ATLANTA CELLI Wednesday February 14, 2018 ALL AGES Compiled and edited by Melanie Darby Table of Contents About ATLANTA CELLI... 2 About the CELLO... 2 Special Topic: CHAMBER MUSIC... 3 Program Focus: MUSICAL STYLE AND THE CELLO... 4 PROGRAM REPERTOIRE... Error! Bookmark not defined. CROSS CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS... 5 STANDARDS... 5 REFERENCES... 7 ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 1 of 7
About ATLANTA CELLI Atlanta Celli is a group of four classically-trained cellists who push the boundaries of traditional cello music. While they enjoy performing the intricacies of classical music, they are just as likely to be found playing eclectic arrangements of rock and pop songs as well as their own original works, sometimes lending their voices to the sonorous mix. Whether on stage in a traditional concert hall or in a late-night rock club, Celli shatters any preconceived notions of what it means to be a cellist. For individual biographies of the four artists visit http://www.atlantacelli.com/about.html See standard MCC6.SP.1 on page 6 for activities. About the CELLO The Cello: The violoncello (cello) is a middle instrument of the violin family. It has four strings, and it produces sound when its strings are plucked or bowed. Even with only four strings, the cello has a large range that encompasses about four octaves. A musician achieves such a large range of pitches by placing her fingers at different points on each string. When a string is shortened by a performer s finger, the pitch of the string becomes higher than its original unhindered pitch. Celli are typically constructed with spruce and maple wood, and as athe instrument ages, the sound it produces increases in quality. The instrument was commonly held between the legs without using an endpin for support in the 18th century, and many cellists continued to hold the instrument in the old style well into the 19th century. The use of an endpin to provide support for the instrument began in the 18th century, gained increasing popularity in the 19th, and became standard by the early 20th century. Many modern cellists use a bent endpin to increase the instrument s angle and allow for the use of greater natural right arm weight. ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 2 of 7
The Bow: Bows are used to produce sustained sound from the strings of the cello. The cellist holds the bow in her right hand and pulls it across the strings to create an even sound. During the Medieval period, a bow was shaped like a bow used in archery, and the hair was simply tied to the bow. As the bow developed over time, a screw system was invented to hold the hair in place, and the stick and hair were designed to be parallel. Today standard bow sticks are made of wood, carbon fiber, or fiberglass, and they are typically strung with horsehair or synthetic hair. The bottom of the bow is called the frog, and the top of the bow is called the tip. 1 Special Topic: CHAMBER MUSIC Musicians are able to play their instruments alone or with a group of other musicians. When a cellist plays music alone, the music is considered a solo. A piece that includes only two people is called a duet, four players make a quartet, In larger situations, a violinist can be a member quartet, and more can make an orchestra. The possibilities are endless. The Atlanta Celli are a chamber ensembles. A chamber ensemble is a small group of 4-12 musicians. Examples of chamber ensembles include a clarinet choir, horn ensemble, double reed ensemble, or string quartet. Because chamber ensembles do not usually have a conductor, the musicians in the ensemble work together to learn the music and to lead each other through performances with eye contact, bodily cues, and of course the music in their part. INTRO MUSIC GAME PLAYING YOUR PART See standard S6E2 on page 6 for activities. 1 Chapter 1: The String Instrument Family, Strategies for Teaching Strings: Building a Successful String and Orchestra Program. ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 3 of 7
If you want to listen to the Atlanta Celli in advance or share your experience with others checkout their videos. http://www.atlantacelli.com/videos.html Check out Nan Kemberling s Always Room 4 Cello https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uphbvi2p_g Program Focus: TOGETHERNESS: THE SOUNDS AND STYLES OF THE CELLO What to listen for: Listen for high sounds and low sounds. Can you see which strings on the cello are used to produce higher pitches? Listen to how the Celli transition between one type of song and another (ie. Classical and Popular). Watch how they utilize the whole instrument when they perform and use multiple techniques to create musical pictures and emotional responses. About the Program: Many classical musicians will tell you about the time they caught the bug. They heard a certain sonata by Beethoven, symphony by Mahler, or aria by Verdi that knocked the air straight out of them. The depth of emotion heard in the music swallows them whole to the point where they can t imagine doing anything else in life except trying to recreate that indescribable experience of hearing great music. For many musicians, it isn t just classical music that makes them feel that way. Listening to music, making music inspires them to explore and communicate something more than just notes on a page. Chances are if you have turned on a radio within the past 10 years you may have noticed that the lush sounds of violins, violas and cellos are being heard more and more in popular songs. Some bands have even made a violin or cello a staple in their usual make-up. And why not? String instruments can achieve an incredible variety of sounds and blend well with about any other instrument. This also means that just about any song can have a string layer added to it or be re-imagined by a string orchestra and you will experience the song in a whole different way. 2 See standards and activities on page 7. 2 http://stringshiftmusic.com/blog/2013/8/22/pop-music-on-classical-instruments-even-better-than-it-sounds ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 4 of 7
CROSS CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS STANDARDS Page Standard Explanation Activity About the Artist 2 MCC6.SP.1 Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, How old am I? is not a statistical question, but How old are the students in my school? is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students ages. Read Atlanta Celli s short biography in this study guide or visit their website for the individual biographies and think about statistical questions you can create from the information provided. Examples: How many people in your class play a musical instrument? How many students in your class have an older sibling who plays a musical instrument? How old was each player when she began to study cello? What is a typical age to begin cello studies? About the Cello 2 ELACC8RI7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. ELAGSE6W2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. Pretend that you have to teach a third grade class about the cello and its bow. What kinds of media would you use in your presentation? Remember that some students may have never seen a cello before. The use of sound is also very important when teaching about musical instruments. Have your students write a review of the concert. Instruct them to include elements of information like genre and methods. Page Standard Explanation Activity Special Topic - Chamber Music/Musical Teamwork 3 MK-8GM.2-7 Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments Composing and arranging music PLAYING YOUR PART (non-musicians) Teams participating in musical team building will need musical instruments, but that does not mean you have to buy them. Instead, let groups ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 5 of 7
MESBB.2-7 MMSIB.2-7 MMSAB.2-7 MHSBB.2-7 MHSIB.2-7 MHSAB.2.7 MESBO.2-7 MMSBO.2-7 MMSIO.2-7 MMSAO.2-7 MHSBO.2-7 MHSIO.2-7 MHSAO.2-7 within specified guidelines Listening to, analyzing, and describing music Evaluating music and music performances Performing on instruments, alone and with others, through a varied repertoire of music Reading and notating music Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines Listening to, analyzing, and describing music YOUNG PEOPLE S CONCERTS get creative, exercising their brains and using problem-solving skills to make their own musical accompaniments. Team members can scavenge their location for inspiration with making musical instruments, such as the empty office coffee can and a couple of boxes of paper clips as a noise maker and some rubber bands wrapped around the coffee lid as a mini-drum. Encourage groups to work together to come up with the most original instruments, such as a cardboard paper mailing tube digideroo or cymbals made of garbage can lids. Each group should compose a short piece of music and perform it for each other. Evaluate the elements of music and the effectiveness of each presentation. PLAYING YOUR PART (musicians) Choose a simple melody or melodies that the group knows. Split into teams and have each group create an arrangement different from the traditional method. Can they add percussion? Play the melody on an alternate string? How did the new arrangement change the nature of the song? How does each member of the team contribute to the process? Evaluate the elements of music and the effectiveness of each presentation. Evaluating music and music performances ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 6 of 7
REFERENCES Bio. Atlanta Celli http://www.atlantacelli.com/about.html Hamann, D. L., 7 Gillespie, R. (2013). Chapter 1: The String Instrument Family. Strategies for Teaching Strings: Building a Successful String and Orchestra Program. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. http://stringshiftmusic.com/blog/2013/8/22/pop-music-on-classical-instruments-even-better-than-it-sounds ATLANTA CELLI/SOUNDS & STYLE OF CELLO Page 7 of 7