the power of listening our orchestra community lesson3.pdfour orchestra community: the power of...

3rd – 6thGrades

Our Orchestra Community: The Power of Listening

Lesson 3 – Our Orchestra Community

ObjectiveStudents will become familiar with Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. With suggestive imagery from Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s original poetry they will practice active listening in order to identify musical elements such as tempo, dynamics, tonalities, and meters. Students will be able to identify the four instrument families and the standard instruments in an orchestra both through sight and sound.

Suggested Materials• Recording of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (audio links can be found at youtube.com/user/BfloPhilharmonic)

• Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s original poetry written for the Britten (provided)

• Word Bank (provided)

• Instruments of the Orchestra worksheet (provided)

New York State Arts Standards1 – Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts3 - Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art4 – Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts

Common Core Learning Standards for ELA & LiteracyReading, CCR 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 Writing, CCR 3, 4 and 11 Speaking & Listening, CCR 1, 2, 4 and 5Language, CCR 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Procedure1) Begin the lesson by asking students how they think an orchestra is like a community. Take all ideas and

write them down. When all possible answers have been collected, then read Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s introductory poem, “This Orchestra.” Were there any new ideas in the poem that the class did not think of? Add these to your list and see if any new ideas were sparked through the poem reading.

2) Hand out the Word Bank to students and take a look at the suggested words. Then, read Amy’s second poem titled, “When You Listen.” Discuss, what are some ways in which we can actively listen to music?

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3) Now, depending on the time available you may choose to explore Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in a number of ways. Using a recording of the Britten, the Word Bank, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s poems and the Instrument Worksheet you might offer students any of the following experiences:

• Active Listening: Give students the Word Bank to reference while listening. Then play the theme (includes each instrument family) and/or some variations for students. Ask them to listen carefully and select some words from the Word Bank that match what they are hearing. Ask students for other words that come to mind as they listen. Expand the Word Bank to include your new words to assist in future listening.

• Meter Study: Play the trumpet variation for students (Variation K). Ask them to feel the pulse of the music. Is it duple or triple? Demonstrate a conducting pattern in 2. Ask students to conduct with you, making sure they match the tempo. Which beat is strong? Which beat is weak? Then repeat the exercise while listening to the violin variation (Variation E). Is this pulse in duple or triple? Demonstrate a conducting pattern in 3 and ask students to conduct with you, feeling the strong beat as one.

• Imagery: Select one of Amy’s poems along with its variation. Read the poem for students and then play that variation, suggesting that they close their eyes and try to see the imagery. Ask them how the poem matched the music. How did it help them listen for specific qualities in the music? Invite students to describe the pictures they had in their minds while listening.

• Poem Writing: Now, select one variation to listen to without reading the accompanying poem. After listening carefully, ask students to describe the music in their own words. Use the Word Bank to select some appropriate words. Encourage students to imagine pictures or a scene as they listen to the variation. Invite students to write their own poems to introduce the variation. Share the poems afterwards, again listening to the variation, discussing how the poems match the music.

• Contrasts: Select some contrasting variations to play for students. For example, play the flute variation (Variation A) and the oboe variation that follows (Variation B). How are they different? Use appropriate vocabulary – what tempo are these two selections? Which one would you say is presto and which one is largo? Select two more contrasting variations, such as the viola variation (Variation F) and the trombone and tuba variation (Variation L). What dynamics do they hear? Which one is forte and which one is piano?

• Visual Cues: While listening, complete the Instruments of the Orchestra worksheet to become more familiar with the instruments by sight.

• Make Art: Explain to students that music often inspires visual artists as well as writers. Play a variation, inviting students to draw or paint during or after listening to the music. Or, you may choose to read one of Amy’s poems, play a variation, and invite students to respond to both…to create visual art to match both variation and poem. This would be a lovely collaboration with the art teacher.

• Online Resource: Explore this interactive online link with students if you have access to computers. www.tinyurl.com/bbrittenguide

Lesson 3 – Our Orchestra Community ( c o n t i n u e d )

20172018

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3rd – 6thGrades


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Name ______________________________________________________________________________

Add your own words to this list

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Which words describe

tempo?


meter?


dynamics?


tonalities?

WORKSHEET

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3rd – 6thGrades


Name ______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 3 – Our Orchestra Community WORKSHEET

STRINGS WOODWINDS BRASS PERCUSSION

For each instrument, check the box of the Instrument Family that it belongs to:




















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