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The copyrights of all material in the pack including text, music and design are held by:

Copyright © Kay Charlton 2018

Copyright © London Symphony Orchestra 2018 All other copyrights are held by their respective owners This project pack may be copied and used for the purposes of the London Symphony Orchestra’s Voyager Key Stage 2 Summer 2018 project only. Unauthorised copying for any other purpose is strictly prohibited. For further information please contact: Elisabeth Munns LSO Discovery Level 6 Barbican Centre London EC2Y 8DS United Kingdom

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About the LSO and LSO Discovery 4

VOYAGER Introduction 5 Music you will hear in the concert 7

Classroom Projects

Project 1 – The Unanswered Question 9

Project 2 – Beethoven Symphony No 5 13

Project 3 – Space 15

Word Bank 16

The Song – Voyager 17

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The London Symphony Orchestra is bringing the greatest music to the greatest number of people. This is at the heart of everything that it does. This commitment to serve music and the people who love music is borne of a unique ethos developed over more than 100 years. Established in 1904 by a number of London’s finest musicians, the LSO is a self-governing musical collective built on artistic ownership and partnership. The Orchestra is still owned by its members and has a signature sound emanating from the combined zeal and virtuosity of these 90 brilliant musicians who come from around the world; its music-making remains firmly at the centre of the Orchestra’s activities. The LSO is Resident Orchestra at the Barbican in the City of London, where it gives 70 symphonic concerts every year, and performs a further 70 concerts worldwide on tour. The Orchestra works with a family of artists that includes the world’s greatest conductors – Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director, Gianandrea Noseada and François-Xavier Roth as Principal Guest Conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor Laureate and André Previn as Conductor Emeritus. LSO Discovery, the Orchestra’s community and education programme based at LSO St Luke’s, brings the work of the LSO with all parts of society and engages with 60,000 people every year. The LSO reaches out much further with its own recording label – LSO Live, the first of its kind which launched in 1999 – and now streams its own music to millions around the world.

LSO Discovery has, for the past 25 years, been one of the most important ways for the LSO to realise its mission of ‘making the finest possible music available to the widest number of people’. Through workshops, projects and master classes, LSO Discovery has become a world leader in taking the music and players of the orchestra into the community, and making the LSO relevant to the lives of thousands of people beyond the concert hall.

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This pack is designed to help you and your class prepare for the concert Voyager featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. 2017 marked the 40th anniversary since two unmanned spacecraft blasted off to explore the outer solar system from Jupiter and on to Neptune, expecting to arrive between 1979 and 1986. On Valentine’s Day in 1990, when Voyager 1 had completed its mission, before its system was powered down, NASA turned the cameras around to face Earth and took the first ever photograph of our solar system from outside. The earth appears as a tiny blue dot in the vastness of our galaxy. Voyager 1 continued flying and is now the first human made object to enter interstellar space travelling further than anyone or anything in history. It is expected to continue to send data until it loses the last of its power in 2025. On board is a golden record upon which are messages from planet earth. There are greetings in over 50 languages, the sounds of earth, from a waterfall to a heartbeat, a baby crying to a dog barking. There are photographs of the varied landscapes and to represent the soul, the inner life and emotion of the human race, there is music. In this concert, Kepler, a traveller from a distant solar system finds Voyager and the Golden Record. She contacts the LSO and the audience in the Barbican who help her to explore and understand music and its importance to all humankind.

When you come to the Barbican you will hear an exciting mix of music. This pack is designed to

help you and your class prepare for a truly interactive experience. It features some simple

activities you might do before or after the concert. At the back of this pack we have printed the

lyrics to Voyager, our participation piece, which we would love to hear the children singing along

with.

This exciting concert is a great way to introduce your class to the world of space and science as

well as music, so aside from musical activities outline in the pack, we hope it gives you the

chance to explore some other classroom ideas.

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The orchestra you will see at the concert is made up of four sections: the strings; the woodwind; the brass; and percussion.

The string family comprises violin, viola, cello and double bass. All these instruments are played with a bow or plucked with the fingers, a technique called ‘pizzicato’.

The woodwind family is smaller than the strings. The flute is the highest instrument followed by

oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.

The brass section includes French horns, trumpets, trombones and tuba. All brass instruments are played using vibrations from the lips.

Percussionists stand at the back of the orchestra and play tuned and untuned instruments, including enormous bass drums and timpani and smaller instruments like cymbals, xylophones and triangles.

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The opening fanfare is one of the best known space themes ever, as it was used in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Listen out for a low rumble on the double basses at the beginning and then watch the brass section and the timpani drums!

This exciting piece is one of the most performed pieces of orchestral music in the world! Imagine you are whizzing along in a sports car, how would you feel, what would you see? Listen out for the repeated patterns and watch the percussionist on the wood-block who plays all the way through.

Beethoven’s 5th symphony needs little introduction - the four notes of the opening motif are some of the most famous ever written - da da da daaaa! It was written in Vienna between when Beethoven was already experiencing deafness; for the last ten years of his life he was totally deaf and still he continued to compose. The symphony is written in the key of C minor and the opening notes have been compared to the sound of ‘fate knocking at the door’.

This piece, composed by one of Britain’s most famous composers, might be familiar to you; it describes the planet Jupiter and is full of famous tunes. A section of this piece is played at the end of the concert and we will ask everyone to join in singing with us. You might recognise it from a popular sporting fixture!

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This French composer was inspired by nature and often used the sound of birdsong in his music. He called this piece a ‘meditation for orchestra’, and it has a feeling of sadness about it, perhaps how it might feel in space (without birdsong).

This is a rousing piece by the Russian composer was written under Stalin’s watchful regime; it may even be a portrait of Stalin himself. It showcases all sections of the orchestra - listen out for flourishes in the woodwind and lots of different percussion instruments!

This piece was written by the American composer in 1908, but not performed until 1946. Ives was an experimental composer who was ahead of his time, creating collages of sound through layers of instrumental combinations - often completely unrelated, as in this piece. One of his most famous pieces is Central Park in the Dark (1906) which features all the clashing sounds you might hear whilst sitting on a park bench: marching bands, snatches of song and street vendors. He never made a living from music, knowing that his compositions were too experimental to be performed; instead he made a (good) living from selling a life insurance.

Music from the 1982 Steven Spielberg film about the alien who wants to ‘go home’.

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Here are some projects for you and your class to undertake which will help enhance your children’s understanding of the music before the concert. Please don’t worry if some of the examples we have used in the pack are a little tricky for your class. Every activity is adaptable, and designed to work with whatever means you have. They are not prescriptive and should encourage creativity from your students. When working creatively with instruments it is important to try out the children’s ideas as they suggest them. Nothing is ‘wrong’ with this type of creative work. We have included a word bank at the back of the pack so you can look up any musical terms you might not know. You can even look over these with your class.

Firstly, listen to The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives. (It is available on YouTube and Spotify). Explain to your class that the piece is a mystery. The Unanswered Question is a piece about communication gone wrong, mood and space - it is based around a question that never gets answered! There are three contrasting instrumental layers, bearing no relation to each other, creating a (somewhat chaotic) collage. In the concert, your students will get to watch an animated film alongside the piece, you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awdk4ip5kNQ. It is up to you whether you would like to leave it as a surprise for your students. It is animated by Victor Craven who is also creating the Voyager film for the concert! His animation is about scientific discovery - a great chance to combine cross-curricular topics in science, maths, art, nature and music.

The strings play the base layer for the piece (‘The Silence of the Druids’), playing expansive long notes using chords from the key of G that seem to barely move. Three example chords:

G major (G B D) B minor (B D F#) E minor (E G B)

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The ‘question’ motif played on the trumpet is based on a just a few notes with large jumps (or intervals) between them (‘The Eternal Question of Existence’). It is played with no time signature and the notes don’t fit with the chords from G major. It occurs seven times, identical each time except for the very last note which is changed, making it sound even more ‘unanswered’. Here is a version of the motif with notes that work on xylophones:

The ‘answers’ are played by the flutes (‘Fighting Answerers’) using clusters of notes, again unrelated to those played by the strings or trumpet. Their phrases begin gently with notes of long duration; as the piece progresses and they become increasingly frustrated, their notes get shorter, louder and their tone becomes angrier - ending con fuoco!

Try making up your own musical conversation based on the trumpet and flute motifs. What is the mood of the discussion? Does the question get resolved? If you don’t have the right notes in your classroom to make up the chords, just take out the F# or make up your own! Here’s some more notes to help you: Split your group into three, to represent the strings, trumpet and flute motifs. Use any instruments you like; give each group three characteristics: For example:

1. Strings ‘The Silence of the Druids’

Peaceful Harmonious - notes that fit together, e.g. G B D

Static/long notes

The ‘string’ section can also be created by playing an ostinato (a short repeated pattern or theme) on xylophone/glockenspiels, long, sustained notes on keyboards or un-tuned percussion sounds (shakers/tambourines). Use patterns based on the following notes

Chords on G B D / B D F#(if you have them) / E G B

G Pentatonic (G A B D E)

Scales up and down using (G A B C D E F# G)

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2. Trumpet line ‘The Eternal Question of Existence’

Questions Big jumps Space

Find a 5 notes sequence to play for your ‘question’. This can be played in any order, and

it’s great if it doesn’t match the sound of your ‘string’ section. Try and make it sound as

different as possible. As with the original, you could play it over the accompaniment 7

times and the children can decide how the melodies go

Make sure there is plenty of space in your questions, take your time

If you have them, some example notes could be Bb C C# Eb E as they work really well

with the accompaniment

3. Flutes ‘Fighting Answerers’

Answers Frustration/clashing notes Long short notes

Use clusters of notes - if possible any note that hasn’t already been used

Change the mood of your answers from ‘I don’t know’ to frustrated and angry!

Gradually change the duration of the notes from long to short

You can also use drums and hand percussion - play a roll for long notes and a sharp ‘bang’

for short notes.

Victor’s film includes some amazing mathematical equations. Make up your own musical equation using notes, symbols and numbers of your own choosing Here’s an example: Symbols Pitch = (move to higher or lower notes) Notes = G B C Em Bb F#, C#, Eb (these are the notes used in the string and trumpet parts) Intervals = 3, 7, 6 (jumps between the trumpet notes - count both the start and end note) Cluster = (a group of next-door notes played together) Duration: short = long =

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Turn your equation into a graphic score, how does it sound? You can use any cluster of notes and any symbols you like.

G

3

E

C C#

Eb

You can decide whether your piece has a time signature - is there a pulse or is it played freely? You can play each box as many times as you like or you can move straight from one to the next. Write your own equation to make up a conversation over layers of sound.

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are said to be in the ‘Golden Ratio’ if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller. Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of The Vitruvian Man (1492), which features in the animation, is often used as a symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, to the universe as a whole. The golden ratio is approximately 1.6180339887. There is a special relationship between the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 ... etc, each number being the sum of the two numbers before it). Spirals in nature, for example in the sunflower, are based on this sequence. Here are some spirals; how might we interpret them through music? The various shapes imply different movement, some move outwards, some go up, some are simpler than others.

Let’s take the first shape, a three-part black and white spiral. The Unanswered Question focuses on three of the inter-related dimensions of music - texture, dynamics and duration. The movement of the spiral could represent a musical characteristic of your choice - changing dynamics, thicker/thinner texture or longer/shorter duration. For more inspiration don’t forget the spirals that occur in nature - a snail’s shell, flower petals, a chameleon’s tail, ammonites, cyclones… Can you use any spirals for inspiration for Activity 1?

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This music was written around 200 years ago, how can we give it a contemporary feel? We are going to remix it! To create the drum track use body percussion to represent the drum kit. Slap your palm onto your chest (bass drum), click your fingers (hi-hat) and clap (snare drum); start slowly and gradually come up to a comfortable speed. Try this over a steady pulse, each box represents a quaver (quarter note), the ‘sh’ is a rest - silent. Body Percussion Pattern

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Clap x x

Click x x x

Chest x x x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Clap x sh sh

Click x x

Chest x x x

In Western staff notation it looks like this:

The next step is to put the pattern on to percussion instruments - decide which instrument

sounds best for each part of the drum kit. Make sure you play with a steady pulse.

Now let’s learn the melody; the four-note motif occurs twice, starting on beat 6. We will play it in

D minor using the notes A-F and G-E so that it fits easily on xylophones and glockenspiels.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A A A A

G

F

E

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A

G G G G

F F sh

E

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A

G

F

E E sh

Here it is in staff notation with the quaver counts over the notes:

Repeated section

D minor (D F A) A major (A C# E)

Learn the melody by singing it first - with a group counting to 8 to give a pulse, then put it on to

instruments. Next, combine the melody with the remix beat. Experiment with adding inter-

related dimensions such as dynamics or tempo changes to add contrast to the music (see the

Word Bank at the back of the pack).

If you have pupils who play guitar or ukulele you could find a strumming pattern to fit with the drum groove. Or they could play a simple pattern on tuned percussion to accompany, if anyone is keen. Let’s add a bassline or ostinato, here’s an example:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

D D D D

A A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

E E

A A A A

Staff notation:

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As an extension activity try improvising over your remix, the notes D F G A work very well. Try making up some new four-note motifs and have a question and answer discussion. Make it funky!

During the Second World War the Allies used Beethoven’s famous symphony as part of their ‘V for Victory campaign’, partly as a response to Nazi propaganda which used his music to represent the ‘German spirit’ That four-note motif was played on the timpani before every BBC wartime broadcast to Europe! The number five in Roman numerals is V; in Morse code V is dot-dot-dot-dash. V = Can you make up your own music based on Morse code? Choose a word or phrase and translate it into Morse code. This will give you a series of dots and dashes which you can turn into notes of short and long duration. If you want to make your piece ‘sad’ use a minor scale, starting (and finishing) on A; if you prefer ‘happy’ then start and finish on C to play a major scale (again, using the white notes).

The film that accompanies the concert was scripted by Gareth Davies, the LSO Principal Flute! Here are his suggestions for further work based on SPACE.

Interstellar Desert Island Discs - choose your favourite space music. What would you put on your Golden Record?

What one piece of music would you send into space to describe you? Your home? Earth?

What would you think if you were an alien hearing the music for the first time?

Write your own piece describing how you might feel alone in space, far from home. Think carefully about the number of instruments you use, how you use them and don’t forget that music needs...space…!

Write your own short ride in a fast machine. Decide what type of machine and where you are going first. You could even go on to draw your own fast machines

Create your own time capsule with your class for people to find in years to come. What would you put in it?

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Interval - the distance between two notes Motif - a short, recurring musical idea Con fuoco - a musical direction, literally ‘with fire’, meaning the music should be played with very energetically! Time signature - placed at the beginning of a piece to indicate the number of beats in a bar, e.g.

Cluster - a chord consisting of adjacent or ‘next-door’ notes Ostinato - literally ‘obstinate’, a repeated musical pattern. Usually quite short Triad - a three-note chord Pentatonic - a five-note scale Minor key - traditionally a ‘sad’ sound compared to a major key which is ‘happy’ Symphony - a large scale piece for orchestra, usually in four movements (or sections)

Pulse - a steady beat Dynamics - loud/soft Duration - long/short notes Pitch - high/low Tempo - fast/slow Timbre - the tone colour of the instrument, the Texture - thick/thin layers of sound

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At the concert the orchestra will play the song Voyager. Please teach this to the class so they can join in during the concert. The lyrics are printed below. Just listening to the song every day will begin the make the children familiar with it, but they will feel more confident if you take some time to work on it with them. Sung to the tune of Jupiter/I Vow to Thee my Country

Send our message out on Voyager A journey through the stars Passing Saturn after Jupiter To Mercury and Mars As it leaves the solar system Who can know what it will find Who will hear the golden record The music of mankind? Send our message out on Voyager To interstellar space Peace and friendship is our wish For the entire human race. As the message of our music That words cannot explain Is heard in the future Whilst we on earth remain. Send our message out on Voyager The galaxy to roam With the greetings of the people of This planet we call home

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