Exploring Music Series 1

Teachers can use this lesson plan for the elementary grades that teachers can use with King FM's educational series, Exploring Music.

Friends and colleagues remember Zoltán Kodály for the tall tales he used to share at the local pub. Most of these stories were obvious exaggerations, and some might have been outright lies. But one of Kodály’s stories actually seems plausible: he said this particular composition was inspired by the sound of the clock he heard at Viennese court during Emperor Napoleon’s regime. More info about Kodaly and the Musical Clock: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=32 Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGm__iVsaNI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsdi1LTK7HQ http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133196.mp3

You probably recognize the melody in the first part of this piano piece—but did you know that song wasn’t originally called “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”? The English nursery rhyme we’ve all heard is actually based on a French folk song called “Ah, vous dirai-je, maman,” first heard when Mozart was a child. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGln8LFA8Qw One of Mozart’s favorite meals! http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-liver-dumpling-soup-i-leberklosse-44280 Exploring Music On-Demand: http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133550.mp

Operatic sopranos sure can sing high, but few are up to the lofty challenge of this aria—the Queen of the Night’s “Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen,” or “The Vengeance of Hell Boils in my Heart.” The aria reaches a high F, which in the opera of Mozart’s time was virtually unheard of. These days, the Queen of the Night’s aria is considered the biggest highlight in the world’s most widely performed opera. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ODfuMMyss Additional links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ijwfRTv0o&feature=related http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133931.mp3

Sometimes, composers feel like venturing outside the traditional realm of classical music. Even those who typically wrote music for standard instruments—strings, woodwinds, brass, piano—liked to experiment every now and then. In this piece, Mozart spices things up with a glass harmonica, which produces a sound akin to a set of tuned wine glasses! YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE_MZzvigd4 Additional links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WZExmtIJkI http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133932.mp3

Robert Schumann wrote this 43-piece collection for his own three daughters. The first 18 pieces are written for kids to perform, and the rest are for grown-ups…but kids who practice enough could learn every single one! Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNdlYvbujQw More info about Schumann: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=50 http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133433.mp3

A musical “Romance” might evoke scenes of an English countryside, complete with sheep, rolling hills, a sunrise and…a harmonica?! Only a genius composer such as the English Ralph Vaughan Williams could take the ol’ Mississippi Saxophone and make it sound downright pastoral! YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm-Y7hg6sOw Additional links: http://free-reed.net/history/harmonica.html and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vpNaFh34G0 http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133700.mp3

Tchaikovsky wrote this piece, now one of the most famous classical pieces in the world, because he was proud of Russia’s successful defense against the invasion of Napoleon’s French army in 1812—so it’s only fitting that the piece calls for a cannon in the orchestra! Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0cpKzDoOdA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNatwyAJ6dI History of Cannons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cannon Exploring Music On-Demand: http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133622.mp3

No ordinary insect—this bee is really a prince! The music comes from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of Tsar Sultan.” More info about Rimsky-Korsakov: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=43 Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QV1RGMLUKE http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133178.mp

As a soloist, Paganini used to purposefully break two or three of his violin strings during performances, playing an entire piece on just one or two strings and wowing his audience. It’s awe-inspiring to imagine the Italian composer playing “La Campanella” with one string—most violinists find the piece challenging even with unbroken violins! Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWaOnqmtr9U&NR=1&feature=fvwp Local virtuosi in Seattle: http://seattlevirtuosi.org/content.php Exploring Music On-Demand: http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133625.mp3

Pictures at an Exhibition was originally written for piano, but there have been many orchestrations of the piece. The most famous is by Maurice Ravel. The first picture in Mussorgsky’s musical exhibition is a sketch for a nutcracker shaped like a gnome. More info about Mussorgsky: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=37 Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T_aY52jMMY http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133180.mp

Don’t worry, that whipping sound you hear at the beginning of the piece isn’t from a real whip. The sound is produced from a wooden instrument whose two pieces slap together loudly. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbI4c2os6YU http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3134215.mp

Watch the legendary Hungarian conductor Arturo Toscanini conduct one of Beethoven’s most famous works. At its premiere in 1824, the piece was considered modern, dissonant and slightly controversial, but in the present day, the composer’s last symphony is considered one of the greatest classical works of all time. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt7pPKXDhPc Additional links: http://hornworld.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/mahler-and-toscanini-at-the-met/

What is an instrument, anyway? In a typical symphonic piece, you’ll probably hear strings, winds and brass. But composer Leroy Anderson loved to use ticking clocks, sleigh bells and more in the orchestra to subvert audiences’ expectations. One of Anderson’s biggest instrumental surprises was a typewriter, heard here. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2LJ1i7222c Additional links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GCBJPDCUF0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKjGRYOAs4&feature=related and http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/typrwriter.htm http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133662.mp3

Can you spot the difference between this and other orchestra pieces? What’s missing from the musicians’ hands? That’s right—the bow! The technique of playing a stringed instrument by plucking its strings is called “pizzicato.” YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5KRqc7Hud4 Additional links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzicato http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3134041.mp3

Jean-Baptiste Lully loved to incorporate social commentary into his compositions. In this satirical ballet, the composer pokes fun at the snobbish high society of 17th century France. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMvpvDjFvHA Additional links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Roi_Soleil_%28musical%29

Gustav Holst originally wrote “The Planets” for a piano duet, but he couldn’t bear to hear his “Neptune” movement played this way. He believed Neptune was too distant and mysterious a planet to be represented by a piano, so he composed this movement for an organ. Later, he decided to score the whole work for an orchestra. Hear this performance, conducted by Eugene Ormandy—do you think it sounds as mysterious as Holst wanted it to sound? YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZuASfyQSK4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BrZZP0eC3o&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9bh6ZEKrNE Additional links: http://www.andre-previn.com/ http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3134212.mp3

Most opera composers might challenge performers by writing fast rhythms or dizzyingly high notes. But Gilbert and Sullivan broke the mold by introducing a new challenge: the tongue-twister! Just try reading the title from this funny aria five times fast—we dare you! YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3lClC75Ek Additional links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BPaOChXn6g and http://www.bugclinic.com/woodchuck.htm http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133659.mp3

A quick look at the opera that opened with terrible reviews but later became one of Bizet’s most popular works: Carmen! Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efhDiPSKE5Y More info about Bizet: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=7 http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133431.mp3

Gershwin loved to use hints of jazz and ragtime music, popular in the 1920s and 1930s, to spice up his classical compositions. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZcdSgc0BsQ (Gershwin’s “Walking the Dog”) More info about Gershwin: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=23

Handel wrote “Water Music” for King George I, who requested that a concert be played from a barge as he and his friends floated down the River Thames in London. Can you tell this was written to be played outdoors? What is the clue? It is the instruments. Handel used wind instruments, especially horns, because their sound carries much better outside. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRNmXwNnB9w&feature=fvst More info about Handel: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=26

It’s not clear Chopin actually had raindrops in mind when he wrote this. The German pianist Hans von Bülow gave it the name “Raindrop Prelude,” not Chopin himself. Nevertheless, to this day, the popular recital piece is still compared to the sound of soft, drizzling rain. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDYB-4lGtjk More info about Chopin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133181.mp3

When legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, heard here, played a comeback concert in New York, 57th Street was lined with hordes of fans hoping to score a ticket. When Horowitz heard about the crowd waiting outside in the cold, he immediately ordered hundreds of cups of coffee to thank them for their undying support! YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x93pwAvUkAA Additional links: http://www.berdichev.org/vladimir_horowitz_new.html http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133702.mp3

Bugs Bunny played it. So did Tom and Jerry. But few actual humans dare to take on this beloved masterpiece. Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” is widely considered to be one of the most difficult piano pieces ever composed. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9-2jM5RNSs More info about Liszt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisztomania_%28phenomenon%29 Exploring Music On-Demand: http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133624.mp3

It’s said that Felix Mendelssohn’s sister, Fanny, served as the inspiration for his series of short, lyrical piano pieces called “Songs Without Words.” Fanny herself wrote a few similar pieces, one of which can be heard here. YouTube recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ClJtFxmPhQ Additional links: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200156440/default.html And http://oboeclassics.com/~oboe3583/ambache/women.htm http://filesource.abacast.com/king/music/exploringmusic/3133699.mp3

You’ve heard this theme before. It’s in everything from the Disney movie “Fantasia” to cleaning product commercials. But you might not have known it comes from Grieg’s orchestration for a Norwegian play called “Peer Gynt.” Listen as the theme starts in the low instruments and continues in the higher instruments—until all the musicians finally come together. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLZl-hhbXDI. More info about Grieg: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=25