Listening for a Purpose
Mischa Maisky performs a cello solo of the Swan,
Ogden Nash poem of the Carnival of the Animals
Examples of some stimulus questions are below. Before a lesson, the teacher should carefully think about what questions they might ask and prepare them beforehand,
Structure:
Is there a verse/chorus structure?
Tone Colour:
What do you think the two instruments represent?
Describe how they are played.
Dynamics:
How would you describe the dynamics of the piece?
Duration:
Describe the tempo, rhythms
Pitch:
Are the sounds low or high?
This particular piece of music involves:
- gliding of the swan represented by legato - smooth and connected (you could contrast this with another animal who might be represented by staccato, e.g. kangaroo)
- The piece is soft/piano and swells
- Tempo is slow/adagio, and fluctuates - rubato which means robbing time i.e. changing tempo
Ice Dance by Danny Elfman
Soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands
Ask students to write down the words that they associate with this song. Why do they think Danny Elfman chose to use a music box? What instruments can you hear? What is the pitch of the singers (soprano)? These kinds of questions can lead to further discussion i.e. all the different sections in a choir.
A great idea is to ask students to close their eyes, and conduct along to the music. They should conduct in time with the music and with bigger gesture if it's louder - a great way for the teacher to see who is understanding the concepts in the class.
Composer John Williams talks about how he created Hedwig's theme
It is great to use interviews because children see the process and meaning behind certain instrumental choices. For example, John Williams describes the celeste as gossamer, light, bell-like, just like bird feathers floating.
Isn't She Lovely by Idea of North
An A capella group who use their voices to create instrument sounds
Wall of Sound by Naturally 7
Using only their own voices and some looping
If you chose to use this song to analyse structure, you would give children the lyrics. It has a chorus, verses, a bridge and an instrumental solo.
Roald Dahl's Goldilocks and the Three Bears
We finished up this lesson by pairing up and being allocated 6 lines each pair of this poem, applying musical concepts to reading it out. We considered dynamics, pitch and tempo to express what was happening in the story.
This famous wicked little tale
Should never have been put on sale.
It is a mystery to me
Why loving parents cannot see
That this is actually a book
About a brazen little crook.
Had I the chance I wouldn't fail
To clap young Goldilocks in jail.
Now just imagine how you'd feel
If you had cooked a lovely meal,
Delicious porridge, steaming hot,
Fresh coffee in the coffee-pot,
With maybe toast and marmalade,
The table beautifully laid,
One place for you and one for dad,
Another for your little lad.
Then dad cries, 'Golly-gosh! Gee-whizz!
'Oh cripes! How hot this porridge is!
'Let's take a walk along the street
'Until it's cool enough to eat.'
He adds, 'An early morning stroll
'Is good for people on the whole.
'It makes your appetite improve
'It also helps your bowels to move.'
No proper wife would dare to question
Such a sensible suggestion,
Above all not at breakfast-time
When men are seldom at their prime
No sooner are you down the road
Than Goldilocks, that little toad
That nosy thieving little louse,
Comes sneaking in your empty house.
She looks around. She quickly notes
Three bowls brimful of porridge oats.
And while still standing on her feet,
She grabs a spoon and starts to eat.
I say again, how would you feel
If you had made this lovely meal
And some delinquent little tot
Broke in and gobbled up the lot?
But wait! That's not the worst of it!
Now comes the most distressing bit.
You are of course a house proud wife,
And all your happy married life
You have collected lovely things
Like gilded cherubs wearing wings,
And furniture by Chippendale
Bought at some famous auction sale.
But your most special valued treasure,
The piece that gives you endless pleasure
Is one small children's dining-chair,
Elizabethan, very rare.
It is in fact your joy and pride,
Passed down to you on grandma's side.
But Goldilocks, like many freaks,
Does not appreciate antiques.
She doesn't care, she doesn't mind,
And now she plonks her fat behind
Upon this dainty precious chair,
And crunch! It busts beyond repair.
A nice girl would at once exclaim,
'Oh dear! Oh heavens! What a shame!'
Not Goldie. She begins to swear.
She bellows, 'What a lousy chair!'
And uses one disgusting word
That luckily you've never heard.
(I dare not write it, even hint it.
Nobody would ever print it.)
You'd think by now this little skunk
Would have the sense to do a bunk.
But no. I very much regret
She hasn't nearly finished yet.
Deciding she would like a rest,
She says, 'Let's see which bed is best.'
Upstairs she goes and tries all three.
(Here comes the next catastrophe.)
Most educated people choose
To rid themselves of socks and shoes
Before they clamber into bed.
But Goldie didn't give a shred.
Her filthy shoes were thick with grime,
And mud and mush and slush and slime.
Worse still, upon the heel of one
Was something that a dog had done.
I say once more, what would you think
If all this horrid dirt and stink
Was smeared upon your eiderdown
By this revolting little clown?
(The famous story has no clues
To show the girl removed her shoes.)
Oh, what a tale of crime on crime!
Let's check it for a second time
Crime One, the prosecution's case:
She breaks and enters someone's place
Crime Two, the prosecutor notes:
She steals a bowl of porridge oats
Crime Three: She breaks a precious chair
Belonging to the Baby Bear.
Crime Four: She smears each spotless sheet
With filthy messes from her feet.
A judge would say without a blink,
'Ten years hard labour in the clink!'
But in the book, as you will see,
The little beast gets off scot-free,
While tiny children near and far
Shout, 'Goody-good! Hooray! Hurrah!'
'Poor darling Goldilocks!' they say,
'Thank goodness that she got away!'
Myself, I think I'd rather send
Young Goldie to a sticky end.
'Oh daddy!' cried the Baby Bear,
'My porridge gone! It isn't fair!'
'Then go upstairs,' the Big Bear said,
'Your porridge is upon the bed.
'But as it's inside mademoiselle,
'You'll have to eat her up as well.'
I thought this week had so many useful ideas that I will be able to implement in the classroom, and listening really lends itself to bitesize lessons, integrated lessons (as in Goldilocks), as well as full length music lessons.
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