teacher’s guide for the portland symphony orchestra’s ... · pdf filethe center...

Teacher’s Guide for the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concert Series “Sounds Like Art: Painting, Poetry and Performance”

Materials created by The Center for Excellence in Music Education

University of Southern Maine, School of Music ©January 2010

The Center for Excellence in Music Education was established within the School of Music at the University of Southern Maine in 2009. Under the leadership of Dr. Michele Kaschub and Dr.

Douglas Owens, the Center draws together pre-service and in-service music educators for

the creation of teaching materials and resources for PK-12 classroom and ensemble

instruction.

The Center for Excellence in Music Education is delighted to enter into partnership with the

Portland Symphony Orchestra and to contribute to the creation of the Teacher’s

Guide for the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s 2010 Youth Concert Series “Sounds Like Art:

Painting, Poetry and Performance”

For additional information about CEME, contact Dr. Michele Kaschub at [email protected]

or phone 207-780-5587

EXPANDING MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT

The activities of the lesson are designed to develop the three capacities foundational in all listening: attention, impressivity and aural craftsmanship.

1. All listeners must chose to pay “attention” to the music. The questions that teachers use to guide children before they are asked to listen help students focus their attention of particular aspects of the music.

2. All listeners are impacted by the music that they hear. This impact is called “impressivity”. The music presses inward as we hear and feel sound. Questions that ask students to think about how music “feels” and why composers shape music as they do help children develop their awareness of how music impacts their lives.

3. While all listeners hear music, attentive listeners also pay attention to particular features of the music. The brain then uses such observations to make connections and attribute meaning to the way the music is heard and felt. The process of hearing features and recognizing relationships between features is called “aural craftsmanship”. Teacher can help students develop control over this natural process by asking questions that require students to focus their attention particular musical events or on the ways that a composer crafts sounds.


Materials created by The Center for Excellence in Music Education University of Southern Maine, School of Music

©January 2010

PURPOSE This lesson is designed for classroom instruction with students who are able to

identify the instruments of the orchestra and who can verbally describe the evolving music textures that they hear.

MATERIALS Teachers and students will need audio recording of “March” from Superman as

scored by John Williams. Students will need a comic book listening map (included in this packet) and colored pencils or markers.

LEARNING GOAL At the completion of this lesson students will be able to identify how composers

can use layers of musical sounds to represent different types of motion. Notes:

Layer one – ground Layer two – character (thing that is flying – Superman!) Layer three – height (air)



©January 2010

EARS-ON LISTENING: TEACHER PREPARATION

The Williams’ “March” from Superman can be divided into eight musical events: 0:00-0:24 – This is a short fanfare built on a simple “do-sol” call

representing Superman’s heroic nature. 0:24-0:44 – Establishes both the concept of the physical ground as well as

the expectation of flight. Superman’s first musical leap into the air occurs at 0:34.

0:45-1:17 – This section begins with Superman’s motive and the character in flight. Melodies representing flight begin to emerge

1:18-2:08 - Trumpet, french horns and upper strings play smooth melodies suggesting that Superman is gliding. We also hear short swirling figures from the upper woodwinds along with high, bright percussion. These instruments and musical figures are used to suggest both the air and the “magic” of flying.

2:08-2:23 – Superman’s motive repeats (same as 0:45-1:17) 2:23-2:60 – The Lois Lane theme, a.k.a. “Can You Read My Mind” theme

is presented. This theme has the same layers (ground, character, and height) as the flying theme. Lois’s theme represents Superman’s emotional connection to Clark Kent.

2:60-3:52 – Superman’s motive repeats (similar to 0:45-1:17, but this time with more percussion, more insistent and with more forward motion which propels us to…)

3:52-end – Coda. We hear the different sections of the orchestra present snippets of ideas drawn from various points in the March. The orchestra builds, quiets, and builds to strong and heroic finish.



©January 2010

EARS-ON LISTENING: STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Step 1: Focus attention on music (goal: identification). What instruments are playing at the beginning of this piece? Are they playing mostly high notes of mostly low notes? Play 0:00-0:44. Collect responses verbally. Note exception at 0:34 when trumpets enter with a bright, upward figure.

Distribute comic strip-styled listening maps. Ask the students to draw “how the music moves” in the box captioned “Will a hero come?”. See teacher model for recording time/box relationship.

Step 2: Narrowing focus (goal: identification). Let’s listen to a little more of this piece. Does anyone recognize the theme? Play 0:44-1:01. Collect responses verbally.

Step 3: Seeking details (goal: comparison). Let’s listen to that section again. We described the first section we listened to as being mostly “low pitched”. Is the Superman melody that we just heard high pitched or low pitched? Play 0:44-0:52. Take a show of hands. How many listeners think the melody is most low pitched? High pitched?

Ask the students to draw a picture of Superman leaping into the air and the instrument that signals his leap (trumpet) in the “I think I can fly” box.



©January 2010


Step 4: Specific details (goals: identification and comparison). As we listen to that section of music, we can clearly hear the Superman theme, but I think there lower and higher sounds also being played. Let’s listen again and try to figure out what is happening. If you think that you can hear a higher or lower part being played with the Superman theme, try to remember the name of one or two instruments that play that part. Play 0:44-2:08. Collect response verbally.

Ask students to draw “how the music moves” in the “It’s a bird. It’s a plane” box in the center of the comic strip.

Step 5: Synthesis (goals: understanding craftsmanship and making meaning). Through discussion lead the students to consider that Superman begins on the ground, leaps, takes flight, and then soars around exploring his new ability. Introduce the idea that lower instruments represent the ground (passing slowly by as Superman flies overhead), the middle instruments playing smooth melodies represent Superman as he flies, and that the higher woodwinds, strings and percussions playing quick, swirling figures are like the air passing by. They represent height – being up in the clouds.

Step 6: Mini-assessment: Lois Lane theme “Can You Read My Mind” unfolds from 2:23-2:60. Ask students to identify the low, medium and upper layers of musical ideas. Ask the students to draw in the “Oh Lois” box one low-pitched instrument, one medium-pitched instrument and one high-pitched instrument heard in this section. *Note: This could lead to a lesson focused on the Lois Lane theme, or you may wish to simply play that song (which is readily available on iTunes/YouTube) for your students.



©January 2010


Step 7: Synthesis and application: Listen to the final section of the work. Ask the students to draw a picture that represents what they hear. (They may need to hear the excerpt more than once to have sufficient time to listen/draw.) Ask the students to describe what they heard and what they drew. Have they heard any of these musical ideas before? How does this piece end – fade out or big finish? Why?



©January 2010

Will a hero come? I think I can fly..

It's a bird. It's a plane.

Oh Lois!

It's superman!!!

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