Music Education Articles » Symphony Orchestra

An unusual instrument to teach about in your music class

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:02:28 +0000

Have a look at the length of the string, and discus the effect on its pitch Ask students to predict whether longer strings will create lower-pitched sounds or vice versa. Here is an interesting question to discuss with your students: Why do we use the word “high” to describe pitches of a higher frequency, when it has nothing to do with the height away from the ground?

Why do you think harp makers placed the shorter strings closer to the player and not the other way around?

Have a look at this idea you can use to demonstrate the workings of the harps pedals.

Background information: The double-action pedal harp has seven pedals. What happens is each pedal changes all the strings of one note name. Each pedal has three positions: top (flattens pitches by a semitone), middle (no change), and bottom (raises pitches by a semitone).There are three positions for each pedal: In the top position it lowers the pitch by a semitone, in the middle there is no change, and in the bottom it raises the pitch be a semitone. If all the pedals are in their centre position, the harp plays a C major scale

Procedure: On the whiteboard, draw seven pedals laid out from left to right (simple ovals or rectangles will do), and label them with the note names from C to B. You can then have the students follow along the whiteboard while you play the C major scale on a keyboard instrument. You can then play the scale again, and alter one note by either a semitone up or down. Ask the students which note was altereed, and in what direction it needs to be moved. You can then have one student run out the pedal in question and draw it again in the position you played. You could repeat this as many times as you wanted for a fun game. For a greater challenge, alter two or more notes.

If you have access to an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar, you can easily demonstrate the need for a resonator, both on the guitar on the harp. The electric guitar uses electric amplification instead of a resonator, but if the instrument is unplugged, it produces only a very faint sound. However an acoustic guitar is easy to hear because the body of the guitar is its resonator, amplifying the sound. The harp also would be far to quiet to hear without a resonator, so you can point it out to the students and demonstrate its function.

Teaching students about the orchestra and keyboard instruments in the music class

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:18:46 +0000

The piano has several less known cousins which are important for us to introduce into the music classroom: the celesta, harpsichord and organ.

Show and talk about the different aspects and characteristics of the keyboard instruments. The keyboard instruments are related to each other in that they are controlled by a similarly laid-out key mechanism. Technically, however, they belong to different instrument families according to how they produce sound.

Both the piano and the harpsichord are really stringed instruments. The hammers on the piano strike the strings, while the harpsichord mechanism plucks the string.

The pipe organ really belongs in the wind family. Wind is blowed through the pipes, sometimes like a whistle, and sometimes through a reed like a woodwind instrument.

The celesta is a compound idiophone like the glockenspiel, only it uses a keyboard mechanism rather than mallets.

Perhaps you might also discuss these things: the piano and the celesta have a single manual (row of keys), whereas some harpsichords and virtually all organs have multiple manuals. Pianos and organs have a very wide range while harpsichords and celestas have a more limited range.

This is a tiny sample of the music lesson plans on orchestral musical instruments from the Fun Music Company.

Lesson ideas to teach students about Tuned Percussion Instruments.

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:59:41 +0000

To help students understand how timpani can be tuned, demonstrate the effect of membrane tension on pitch. With a coffee can drum (see lessons on Untuned Percussion), pull on the edges of the drumhead to put varying degrees of tension on it, while a student plays a steady drumbeat on it. If the students have their own drums, pair them off and let them take turns repeating the experiment you just demonstrated.

Have a look at the keyboard percussion instruments, the xylophone, marimba and Glockenspiel, and show the students how they are laid out just like a piano. Students may enjoy making a “paperphone.” Cut rectangular bars of decreasing size out of colored construction paper and glue them to a posterboard or blank sheet of paper. You can then put labels on the bars. This makes your music lesson plan much more fun!

Demonstrate how resonance can amplify the sound of an instrument. Take an individual bar from a xylophone or Orff instrument or something similar and strike it both by itself and over a a hollow tube (e.g., PVC pipe). It may necessary to have a go first with the instruments around the school first to make sure you can clearly demonstrate this using your instruments.

Check out this recording to hear some great tuned percussion: Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, III. Adagio. This movement has prominent parts for xylophone and timpani. The timpani performs glissandi throughout, an excellent demonstration of its pitch capabilities.

A music lesson about the symphony orchestra’s conductor

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:27:07 +0000

These are all ideas that students can use to learn about the conductor in the orchestra. There is a complete lesson plan on this subject in Our Printable Music Lesson Plans Series.

What would happen to an orchestra if the conductor wasn’t there – could the musicians cope by themselves? Students will discover in this music lesson.

You can show the students the basic beat patterns for conducting, and have them practice using pencils or drinking straws as a baton Select individual students to choose a pattern, conduct it, and have the other students identify it. Practice the beat patterns at different tempos (slow, medium, and fast).

The size of the conducting gestures indicates dynamics (volume): large gestures = forte, small gestures = piano. Conduct a beat pattern and have students count the beats out loud; ask them to get louder and softer as you change the size of your gestures.

Articulation is also indicated by the conductor. Sharp gestures indicate staccato while smooth gestures indicate legato. Show the students these articulations and give students a chance to have a go at them.

Conductors also do a lot to convey the mood or emotion in the music. Ask selected students to convey a particular emotion (e.g., happy, sad, angry, triumphant, tender, etc.) while conducting a beat pattern. Have the students guess what emotion is being played.

Have the students listen to some music and have students conduct along with them. Folk songs or other familiar tunes could be a good place to start. To practice two beat in bar time, use a march; for triple time, use a waltz; for four beat time, use any of a huge variety of music.

Watch a video of a conductor conducting an orchestra. Ask them if they can see the beat patterns and techniques for expression, dynamics and articulation? Have the students identify the various Orchestral instruments and families

Learn about the Symphony Orchestra in Music Class

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:24:51 +0000

Here are a few ideas for lesson planning a lesson all about a Symphony Orchestra

Arrange the student’s seats as if they were an orchestra. Place the names of instruments on the appropriate desks, or affix name stickers to individual students. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.

Have a class discussion about the similarities and differences between different musical groups. What do Rock Bands and Symphony Orchestras have in common?

Discuss the relationship between the traditional sections of the orchestra and the Hornbostel-Sachs instrument classifications. (Strings are chordophones; woodwinds and brass are aerophones; some percussion instruments are membranophones, others are idiophones.)

What you could do is have a long term assignmore for the students to research and comment on the Hornbostel-Sachs categories of Chordophones, aerophones etc)

Discuss the science of musical instruments – the connection between vibration and sound

An excellent listening activity is to listen to Benjamin Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra A great activity is to have certain students stand up or do actions when their particular instrument or instrument family is heard This is a relatively lengthy composition (over 17 minutes) so you may want to do different sections on different days.

For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company

Lesson planning ideas for learning about the clarinet

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:18:22 +0000

Here are a few lesson planning ideas that you can use when learning about the clarinet in the music class.

You can Make rudimentary single-reed instruments. Gather the following pieces of paper and plastic combs, about 5cm x 5cm (two inches by two inches) To play it simply place the paper on the comb in line with the teeth and hold it with your thumbs. Simply blow to make a sound with your lips around the paper and the comb. Students will come to understand the idea of a single reed vibrating with this activity

Here are some great clarinet players that you can talk about in music class You could also give the students a class project to learn about one or more of these musicians/

Benny Goodman (1909-1986) was an American clarinetist best known for his jazz playing. Goodman was born in Chicago to Hungarian Jewish immigrants. He learned the clarinet very quickly and worked as a professional musician while still a teenager. Goodman led a band in New York City in the 1920’s and 30‘s. Goodman even became known as “The King of Swing” as his music was very popular during the swing era Benny Goodman is known as one of the best jazz clarinetists of all timse, as he continued to make recordings for the rest of his life He was one of the few jazz musicians to cross over to the classical realm and make recordings of well known classical pieces.

Thea King (1925-2007) was an important English clarinetist. She played with many different groups, but perhaps her most significant position was principal clarinetist of the English Chamber Orchestra from 1964 to 1999. She was inducted into the Order of the British Empire in 1985, becoming “Dame Thea King.”

Richard Stoltzman (born 1942) is a well known American classical clarinetist. He has made both classical and jazz recordings Studying at Ohio State University, he majored in both Music and Mathematics Orchestras around the world would love to have him as soloist

The first ever female member of the Berlin Philharmonic was a german clarinetist, Sabine Meyer The other members didn’t accept her, however, and after a short time she left to become a full-time clarinet soloist. She is also very involved in chamber music (music for a small group of players).

These are just a few ideas taken from the fun music company’s music lesson plans on instruments of the orchestra.

A Music Lesson on the Symphony Orchestra

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:10:17 +0000

This is a few lesson plan ideas that you can use when learning about the Symphony Orchestra

Arrange the student’s seats as if they were an orchestra. Place the names of instruments on the the students desks, or Give students name stickers to wear. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.

Discuss different types of musical groups (e.g., concert band, marching band, jazz band, rock band, choir). What are the similarities and differences between the orchestra and these other groups?

What you could do is have a long term assignmore for the students to research and comment on the Hornbostel-Sachs categories of Chordophones, aerophones etc)

Discuss the science of musical instruments – the connection between vibration and sound

An excellent listening activity is to listen to Benjamin Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra If you have assigned students to different instruments to the children’s seating positions above, they may stand or perform some action when their instrument is heard. This is a relatively lengthy composition (over 17 minutes) so you may want to do different sections on different days.

For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company

How to have a lesson about a classical orchestra

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:07:47 +0000

This is a few lesson plan ideas that you can use when learning about the Symphony Orchestra

Arrange the student’s seats as if they were an orchestra. Place the names of instruments on the the students desks, or affix name stickers to individual students. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.

Discuss different types of musical groups (e.g., concert band, marching band, jazz band, rock band, choir). What are the similarities and differences between the orchestra and these other groups?

What you could do is have a long term assignmore for the students to research and comment on the Hornbostel-Sachs categories of Chordophones, aerophones etc)

Discuss the science of musical instruments – the connection between vibration and sound

Then you could do a Guided Listening Activity featuring The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten, without narration. If you have assigned students to different instruments to the children’s seating positions above, they may stand or perform some action when their instrument is heard. This is a relatively lengthy composition (over 17 minutes) so you may want to do different sections on different days.

For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company

A few lesson planning ideas about orchestras

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:03:39 +0000

This is a few lesson plan ideas that you can use when learning about the Symphony Orchestra

Arrange the students’ seats as if they were an orchestra. Place instrument name cards on the the students desks, or affix name stickers to individual students. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.

Have a class discussion about the similarities and differences between different musical groups. What do Rock Bands and Symphony Orchestras have in common?

Here is an idea for a Long-term assignment: construct an instrument that demonstrates two or more of the Hornbostel-Sachs categories.

Discuss the science of musical instruments – the connection between vibration and sound

Then you could do a Guided Listening Activity featuring The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten, without narration. A great activity is to have certain students stand up or do actions when their particular instrument or instrument family is heard This is a relatively lengthy composition (over 17 minutes) so you may want to do different sections on different days.

For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company

An Orchestral Lesson Plan

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:50:16 +0000

This is a few lesson plan ideas that you can use when learning about the Symphony Orchestra

You can arrange the classroom like an orchestra. Place instrument name cards on the the students desks, or Give Students name stickers to wear. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.

Discuss different types of musical groups (e.g., concert band, marching band, jazz band, rock band, choir). What are the similarities and differences between the orchestra and these other groups?

Here is an idea for a Long-term assignment: construct an instrument that demonstrates two or more of the Hornbostel-Sachs categories.

Make the connection between vibration and sound. How do the different types of instruments create vibrations?

For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company