Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes

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1 Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes Teacher Study Guide for Grades 5 + This study guide is made available to orchestras performing Gregory Smith s Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes at no cost to the orchestra or school system. This document is, however, copyrighted and may not be sold, bartered, exchanged in trade, or used beyond immediate reference to the live performance of the work. In particular, the orchestras presenting the work may not charge any school system for the use of these guides. These guides are authored by Karen R. Stanton, a long-time public school music teacher who is certified both in Orff and Kodaly methods Geocoso Music. From Gail, Education Chairperson on the Arapahoe Philharmonic Board: I ve added and updated this Teacher s Guide. Feel free to send me any of your ideas and I ll post them. arapahoephilharmonic@gmail.com Some of the music in the Listening Sections of this guide are quoted in Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes. All examples can be found on UTube except the actual Greg Smith Bowl of Notes. There is a 5 minute excerpt you can listen to: 18

2 Part 1 CONCEPT: INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA The orchestra is made up of musicians who play instruments from four different families: The STRING family in which the player draws a bow across the four strings while the fingers press the strings in different positions to change notes. The WOODWIND family in which the player blows air through the instrument while covering finger holes to change notes. The BRASS family in which the player blows air through the instrument and presses valves or moves a slide to change notes. The PERCUSSION family in which the instrument is struck in some way. The Harp has strings which are plucked with the fingers. The STRING family includes: violins, violas, cellos, basses The WOODWIND family includes: flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons The BRASS family includes: horns, trumpets, trombones, tubas The PERCUSSION family includes: timpani, drums, chimes, xylophones, gongs, cymbals, woodblocks plus the harp and others. Activities 19

3 Do some of the students have mothers, fathers or relatives who play in the Arapahoe Philharmonic or any other orchestra? Call or write these players and invite them to: (1) demonstrate and describe the instruments that they play, (2) give a clear demonstration of the 12 different notes of music, (3) perform a piece or pieces from any of the four periods of music. Make sure it is clear to the students which period of music the music is from. Junior or senior high school instrumentalists could do some of the above. Some students in your class may be able to give some kind of demonstration of their instrument and play a piece. Locate large posters or pictures of the instruments from the library or music department. Music teachers may have reproducible pictures for study. If several classes are wanting to use these materials, you may need a sign-up sheet! Assign each student an instrument or family of instruments to learn about and then share with the class. For games to play involving instrument identification and families of instruments see chapter VIII of: A Galaxy of Games for the Music Class by Athey and Hotchkiss, published by Parker Publishing Co These are excellent games and are listed according to appropriate grades. CONCEPT: THE 12 NOTES of MUSIC All music is written with the same 12 notes. The notes are just put in different orders and different combinations to make different pieces of music. 20

4 Activities Have students bring their keyboards to class. Utilize a piano also, if available, and let a keyboard player who knows how, demonstrate the 12 different notes from A to G#. Be sure all can see the notes played. Prepare 12 large poster board squares with the 12 different note names: A A# (B flat) B C C# (D flat) D D# (E flat) E F F# (G flat) G G# (A flat). With two or three players at each keyboard, each one, in turn, plays the 12 notes, up or down, but in order. For most, this means they need to observe the piano player carefully. Have someone arrange the squares with a slight change in order, the piano player demonstrates the new arrangement of notes, and then all who wish, follow suit. Try different arrangements of notes, and different players. Try playing the notes in different places on the piano. Turn the note squares over and let each choose five cards, in turn, from which to make up their own melody. They can put them in any order and may put rhythm to their melody. If they can remember their melody, let several string their melodies together to make a longer melody. If they seem interested, let them work at this a while until they get what they want. Part 2 CONCEPT: MUSICAL PERIODS and STYLES Composers have used the same 12 notes to make music for hundreds of years. Each period of music sounds different because the way the composers arranged 21

5 the notes, the structure of the piece, and the different combinations of instruments they used. Try this web site: You will find games about composers and music literature to fit each grade level in chapter 7 of A Galaxy of Games for the Music Class by Athey and Hotchkiss and published by Parker Publishing Co. Gather together pictures of the clothing styles, wigs, furniture and architecture of each musical period as you study it. Find pictures of famous paintings that reinforce the qualities of each period. Find out the important inventions and discoveries of each period, who was president of the United States, and what else was going on in the world at the time. Bring out descriptive words of each period and write them down for display as the students study the pictures and listen to the music. Encourage artwork that brings out the qualities of each musical period or illustrates a particular piece. Consider dioramas and murals. Study the names and pictures of the great composers of each period. Learn about their lives and national identity. Learn their native countries. Individual reports can be assigned. Use all of your resources to make a display of the musical periods and styles. If drama is your strong point, improvise scenes from favorite composers lives. The Baroque Period After seeing pictures of the styles in wigs, clothing and architecture (see above), ask your students how they would expect the music to sound. Bring out words like fancy, elaborate, frilly, and decorated. Imitation (fugue) is a prominent composition technique. Strings hold the distinction of being prominent throughout most pieces with limited woodwinds. Listening to the Music 22

6 FAMOUS BAROQUE COMPOSERS: Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann, Corelli, Torelli BAROQUE MUSICAL EXAMPLES for LISTENING: Bach: Prelude in D Minor for Organ, Brandenburg Concertos Little Fugue in g minor for Organ Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Handel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks Telemann: Don Quixote Responding to the Music Recall from this excerpt the word IMITATION, having to do with the repetition of the short melodies. Pieces in which this occurred were called FUGUES. Play a game in which a student speaks a sentence or phrase. Student points to another to imitate who, in turn, points to another to imitate, and so on. Then select a leader. The leader speaks a sentence or phrase, points to individuals to repeat the sentence or phrase, sometimes overlapping the speakers. Emphasize the highness or lowness and the softness or loudness of the voices. They have just performed a spoken FUGUE. Other kinds of Baroque music include passions, cantatas, masses, concerti, preludes, fantasies, inventions, suites, toccatas, trios. If you have access to any of these types of music, play a little for them so they get the idea there are many different styles of Baroque music. Read a little background information before playing the pieces so that the students have a point of reference in their listening. Reports can be assigned if you wish. What pictures were conjured up in their imaginations? What moods were evoked? What instruments were clearly heard? Did they hear any imitation? [End of Baroque Period] The Classical Period 1750 early 1800s The music of this period was still decorated, but it was more mathematical and formulized, thus more organized. In this music you can clearly hear the important melodies. Symphonies organized the music into parts called movements that were fast, or slow, or had a special mood. The Classical Period adds more brass than the Baroque Era, but not as much as the Romantic Period. Along with the strings, woodwind instruments become a staple of the Classical Orchestra. Listening to the Music 23

7 FAMOUS CLASSICAL COMPOSERS: Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart CLASSICAL MUSICAL EXAMPLES for LISTENING: Early Beethoven First 3 Symphonies Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat, Symphony No. 94 in G ( Surprise ) Mozart: Don Giovani, Symphony No. 41 in C ( Jupiter ), Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A Symphony No. 25 in g minor Responding to the Music An example of a clearly stated melody with light accompaniment. Was it easy to follow the melody all the way through? Play again, responding in some way (raised hand vs. lowered hand) to loud or soft, full orchestra or just the strings. FAMOUS CLASSICAL COMPOSERS: Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart [End Classical Period] The Romantic Period The music of this period is about thoughts and deep feelings. Sometimes it is about deep love for another person, but it can also show the composer s deep pride in his own country. Sometimes the music tells a story of great adventure or mythical legends. Listening to the Music FAMOUS ROMANTIC COMPOSERS: Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Grieg, Dvorak, de Falla ROMANTIC MUSICAL EXAMPLES for LISTENING: Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Symphony No. 9 (last movement) Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu, Waltz in D-flat ( Minute Waltz ) Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain, Pictures at an Exhibition Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite 24

8 Responding to the Music In Slavonic Dance No. 8 by Czech composer Dvorak, we heard a folk tune. In Wagner s The Ride of the Valkyries, we hear an ancient legend brought to musical life. The story of the opera could be read. Replay the excerpts, and let them write a short story, bringing to life images that crossed their minds, as they listened to one or the other piece. Replay the excerpts, and let them produce a piece of visual art about one or the other. Responding to the Music Decide if the music represents the composer s native folk tunes, if it is based on a mythical legend, if it tells a story or represents deep thoughts or feelings. Art work, drama, videos Continue Activities listed on pages [End Romantic Period] The Modern Period th century In this period composers found new ways of expressing themselves with (1) new harmonies, (2) new sounds, (3) more use of percussion instruments and (4) new ways of using the 12 notes. Listening to the Music FAMOUS MODERN COMPOSERS: Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Gershwin, Copland, Berg, Schoenberg OTHER MODERN MUSICAL EXAMPLES for LISTENING: Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite, The Rite of Spring Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije Suite Gershwin: Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra, An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue Copland: Lincoln Portrait, El Salon Mexico, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo Fanfare for the Common Man Responding to the Music New harmonies: Is there a knowledgeable pianist or keyboardist around who can demonstrate new harmonies as opposed to the older ones? New sounds: The students should be aware of these from their digital keyboards and the music they hear daily. Discuss. Share some new sounds on digital keyboard, if possible. New ways of using the 12 notes: On piano, bells, marimba, etc. let any who wishes to improvise their own piece. Just be sure to use all 12 notes before you repeat one! 25

9 More use of percussion instruments: Divide class into small groups. They may use anything that can be struck as a percussion instrument as well as melodic percussion. Small amounts of voices, singing or speaking, may be added for interest. Each group should work out a percussive composition 1 2 minutes duration and then perform their work. Responding to the Music Write out a listening guide if you are so inclined. Dance. (especially The Firebird, An American in Paris, Appalachian Spring, El Salon Mexico) Visual art in various media such as paint, clay, video (created or purchased). Drama. (especially The Firebird) [End Modern Period] Putting It All Together MATCHING GAMES: Match pictures of apparel or architecture to musical periods that have been written out on cards. Match musical periods to the excerpts on CD or to the other musical examples you have heard. INVITATIONS: Invite the Principal to your room to view your displays and tell him or her about the different music you have been studying. After the Concert DISCUSSION What was your favorite instrument and why? Where was your favorite instrument on stage? What was your favorite piece? 26

10 What instrument would you like to play? Wasn t it fun to go to a concert with so many kids? Was this your first orchestra concert? Did you have a good time? THANK YOUs Write to the musicians who demonstrated their instruments and thank them. GREGORY SMITH Biography of the Composer Gregory Smith (b. 1957), a self-described severely eclectic composer, graduated summa cum laude from the Dana School of Music in 1980 and subsequently studied film scoring and arranging with Don Sebesky in New York City and Fred Karlin in Los Angeles. Smith s professional experience covers the entire range of the musical world from serious chamber music to Broadway to movie scores. His television music can be heard on all of the major networks as well as stations around the world. Current television credits include the themes for ESPN College Football, On The Inside for the Discovery Channel, and Market Week on CNBC. His many broadcast music credits include composing and orchestrating for all of the recent Star Trek sagas, promo music for WCBS, Headline News, Showtime, HBO, RTL in Germany, Sky TV in the UK and jingles and underscores for Kodak, AT&T, American Express, Mattel, Disney and others. Smith s musical theater experience includes arrangements and orchestrations both for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. Smith enjoys a long association with the Walt Disney Company. He has served as Composer and Music Supervisor for numerous productions at Walt Disney World, EPCOT, MGM Studios, Tokyo Disney and Euro Disney. Most recently, he composed and conducted the music for Starlight Magic, the nightly fireworks spectacular at Tokyo Disneyland and IllumiNations 25 at Epcot. He also recently arranged and conducted the songs for the animated features: Pooh's Grand Adventure and Pochontas II, Journey to a New Land. Among his many other film credits are Seven Days (Paramount) and additional music for The Mighty Ducks (II and III), and the orchestrations for Now and Then. For Warner Brothers, he composed and orchestrated animation music for Animaniacs, Tweety and Sylvester Mysteries, Pinky and the Brain and Road Rovers. 27

11 Most recently, Smith composed the music for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Paralympics which was performed by the Utah Symphony and chorus. Donny Osmond sang the centerpiece song, Inspire The Spirit, during the opening ceremonies. As a conductor, Smith has recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Seattle Symphony Orchestra as well as numerous recording studio orchestras in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Smith's concert works include orchestral, orchestral with narrator, choral and pops works. The Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, The Minnesota Orchestra and numerous others have performed his orchestral works. Smith has often appeared as narrator for these works with orchestras including the Toronto Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and many others. During 2002 and 2003, these works migrated to the UK, China, South Korea, Germany, and New Zealand. 28

TEACHERS STUDY GUIDE for. Teacher Study Guide for Grades 1 & 2

TEACHERS STUDY GUIDE for. Teacher Study Guide for Grades 1 & 2 TEACHERS STUDY GUIDE for Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes Mr. Smith s Bowl of Notes Teacher Study Guide for Grades 1 & 2 This study guide is made available to orchestras performing Gregory Smith s Mr. Smith s