Title of Work: Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Creators:Composer: John Adams b. 1947

Background Information:John Adams, an American composer, was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts. His boyhood was spent in

Vermont and New Hampshire. He began clarinet

lessons with his father and later studied with a member

of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A short while after

earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees at

Harvard, Adams moved to the West Coast. He became

head of the composition department at the San

Francisco Conservatory, where he stayed for ten years.

In 1978 he became ‘new music’ adviser for the San

Francisco Symphony, and later composer-in-residence.

Adams is recognized as a minimalist composer, i.e.

achieving maximum effect with stringent use of

harmonic and melodic organization, employing the

simplest units of musical structure and using a great

deal of repetition. He is also considered a modernist

among minimalists because he has pioneered new ideas.

About the Artwork:Adams calls Short Ride in a Fast Machine a fanfare for a

large symphony orchestra. Traditionally, fanfares were

short tunes for trumpets, used as signals for ceremonies,

military functions or hunting purposes. This composition

expands the fanfare idea, while presenting the brasses in

a way that retains the original fanfare concept. When

composing the piece Adams had a mental image of

“moving through space at tremendous speeds, while in

some kind of vehicle… skirting through a field of

meteors.”

Creative Process of the Artist or Culture:When a composer attempts to create an impression,

or convey a specific idea, the challenge is to write

so that this idea or impression is adequately

expressed in terms of the music. The capabilities

and limitations of the various instruments must be

recognized. The possible effects that can be created

by the interaction of the elements of music (i.e.

melody, rhythm, harmony, etc.) must be realized.

Success is achieved when the listener can successfully

comprehend the musical message. Adams describes

Short Ride in a Fast Machine as a “bright, happy

piece of music.” He has created a delightful,

exciting and speedy musical trip. In minimalist

style, the composition contains much repetition;

however, there is nothing in the least that could be

labeled ‘boring’ about this piece. In fact, Adams

states, “The piece is actually very difficult to play,

but quite a bit of fun.” Each section of the

orchestra has interesting patterns of rhythm to

perform at a challenging tempo. It is indeed a

‘Fast Machine.’

“I am thrilled to write for,and work with an orchestra.The sounds that they producecreate a sense of excitement.”

John Adams.

California

MUSIC

TRANSFORMATIONTHE POWER OF NATURE

FREEDOM &OPPRESSION

ENDURING VALUES

THE HUMANFAMILY

ARTISTIC PERCEPTION (AP)

CREATIVE EXPRESSION (CE)

HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT (H/C)

AESTHETIC VALUING (AV)

CONNECT, RELATE & APPLY (CRA)

rtsource ®

The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts

A TRADITIONAL

CLASSICAL

CONTEMPORARY

EXPERIMENTAL

MULTI-MEDIA

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Additional References:• Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams, Elektra-

Nonesuch 9.79144.2. Available where music is sold.

Sample Experiences:

LEVEL I• Use homemade and/or classroom instruments and

vocal sounds to create classroom versions of Short Ride

in a Fast Machine.

• Create Haiku to describe Short Ride in a Fast Machine.

• Short Ride in a Fast Machine is organized in three

parts. As a class, write a space adventure story with a

begin-ning, middle and end to complement the musi-

calcomposition.

LEVEL II• Sit in cooperative learning groups. Ask each group

member to suggest one word to describe Short Ride in a

Fast Machine. When each person has made a contribution

ask each group to jointly create a short paragraph using

each of the contributed words.

• Use crayons or markers to illustrate the musical

texture that Short Ride in a Fast Machine creates.

• Discuss what the conductor needs to know before

conducting a particular piece of music and what kind of

information the conductor receives from the score.

• Make a list of things a composer needs to know when

creating a piece of music.

LEVEL III• Compare creating a musical composition to creating

a painting, sculpture, dance or play. What are the

similarities? What are the differences?

• Create abstract paintings or drawings to depict the

impressions created when listening to Short Ride in a

Fast Machine.

• Conduct research to learn the differences and

likenesses between a symphony orchestra and a concert

band. Chart seating arrange-

ments foreach.

• Use the jigsaw-cooperative

learning technique for

discussing the four families of

the orchestra and the names

of the instruments that

populate each.

* Indicates sample lessons

Discussion Questions:After the video has been viewed:• How does the music create the following mental

images: rapid motion, things flying past, new

images never seen before, flashes of light, patches of

darkness, color, other?

• Which instrument maintains the basic beat

(pulse) throughout the piece? (wood block)

• At one point the clarinets and synthesizers play a

gurgling, bubbling sound the composer calls

‘noodling.’ What images came to mind when you

heard these sounds?

• The composer describes this piece as a difficult

one to play. What do you think makes it difficult?

• Is there a melody or theme in this piece? If so,

when does it occur?

• At one point the lower pitched instruments play a

segment the composer humorously labeled ‘Elephant

Dance.’ What did that part make you think of?

Multidisciplinary Options:

• Read a story or poem about a space ship.

Compare either one with Short Ride in a Fast

Machine. Can you use any part of the music to

describe a portion of the story or poem? Can you

read a part of the story or poem that is similar to a

segment of the music?

• Fast rides have always been a human quest. The

first American astronaut took a ‘short ride

in a fast machine.’ Conduct research to collect

information on that first ride into space. Illustrate

the account of the event. Make slide photos of the

art work. Use Short Ride in a Fast Machine as

background music for showing the slide sequence.

Audio-Visual Materials:• Artsource® video excerpt: Short Ride in a Fast

Machine, performed by the Los Angeles

Philharmonic, conducted by David Alan Miller.

Video directed by Peter Sellars; © 1990. Courtesy

of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the

Music Center of Los Angeles County.

• Score excerpt: Short Ride in a Fast Machine ©

1986 by Hendon Music Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes

Company. Reprinted by permission. Score is available

from music stores. HPS 1150, Hendon Music Inc. 2

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LEVEL I Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

A sound story is a musical composition which purposefully conjures images, feelings and visions of an event, idea,environment or tale in the minds of those who hear it.

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

Students will be able to:

• Communicate a story idea using homemade and classroom instruments. (Artistic Perception and CreativeExpression)

• Understand and perform various rhythm patterns in direct relationship to a steady beat. (Artistic Perception)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment atthe end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing)

MATERIALS:

• A collection of homemade and classroom rhythm instruments.

• Artsource® video of Short Ride in a Fast Machine or an audio recording of the music.

PROGRESSION:

Preparation - Arrange the homemade and classroom instruments according to the manner in which their soundsare produced, i.e. tapping, shaking, scraping. Place them so that they can be easily seen by the students.

• As an introduction to viewing and listening to Short Ride in a Fast Machine, remind the students that the com-poser had to communicate his ideas without using words. (Refer to “Discussions Questions” on page 2 as an aidto listening.)

• Ask the students to listen to the music again, and think ofsingle words that come to mind as they listen.

• At the conclusion of the recording ask the students to sharethe words that came to mind as they listened. Write theiranswers on the chalkboard, or a chart.

• Tell the students that some of the words they suggested mayhelp them compose an original sound story about a very fastride. In their sound story they will use their homemade and

TRANSFORMATIONA SOUND STORY

MUSIC

4

classroom instruments instead of words, just as John Adams used instruments of the orchestra for Short Ride in aFast Machine.

• Remind the students that sound stories, like written or spoken stories, should have a beginning, middle and end.

• Solicit ideas for the theme of the sound story. Outline the ideas on a chart or the chalkboard.

• When the story outline is completed have the class begin to substitute instrumental sounds to re-create their storyin sound. Remind them that in Short Ride in a Fast Machine the steady beat, played by the woodblock was like the‘glue’ that held the entire piece together. Give them ample time to consider a number of ideas by trying out dif-ferent instrumental sounds.

• Begin by using a steady beat, then having the students try different rhythm patterns, played along with the steadybeat. Decide which instruments will play faster rhythms, slower rhythms, even rhythms, or uneven rhythms.Determine when each instrument will begin to play, and for how long. Decide when the sound story will get loud-er, or softer. Will there be times when everyone plays slower, or faster?

• Discuss the necessity for using a score. Will you use original notation, or standard notation?

• Decide whether you will need a conductor. Who will use the score, all of the players, or just the conductor? How will the players know when to play? Who will set the tempo of the steady beat? How will every-one keep together? How will the players know when to play faster, slower, louder, or softer? Decide on the signals.• When the story is completed give it a title. Practice performing the sound story, then invite another class to aperformance. As an incentive to listening, don’t reveal the title. Ask the visiting class to decide what the soundstory is about. After the performance, listen to their ideas. Share the title at the end of the activity.

EXTENSION:

• Create a different sound story, this time add vocal sounds to the instrumental sounds.

VOCABULARY: Conductor, Notation, Score, SteadyBeat, Tempo

ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing)

DESCRIBE: Describe your impressions of Short Ride in a Fast Machine.

DISCUSS: Discuss the sound story created by the class. Identify the parts that were strong and effective and the aspects that need refinement or reworking.

5

LEVEL II Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

Composer John Adams has created intricate and changing musical textures in Short Ride in a Fast Machine.Although the piece is primarily rhythmic, it is also enriched with a few melodic lines to create a marvelous tapes-try of exciting musical sounds.

The following lesson is designed to help students understand texture in music, and to better understand the intri-cate texture created by the many rhythmic and melodic lines in Short Ride in a Fast Machine. “Much like wovenfabric, music consists of horizontal (‘woof ’) and vertical (‘warp’) elements.” *

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

Students will be able to:

• Distinguish between several textures in selected compositions.(Artistic Perception)

• Graphically illustrate musical texture in selected compositions.(Artistic Perception)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences basedon this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (AestheticValuing)

MATERIALS:

• Artsource® video of Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Listen to before lesson and use “Discussion Questions” onpage 2.

• Autoharp (optional), songbells and/or resonator bells, rhythm instruments, drawing paper, crayons or coloredmarkers, familiar folk song with simple chordal structure.

PROGRESSION: (Consists of several instructional segments.)

PREPARATORY LESSON

• Have the children sing a familiar folk song in unison, without accompaniment. After singing the song,draw a wavy horizontal line on a chart or chalkboard to depict ‘melody sung alone.’

Example:

• Repeat the song. This time add chordal accompaniment, using an instrument such as resonator bells,autoharp, piano or electronic keyboard.

ENDURING VALUESWEAVING MUSICAL SOUND

MUSIC

* Apel, Will. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass: 19726

• Discuss the difference in musical sound created by adding the accompaniment. Draw the short, ‘triple-decker’lines under the melody line to depict the addition of chordal accompaniment.

Call attention to the horizontal (‘woof ’) and vertical (‘warp’) texture that has been created. Explain that the tex-ture of musical sound has become a little thicker with the addition of accompaniment.

• Present another familiar song in the same manner. Ask student volunteers to illustrate the two textures. Havethe entire class label each performance, as to texture (thinner/thicker).

• To either of the songs add rhythm accompaniments, one at a time. (Use rhythm instruments and/or body sounds.)Ask student volunteers to illustrate each addition. Use blank notation, or create original symbols.

• Discuss how the texture is becoming thicker and thicker.

• Add an ostinato, or countermelody to the same song. Have students illustrate this addition.

• Repeat the activity as necessary. Recorded examples can be found in the State Adopted Music Texts. Refer to‘texture.’

LESSON

(Have drawing paper and crayons or colored markers distributed to students.)

• Review what the students have learned about texture in music.

• Re-introduce Short Ride in a Fast Machine, explaining that they will listen, this time, for the musical texture.

• Play a short excerpt. Have the class decide whetherthe texture is thick or thin.

• Discuss the variety of lines, or patterns and differ-ent colors they might employ to illustrate the differ-ent sounds. Have a few volunteers draw examples.(wavy, jagged, swirly, crooked, disjointed, squiggly, etc.) Remind students that the illustrations will show the vertical and hori-zontal aspects of the music.

• Play the entire piece and let the students create their original illustrations of musical texture.

VOCABULARY: accompaniment, chord/chordal, countermelody, ostinato, texture

ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing)

DESCRIBE: Give descriptions of what you heard and how texture was created.

7

LEVEL III Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

In Short Ride in a Fast Machine John Adams has composed for a large symphony orchestra. Each section of theorchestra and the instruments within each section perform interesting and varied parts. Knowledge about the tonecolors, ranges, and capabilities of each instrument enabled the composer to write in a way that effectively communicated his ideas.

This lesson is designed to inform students about the four basic sections, or families of the orchestra, their generalcharacteristics, the manner in which their sounds are produced, and the individual characteristics, appearance, andsounds produced by each instrument within these families. On subsequent listenings to Short Ride in a FastMachine, the informed students should be able to listen on another level.

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

Students will be able to:

• Identify by ear and/or eye the four families of an orchestra and the instruments within each family. (Artistic Perception)

• Determine how instruments are used in Short Ride in a Fast Machine. (Artistic Perception)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment atthe end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing)

MATERIALS:

• Artsource® video of Short Ride in aFast Machine, posters, photographs andillustrations of instruments of theorchestra, written information aboutinstruments of the orchestra, paper andpencil, recordings of individual instru-ments of the orchestra.

• Sources: State Adopted textbooksand recordings and reference books (see Addendum).

PROGRESSION: (This lesson may be divided into more than one instructional segment.)

Note: In this lesson the ‘Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique’ will be used.

View the video, Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Review the “Discussion Questions” on page 2. Ask the

ENDURING VALUESTHE FAMILIES OF THE ORCHESTRA

MUSIC

students to identify the instruments that are familiar to them. Explain that the next activity will help them to learnmore about the instruments of the orchestra.

• Divide the class into teams of four. Assign each team member a different number from 1 to 4.

• Explain that each person in the team is going to receive different information about the four families of the orchestra. After they become ‘experts’ in learning their special information, they will share their ‘expertise’ withtheir team members. Later they will determine how well informed each team has become.

• Ask the students with like numbers to group together. You will have four groups. ‘Ones,’ ‘Twos,’ ‘Threes,’ and‘Fours.’

• Distribute the written information and pictures of instruments as follows: Ones - Strings, Twos - Woodwinds,Threes - Brasses, Fours - Percussion.

• If a Listening Post is available, provide listening times for each group to hear each instrumental tone color in theinstrumental family they are studying.

• Ask the students to read the material, examine the pictures of the instruments and reach consensus on the important aspects of each. Encourage them to take notes in order to return to their teams with comprehensive information. (Allow ample time for this activity.)

• Disperse the numbered groups to their original teams.

• Each ‘expert’ reports to team members in numbered order.

• Conduct a question and answer session in order for team members to reinforce the information received. Allow the teamsto request another Jigsaw session, if they feel it is necessary.

• Set aside short periods of time for the class to listen to recordingsof the instrumental tone colors of each instrumental group.

• View the video of Short Ride in a Fast Machine once again.

•Conduct a class discussion on how the information thatwas acquired about the instruments of the orchestra assisted them in listening to the music on a new level.

EXTENSION:

• Conduct a subsequent listening lesson on a different composition written by John Adams. Ask them tobe especially alert to discover how he employs the instruments, rhythms and melodies. Discuss findings.

VOCABULARY: jig-saw cooperative learning, brasses, instrumental families, orchestra, strings, percussion,woodwinds.

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ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing)

DESCRIBE: Describe the main characteristics of the instrument family you worked with.

DISCUSS: Discuss the main differences between the four instrument families.

ANALYZE: Discuss the music and how you felt about it when you first listened and how you felt when youbecame more familiar with the sounds.

CONNECT: Discuss experiences you have had where you felt differently about something after you gained moreexperience, knowledge and exposure.

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