Unit 3 Composers & Music History

Episode 2

The Classical Period

Neatness, balance, and order

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OVERVIEW

The Classical period, 1750-1820, was a period of balance and simplicity in music. This episode examines how a few musical geniuses inspired a new form of music. When a motor-mouthed wannabe shop assistant arrives, Quaver seeks to remedy her problem of talking too much by introducing her to the simple beauty of Classical music created by Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn. From the shop to the Quaver Symphony Hall, she gains an education in the Classical period and life in general.

LESSON OBJECTIVES Students will learn: • The sound of the Classical period was simpler and less fancy than the Baroque period. • The “question and answer” style – balanced musical phrases. • The lifestyle and fashions of the Classical period (1750-1820). • The differences between the Classical orchestra and the Baroque orchestra. • The most notable composers of the Classical period: Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Clementi.

Vocabulary Phrase Melodies String Quartet Balanced Ordered Classical

© Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music •

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Unit 3 Composers & Music History

MUSIC STANDARDS IN LESSON 1: Singing alone and with others* 2: Playing instruments 6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music 7: Evaluating music and music performance 8: Understanding the relationship between music and the other arts 9: Understanding music in relation to history, style, and culture Complete details at QuaverMusic.com

Key Scenes

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What they teach

Music Standard

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Gwenda is introduced to the balance and simplicity of Classical music

Classical music is organized in balanced and neat musical phrases like in a conversation.

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The Classical Period Show

An understanding of 18th century culture provides insight into what influences the popular style of music.

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Great Classical Composers

Some of the greatest works of the period were created by four notable composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Clementi.

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A performance of Mozart by the Quaver Symphony orchestra

To transform a Baroque orchestra into a Classical orchestra, it’s out with the harpsichord and in with additional instruments.

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Song: The Classical Period inspired by Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca

By adding lyrics to several well-known Classical works, Quaver provides a fun way to remember characteristics of the period.

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LESSON INTRO Introducing the episode

Select two students to come to the front of the class. Ask them to pretend that they are meeting for the first time and want to get to know each other. As they initiate a conversation, have everyone listen carefully. After two or three minutes, ask students to evaluate how the pair spoke to each other. Point out that conversations are usually a series of balanced sentences; there is a tendency to answer with the same length of sentence used to ask the question. Otherwise, it would be a very strange conversation. Demonstrate this by having a student ask you a question such as, “What is your name?” to which you respond in a very long-winded way. Music is like a conversation but with tunes. Sing the song Happy Birthday to You. Point out to students that the song is comprised of four equal phrases that are put together so each phrase builds on the previous phrase. Ask the students to sing it again; this time stop them between the phrases, saying aloud “phrase one” and so on. This episode looks at how music of the Classical period built neat musical phrases that balanced each other.

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* concepts included in the Teacher Guide, but not in the DVD

Discussion Points

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The Classical Period

PLAY EPISODE

• How did Classical music help Gwenda?

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it helped her to speak in balanced phrases Name three notable composers of the Classical period. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Clementi How did the orchestra change during the Classical period orchestra? it grew larger and the harpsichord was eliminated How was the Baroque cake different from the Classical cake? the Classical cake was less fancy

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CLASS ACTIVITIES

WhaMt iussaic Period?

Slow Is a Go

classify music (and other forms of art) by bracketing years of stylistic similarity. Although opinions differ, these are the most commonly recognized designations:

Use visual aids to assist students in listening to Classical music with slow tempos. As you play Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Andante (Track 1), you might blow bubbles and encourage students to move gently through the room, making no attempt to pop them. Or give each student a silk scarf to move to the music. For Haydn’s Symphony 101, The Clock (Track 2), students can make clock movements!

Historians

Renaissance Baroque Classical Romantic Impressionist

(1450-1600) (1600-1750) (1750-1820) (1820-1910) (1870-1910)

Tracks 1 & 2

Purpose: Appreciating classical music of slow tempo

Fast Is a Blast

Tracks 3 & 4

Purpose: Appreciating classical music of fast tempo

Play Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, 1st Movement (Track 3) and have students keep a steady beat with body movements (pat, pat, clap, clap). Note how long it takes for them to coordinate their movements to the beat. Then play Mozart’s A Musical Joke, 4th Movement (Track 4), and using new movements, note how quickly they adapt to the new tempo. Discuss with students how their movements changed. PRINT PRINT WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Ride the Classical Period Train

Worksheet # 1

Purpose: Useful facts about famous composers

Set up four chairs at the front of the room to be the Classical Period Train. Using the Great Composers worksheet, test students’ knowledge of the Classical period by asking a series of questions. For example: Which composer gradually lost his hearing? Beethoven When a student answers correctly, he or she gets to ride the train by taking a seat on one of the chairs. Once the “train” is full, allow the other students to ask questions to specific riders on the train. If an incorrect answer is given, the students swap places.

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Unit 3 Composers & Music History

Style Detectives

Tracks 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 Purpose: Recognizing music of the Classical period

Ask students to determine whether the following selections are or are not music from the Classical period. Pause between tracks to discuss the reasons for their decisions. Track 5 Cajun Cousins Track 6 Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, 2nd Movement - Classical Track 7 Rock ‘n’ Roll Track 8 Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.5, 3rd Movement - from the Baroque period (listen for the harpsichord) Track 9 Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, 1st Movement - Classical Track 10 Modernism - from the 20th century

Tracks 11, 12 & 13 VIDEO REPLAY The Classical Period



IWB 1

Purpose: Remembering the basics of the Classical period

Sing along with the closing song of the episode, The Classical Period (Track 11). The instrumental chorus played by the house band is actually a Classical piano piece by Mozart called Rondo Alla Turca (Track 12). The part Quaver sings is part of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C (Track 13). Discuss with students what makes a great melody.

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WEB ACTIVITIES

PhoneBox / Time Venues

Although invented in the latter part of the Baroque period, the piano replaced the harpsichord as the instrument of choice during the Classical period. Find out more about this amazing invention by visiting the world of Cristofori. Quick... to the phone box!

IWB

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Play activities on your INTERACTIVE White Board

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PhoneBox / Time Venues

Students can travel back to the Classical period to learn more about Beethoven and his remarkable music. They can also choose from several activities and games to explore his incredible life.

The Classical Period

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HOMEWORK

Great Composers of the Classical Period

Worksheet # 1

Purpose: Learning important facts about Classical period composers

Students can learn more about Classical composers from the take-home pages provided. Consider assigning them to learn the content for a quiz at the start of the next lesson. This document can be added to their other composer pages.

Composer Biography Purpose: Understanding and presenting the life of a famous composer

Assign students to research a Classical period composer of their choosing and prepare a presentation. They could create a poster with pictures and facts, dress a doll as a famous composer, or come dressed to make a first-person presentation as the composer. Be creative!

Additional session activities

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ASSESSMENT

Classical Assessment PRINT PRINT WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Track 14

Worksheet # 2

As students begin this assessment, play Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, 1st Movement (Track 14) to provide a relaxing environment. They should choose from the word bank the items that characterize music of the Classical period, name at least two composers, and jot down a minimum of two facts about each of the composers they name.

The phrase “Classical music” is used in two ways: to describe all orchestral music from any period and to describe one specific period, 1750-1820. Don’t get confused! 2-5

Unit 3 Composers & Music History

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CROSS-CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

Art

Tracks 2 & 4

Provide students with a piece of paper with a line drawn across the middle. Play two contrasting recordings of classical music: Haydn’s Symphony 101, The Clock (Track 2), which is slow, and Mozart’s A Musical Joke, 4th Movement (Track 4), which is upbeat. Students should draw a picture of whatever comes to mind upon hearing the two different pieces. Have students share their drawings. Ask them to detect the similarities among the pictures. Then have them to compare these pictures to their drawings from the Art cross-curriculum activity from the Baroque episode.

Social Studies

Materials Needed

IWB 2

Look at the historical headlines on the IWB. Instruct students to place events in date order on the time line. Compare and contrast what was happening on both sides of the Atlantic during the same time period.

- Paper - Colored pencils

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DIGGING DEEPER

Musical Form

Track 15 Purpose: How composers use theme and variations

Play the selected variations from Mozart’s 12 Variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (Track 15), and ask students to describe how Mozart was musically creative with a simple tune. In music, we call this form theme and variations. Give each student a ball to bounce a few times. Play the track again, asking students to create a new bouncing routine to accompany each variation they hear. PRINT PRINT WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Ode to Joy

Worksheet # 3 Track 16 Purpose: How different instruments express the same melody

Listen to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in D-minor, Ode to Joy (Track 16). Ask students to notice how the famous melody is played by different instruments each time it is repeated. Discuss with students how each instrument adds an unique interpretation to the melody. Challenge students to learn to play this melody on an instrument such as the recorder, Orff instrument, or piano.

Materials Needed - Bouncing balls - A recorder, Orff instrument or piano 2-6

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The Classical Period

TEACHER NOTES Featured Instruments

Recorder

Piano

Orff Instruments

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