lives of various jazz musicians. They will become familiar with the social and historical events that were present during the lives of these individuals. They will listen to the music of the artists and become knowledgeable about their styles. This activity will culminate in the production of a news/talk show created and performed by the students highlighting the lives of these musical figures.
These activities provide students with a way to explore the Christmas Truce of 1914 through multiple media. It lends itself to the exploration of many themes: War, Peace, Kindness, Globalism, Humanity. The discussion questions suggested here focus on the universality of the human experience. Although it uses a picture book as the anchor text, the activities could be used in middle and high school as well. The timing is flexible depending on the use of the discussion questions and how many tasks you choose to do.
Students are introduced to Johann Sebastian Bach"™s music through short deep listening exercises and
optional integrated language arts activity.
The Paraguayan harp is a cultural emblem that represents not only the nation of Paraguay and its
traditional music, but also the ideals that contribute to a collective notion of paraguayidad (i.e.
"Paraguayness"). The Paraguayan diatonic harp serves as a melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic
instrument. Its primary function is to provide harmonic and rhythmic foundation to conjunto
music"”music of a variety of instruments. At the heart of Paraguayan harp repertoire are polcas
paraguayas, guaranias and polca galopas all genres within the body of musical expressions in
Paraguay. This lesson is divided in three segments that describe three colorful styles of
Paraguayan music: the polca galopa, the guarani and the polca paraguaya
Use songs and social dances from the Mexico/USA border to introduce students to South Texan people, language, location, and values. Also discuss issues such as immigration and experiences of living in the borderlands
Why do two composers from the same period of history compose different music? Students will gain an understanding of how culture and history influences music as they analyze and compare the music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, and learn how these composers used special sounds to enhance their music.
DSOKids is the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s magical doorway to a world of musical fun and learning for students, parents and teachers. The site’s mission is to provide attractive, accessible and child-friendly resources that introduce symphonic music, the orchestra and its instruments, and to encourage both adults and young people to explore the world of the symphony orchestra.
After gaining familiarity with the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, students are asked to write a letter to these composers, expressing an understanding of how the history and culture of one"™s life can be reflected in a composer"™s music. Students also create a bio-poem to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the composer"™s thoughts and feelings about his life and music.
Students will discuss emotion words. They will look up synonyms for emotion words. They will then listen
to the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and discuss the emotions they hear. Discussion about
instrument families and dynamics will take place to help students decide why the song gives certain
emotions. After several times listening to the music students will create a graph of the emotions they hear in
the music.
This lesson introduces students to hymn singing and allows them to participate as singers in the choir and as accompanists in the bell choir.
Students will gain a basic knowledge of acoustics; the families of instruments in the orchestra; am instrument"™s pitch range; and how sound is produced by an instrument.