2017-2018 School Year United States Coast Guard Band School Concerts

“Where’s the Tune?”

Information for Teachers, Grades K-5

Overview Thank you for attending The U.S. Coast Guard Band School Concert this year! We are honored to have you join us! This performance features band music of artistic significance inspired by folk tunes from a variety of countries. Students will develop greater insight and appreciation for the concert’s performed compositions by singing source folk songs and identifying their countries of origin. Through educational activities and audience interaction, students will make connections between music and different places from across the world. The subject matter of this concert provides rich opportunity for further study, exploration, and experience for students and their teachers. This document aims to provide ideas that you can mold to assist in that exploration before and after the concert. Educational Objectives Students will:

Explore the use of existing melodies (specifically folk songs) in concert music, and how great composers from around the world are inspired by these tunes.

Sing assorted folk songs and identify their countries of origin (as they relate to works on this program)

As a group, sing and perform America the Beautiful with the Coast Guard Band. Please teach this to your students using the score provided in the appendix.

Gain further experience in focused listening. Experience, appreciate, and understand a professional concert band

performance of creative and quality compositions

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 2 of 9

Program **All composers and titles underlined are hyperlinks to biographies or recordings. Origin of composition is included in bullets. Retratos Do Brasil: V- “Carnival de Rio de Janeiro” NOTE: start at 11:29 in the recording (2000) – Hudson Nogueira (b. 1968)

Brazil

Semper Paratus (1927)- Francis Saltus Van Boskerck (1868-1927) United States of America

The Star Spangled Banner (1770/1814) - John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) and Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

United States of America English Folk Song Suite: III- “Folk Songs from Somerset” (1923) - Ralph Vaughan-Williams (1872-1958)

England Shanghai Overture (2007)- Bright Sheng (b. 1955)

China

America the Beautiful (1895) – Samuel A. Ward (1847-1903)/ arr. Philip Rothman (b. 1976)

United States of America Variations on America (1891)- Charles Ives (1874-1954)

United States of America Suite Francaise: V Provence (1944)- Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

France Stars and Stripes Forever (1896)- John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)

United States of America Musetta’s Waltz from La Bohème (1896)- Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Italy

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 3 of 9

Pre-Concert Suggestions To enhance your students' benefit from the concert, you can introduce the following basic concepts or activities, which you can adapt as needed to challenge your students accordingly. Students will also sing and perform America the Beautiful with the Coast Guard Band. As this concert will primarily focus on folk songs from around the world and how they influenced compositions, below are hyperlink recordings of the original folk songs from England, China, France, and America. All scores with lyrics are included at the end of this packet. Having students familiarize themselves with these songs will help them make connections during the concert.

Here are some pre-concert questions and activities to consider.

What are folk songs and how do different folk songs compare and contrast to each other?

Draw pictures exploring how each song conveys certain emotions. How could you change a folk song to create a variation (slow to fast, loud to soft,

changing instruments or voices)? While playing a scale or singing a simple melody together as a class, explore ways to

create variations of the scale or melody (slow to fast, loud to soft, changing instruments or voices, fragmentation, etc.). Have students decide variations.

English folk song: Blow Away the Morning Dew Composition for band: English Folk Song Suite: III- “Folk Songs from Somerset” by Vaughan-Williams

Blow Away the Morning Dew- recording, (please change lyrics from “kill” to “see”) Chinese folk song: Purple Bamboo Composition for band: Shanghai Overture by Bright Sheng

Purple Bamboo- recording French folk song: Magali Composition for band: Suite Francaise: V Provence by Darius Milhaud

Magali- recording American composition: My Country ‘Tis of Thee

Composition for band: Variations on America by Charles Ives

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 4 of 9

My Country ‘Tis of Thee- recording

Audience Etiquette What is the best way to teach concert etiquette? Please follow THIS LINK to see an audience etiquette idea, discussion points for teachers, orchestra etiquette worksheet, all prepared by the Louisville Orchestra. General Post-concert Suggestions

Explore with students the concept of “folk songs.” What are they? Why are they important?

Review/sing some of the folk tunes that served as inspiration for the concert’s works. Review their countries of origin.

Review/discuss some ways composers incorporated these folk tunes into compositions played by the Coast Guard at this concert.

Discuss what it was like to perform “America the Beautiful” with the Band, and how did it go? You sang the melody twice. How was the second time different from the first time?

If we were to create variations on “America the Beautiful”, what are some ways we could do so (softer/louder, slower/faster, different rhythms)? Let’s try it!

-Teacher information prepared by the Education Division of the United States Coast Guard Band

Please continue to the musical examples below.

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 5 of 9

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 6 of 9

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 7 of 9

Magali (French folk song)

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 8 of 9

Gr. K-5 Teacher Information pg. 9 of 9