Music Discovery Day Part of the:

Sound Discovery

Community Engagement Programs

Presented by:

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

Stephen Gunzenhauser, Music Director

May 26, 2015 9:30 AM & 11:00 AM

J.P. McCaskey High School School District of Lancaster

May 27, 2015

9:30 AM & 11:00 AM Good Shepherd Chapel Lancaster Bible College

You may listen to this year’s concert repertoire by following the link to the 2015 playlist on the Music Discovery page of the Symphony website (www.lancastersymphony.org)

1. The Star-Spangled Banner 2. Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man

3. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, III. Rondo. Allegro scherzando 4. Copland, Lincoln Portrait

5. Williams, Star Wars Medley 6. Gillis, Symphony No. 8, Movement IV. Low Down Hoe-Down

7. Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever

National Standards Addressed: 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments

5. Reading and notating music

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music

7. Evaluating music and music performances

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Pennsylvania Academic Standards Addressed:

9.1 A, B, D – Production and performance of music

9.2 A, B, E, L – Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.3 A, B, C, F – Critical Response

9.4 D – Aesthetic Response

At the Concert: • Once you have arrived and are seated in the auditorium,

take a look at the stage. You will notice that the orchestra is organized in the shape of a fan. The violins will be on your left. Moving to the right you will see the violas, cellos and basses. Behind the strings are rows of woodwind players (flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons) and brass players (French horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba). You will find the

percussion section in the far left corner of the stage behind the violins.

• Once all of the musicians are on stage, the concert is about to begin! Watch for the first violinist to enter the stage. It is appropriate to applaud as he walks to the front of the orchestra.

The first violinist is called the concertmaster. • Listen quietly as the concertmaster tunes the orchestra.

He will ask the oboe to play an A, or he might play an A on the piano. The musicians will take turns playing pitches to compare with the oboe’s or piano’s note. The musicians might make small adjustments to their instruments so that they will sound their best when the whole orchestra plays together.

• Following the tuning of the orchestra, when all is quiet, the conductor will enter the stage. Welcome him with applause!

• Listen silently as the orchestra performs. This allows the musicians to concentrate on their music and other members of the audience to enjoy the performance. You may clap after each piece is performed. The conductor might invite you to clap along to a piece. Watch for when he signals you to start and stop!

• During the concert, a student guest soloist will be introduced. Welcome her with applause! • After the concert ends, check for personal items such as hats and jackets before leaving

your seat. • Exit the building quietly and orderly, following your teacher’s instructions. • If you would like to write thank you notes to the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, they may

be sent to: Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

Attn: Director of Community Engagement

P.O. Box 1281

Lancaster, PA 17608-1281

Meet the Artists:

Stephen Gunzenhauser, Music Director, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

Stephen Gunzenhauser has been Conductor and Music Director of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra since 1979. He completed 23 years as the Music Director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra in Wilmington, DE before concentrating on the Lancaster Symphony.

Dr. Gunzenhauser enjoys conducting in foreign countries. He has conducted in Europe and Great Britain, South America, Canada, Korea, Hong Kong and Israel. The Maestro’s recordings have sold over two million copies. In August 2006, Maestro Gunzenhauser started an international music festival in northern Pennsylvania, the Endless Mountain Music Festival. Now entering its tenth season, the festival continues to grow, featuring highly talented artists.

Born in New York City and a graduate of its High School of Music and Art, Dr. Gunzenhauser received a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. He also holds an honorary doctorate degree from Widener University. He has been awarded three Fulbright grants and has an Artist’s Diploma from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Dr. Gunzenhauser enjoys competitive tennis, golf and gourmet cooking. He resides in Lancaster with his wife Shelly. Both of their daughters are grown and live in Los Angeles, CA.

Ami Hatori, first place winner of the 2015 Student Solo Instrumental Competition

Ami (“ah-mee”) Hatori was born and grew up in Matsumoto City, Nagano, Japan, in 2000. She moved to the United States in 2013 with her parents, her brother Shota and sister Amane. They live in Leola and Ami is currently an 8th grade student at Conestoga Valley Middle School. She started taking piano lessons in her hometown when she was 8. She has competed in and won a number of piano competitions in Japan including the Chopin Competition for young pianists.

She is a student of Dr. Anita Renfroe, Director of Keyboard Studies at Millersville University. Ami performed her first piano concerto with orchestra last spring at Conestoga Valley Middle School and will perform another there this spring. Ami received superior ratings in the Pennsylvania Music Teachers’ Dorothy Sutton Festival last fall and will play an international program (15 pieces) in the Guild auditions in May. She enjoys performing onstage, and has always wanted to play with a full orchestra. She will present the last movement of Beethoven’s first piano concerto with the Lancaster Symphony. Her favorite composer is Frederic Chopin. When she is not practicing piano, Ami likes to read books and play with her dog Suki. Her hopes to study music in a university and perhaps study and play in Europe one day.

Meet The Program:

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

The Star-Spangled Banner

The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States of America. Francis Scott Key wrote the words to our national anthem after watching the Battle of Fort McHenry. This battle took place on September 13-14, 1814, during the War of 1812. Fort McHenry is in the harbor of the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore and the battle was between the United States and the

Royal Navy of England. Mr. Key watched the battle from a British ship a few miles away. He was sent there to free an American prisoner who was onboard. The Royal Navy kept firing their cannons all night. Mr. Key couldn’t tell if the United States was winning the battle until the very next day when he saw a great big American flag waving “in the dawn’s early light!”

Mr. Key loved to write poetry so he wrote a poem about the battle. He titled it “Defense of Fort McHenry.” Mr. Key was later inspired to turn the poem into a song. He paired the words with a popular British melody of the time. The catchy tune and words became well-known. Before the War of 1812, the flag was used mostly to identify ships and forts. However, Mr. Key’s song transformed the flag into a national symbol of American values.

The United States Navy started using the patriotic song in ceremonies in 1889. In 1931, the Congress and President Herbert Hoover declared it our national anthem. There are four verses, but we typically sing the first verse.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

September 14, 2014 marked the 200th anniversary of Mr. Key’s legendary poem!

Fort McHenry has a unique star-like shape.

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Fanfare for the Common Man

Aaron Copland (pronounced COPE-land) was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. As a young man, Copland studied how to write music in Paris, France. Copland’s early compositions were inspired by jazz and American pop music.

Some of his most famous works, like Rodeo and Billy the Kid, include American folk tunes. These pieces tell stories of the Wild West. Copland also wrote music for movies. Copland became famous for writing music that captured the American spirit. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. joined World War II, the biggest war in human history. While millions of soldiers fought overseas, those at home in America also helped in the war effort. Factories stopped making their usual goods and started making airplanes, tanks, and weapons. School children collected rubber and scrap metal. Even musicians got involved. In 1942 the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony asked a group of composers to write fanfares that paid tribute to the war effort. Fanfares are short musical pieces for brass and sometimes percussion. Fanfares are often used to make an important announcement. For this challenge Copland wrote Fanfare for the Common Man. At first, Copland thought of calling the piece Fanfare for the Spirit of Democracy, or Fanfare for the Day of Victory, or Fanfare for Four Freedoms. In the end he decided “it was the common man . . . who was doing all the dirty work in the war . . . He deserved a fanfare.” Copland’s famous fanfare is performed in concert halls and public ceremonies alike. The simple mix of brass and percussion creates a sense of pride and courage in the face of danger.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 Movement #3: Rondo--Allegro scherzando (lively, playfully) Ami Hatori, piano

German composer Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the most important composers in the entire history of classical music. He first learned to play the piano and violin from his father. As a composer, Beethoven created music that was more difficult for performers to play and more difficult for audiences to understand than composers that came before him. Through his adulthood, Beethoven suffered from a gradual loss of hearing. Beethoven was completely deaf the last nine years of his life.

Our 2015 Solo Instrumental Competition winner, 8th grader Ami Hatori, will be the piano soloist for the orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto (pronounced “con-CHAIR-toe”) No. 1 in C major. A concerto is a piece for one or more soloists and orchestra and is designed to show off the soloist. Beethoven finished this concerto in 1797. Concertos are usually written in three parts, called movements. Ami will play the third movement marked Rondo--Allegro scherzando (pronounced “scare-TSON-doh” which means “joking” in Italian). The movement you will hear has a really fast tempo or pace and a sparkly sound.

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Lincoln Portrait

Aaron Copland composed Lincoln Portrait and Fanfare for the Common Man in the same year! In fact, Lincoln Portrait was composed first. After the U.S. joined World War II, a conductor named André Kostelanetz thought the American people needed encouragement. He wrote to a few composers asking them to write music inspired by great Americans. Each piece would be a musical portrait. A portrait is a painting or photograph of a person. Does your school or family have portraits taken each year?

Kostelanetz suggested George Washington, Paul Revere, and Babe Ruth as ideas for these musical portraits. Copland considered the poet Walt Whitman as his subject but changed his mind. He decided to write a piece inspired by our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.

In keeping with his American style, Copland included two folk songs in this composition, “Springfield Mountain” and “Camptown Races.” He also did something special with his musical portrait. In addition to the orchestra, Copland created a part for a speaker. The speaker recites passages from letters and speeches by Lincoln. Some important people have appeared as the speaker during performances of this piece: Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.; General Norman Schwarzkopf, the U.S. Army general in the Persian Gulf War; and James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Lincoln was president during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He worked to end slavery and unify the country. Why might Americans during the Second World War take courage from the words of President Lincoln, which were written decades earlier?

John Williams (b. 1932)

Star Wars Medley

Think of some of your favorite movies. Now think how different they would be if they had no music! The adventures would be less thrilling and the magical moments more ordinary. One man has been helping filmmakers tell their stories through music for over 60 years! John Williams has written music for some of the best loved movies ever.

Williams grew up in a musical family. He studied piano as a boy and later learned the trumpet, trombone, and clarinet. While serving in the Air Force, he arranged

band music and began conducting. Williams went on to study piano at the Juilliard School in New York City and composition in Los Angeles, CA.

In the 1960s Williams wrote music for television shows like Gilligan’s Island and Lost in Space. His work in television eventually led to the big screen. Williams has frequently partnered with filmmakers Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas to bring movies like Jaws, E. T., the Star Wars series, the Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park, and Hook to life. Williams also scored the first three Harry Potter movies. In addition to film music, Williams has composed music for the Olympics as well as many concert pieces. He was the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 12 years and has guest conducted top symphony orchestras across the U. S.

The medley you will hear the Lancaster Symphony perform will include the Main Title and Princess Leia's Theme. The first theme uses lots of brass instruments. It sounds as though a great hero has just arrived! Musical pieces for brass instruments that sound like an important announcement is being made are called what? (Hint: Copland wrote one for the common man.)

Donald Gillis (1912-1978)

Symphony No. 8, A Dance Symphony

Movement #4: Low Down Hoe-Down

Born in Missouri, Donald Gillis spent much of his life and career in the state of Texas. He was a performer (trombone), composer, conductor and teacher. From 1937-1954, the NBC network operated the NBC Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra performed radio, television and live concerts. The famous Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini led the orchestra. Working behind the scenes was Donald Gillis who was a producer and scriptwriter for the radio programs.

Toscanini and Gillis were friends and the conductor was a fan of Gillis’ music. Gillis was inspired by jazz and pop music of his day. He was not afraid to translate these styles to the symphony orchestra. Much of Gillis’ music is light, energetic, and funny. The four sections or movements of his Symphony No. 8 are titled Juke Box Jive, Deep Blues, Waltz (of sorts), and Low Down Hoe-Down. It is difficult not to smile or tap your toe while listening to the music of Donald Gillis!

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)

The Stars and Stripes Forever

John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. in 1854. He had a wide musical career as a performer, conductor, and composer. From 1880-1892 he was the conductor of the Marine Band and became an American icon as “The March King.” Sousa composed 136 marches. One of his most popular marches, The Stars and Stripes Forever, became our nation’s official march. It was composed on Christmas Day 1896.

Sousa also started the Sousa Band in 1892. The popular band enjoyed tours across the U.S. and Canada. While on vacation in Europe, Sousa

needed to return home early to help with managing the Sousa Band. It was during his voyage home that he created this famous melody.

Sousa died in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1932. He was 77 years old. He was in Reading leading rehearsals of the Ringgold Band. The last piece he conducted was The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Fanfare for the Uncommon Form

When you get ready for school in the morning, do you do things in a certain order? How about when you get ready for bed? It wouldn’t make much sense to jump into a pile of snow before putting on socks and boots, would it? Look at the pictures in each row below. They are not in the correct order. Put them in order by writing the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 beneath each picture.

A.

_____ _____ _____ _____

B.

_____ _____ _____ _____

C.

_____ _____ _____ _____

Listen to Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Video links to the pieces can be found at: http://www.lancastersymphony.org/CommunityEngagement/MusicDiscoveryExperience/MusicDiscoveryVideos.aspx. Do the brass and percussion play at the same time or does one play after the other? _____________________ This is called call and response. In call and response, instruments sound like they are having a conversation.

Here is a map of Copland’s famous fanfare.

Music often follows a certain order, too. In music, we call that order form. Musical forms are like maps for our ears. As we listen to music, we can track our “location” because of the form of the piece. Let’s look at the form of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Do you remember which two families of instruments perform this piece?

Circle one. Is it:

A. woodwinds and strings B. strings and brass C. brass and percussion D. woodwinds and percussion

Find the instrument card sheet on the following page. Cut out the instruments along the dotted lines. Shuffle the squares. Listen to Fanfare for the Common again. Without looking at the map above, see if you can place the instruments in the correct order as you hear them. Add the last percussion card to the three-brass card for the final seconds of the fanfare. When finished, check your order with the map above.

The percussion joins the brass for the final seconds. We’ve

reached our destination!

Intergalactic Intervals

When composers write a melody, they can choose from sounds or pitches that are high, low, or somewhere in between. Pitches can move from a low sound up to a high sound or from a high sound down to a low sound. Pitches can also be repeated. The distance between two pitches is called an interval.

Sometimes pitches move up or down to a pitch that is right beside it. These are called steps. When counting intervals, you must begin by counting the given or starting pitch.

The blue arrow shows a movement upward of three steps. Since Do is the starting pitch, we begin counting with Do (Do, Re, Mi). Start at the top step (Do’) and draw an arrow showing three steps down. Which step did you end on? Circle one: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do’

Follow the directions below. Use the steps to the left. Track your moves by pointing with the eraser end of a pencil.

• Start on La. • Move up one step. • Counting the step you are on, move down three

steps. • Counting the step you are on, move down four

steps. • Move up six steps. Include the step you are on. • Where did you end? ___

Sometimes pitches move up or down by skips. They skip over a neighboring pitch to land on the very next pitch in line. Below, Do’ skips over Ti and moves down to La. Start at the bottom step (Do) and draw an arrow showing two skips up.

Fill in the blanks:

Do skips ___ and ends on ____. Mi skips ___ and ends on ___.

Follow the directions below. Use the steps to the left. Track your moves by pointing with the eraser end of a pencil.

• Start on Re • Move up one skip • Move up two skips • Move down one skip • Where did you end? ___ • Start on Ti • Move down one skip • Move down two skips • Move up one skip • Where did you end? ___

Pitches can also jump great distances! These are called leaps. Draw an arrow showing the alien how to leap from Fa down to Do and then from Do up to Ti.

Star Wars Contours Once a composer decides what pitches to use (high, low, and in between), which direction the pitches will move (up, down, or repeated), and how they will move (by step, skip, or leap), he or she can create musical sentences called phrases. When all of the steps, skips, and leaps are combined, we can trace the melodic contour, or shape of the melody.

Listen carefully to the first part of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. (Video links to the pieces can be found at: http://www.lancastersymphony.org/CommunityEngagement/MusicDiscoveryExperience/MusicDiscoveryVideos.aspx). Pay close attention to the melodic contour, or how all the pitches move.

The stars below represent the melodic contour of the trumpets at the beginning of this piece. Listen to the introduction once more. When you hear the trumpets change pitch, point to each star.

In this theme, which does Copland use the least? Steps, skips, or leaps? ______________________

Copland often used larger intervals when composing his melodies. This creates a vast and open sound.

Listen to the main title from Star Wars. (Video links to the pieces can be found at: http://www.lancastersymphony.org/CommunityEngagement/MusicDiscoveryExperience/MusicDiscoveryVideos.aspx). As you listen, hold your hands flat in front of you. Move your hands up and down as the melodic contour changes. Listen closely to when the pitches move up and down and whether they move by a small distance (step or skip) or a big distance (leap).

On a clean sheet of paper, create a symbol that represents pitch. Listen to the opening main theme from Star Wars and draw your own representation of the melodic contour. You may need to listen to it a few times. When finished, play it again while pointing to your symbols.

Did you notice that John Williams uses quite a few leaps in his melody? Just like Aaron Copland! This gives the piece a heroic sound.

A Musical Portrait

1) Aaron Copland was asked to compose a piece of music inspired by a great American. It was to be a “musical portrait.” If you had to create a musical portrait of a great American, whom would you choose? An athlete? A military hero? An artist, actor, musician, or writer? Maybe a family member? Write his or her name on the line below then draw his or her picture in the frame.

2) What instrument or instruments would you use in your musical portrait? Why?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3) Describe how your piece of music would sound. Loud, soft, fast, slow, low in pitch, high in pitch, happy, sad?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

At the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra’s Music Discovery Experience, you will hear the fourth part or movement of Don Gillis’s Symphony No. 8. It is titled Low Down Hoe-Down. Gillis uses many different instruments to portray this lively barn dance! Play the YouTube recording of this piece and answer the following questions as you listen. (Video links to the pieces can be found at: http://www.lancastersymphony.org/CommunityEngagement/MusicDiscoveryExperience/MusicDiscoveryVideos.aspx).

1) I notice that the melody: A. Is performed by one section of the orchestra. B. Jumps from section to section within the orchestra.

2) I hear violins playing a fast melody. At times they create a buzzing sound! A violin that is played in a country style is called a:

A. Banjo B. Cello C. Fiddle D. Classical guitar

3) About halfway through the piece, I notice that the speed (tempo) changes. This middle part sounds fast/slow (circle one). I hear an instrument playing all by itself. Which instrument is it?

A. French horn B. Clarinet C. Xylophone

4) What is the mood of the solo mentioned in question three?

A. Happy and silly B. Jazzy and soulful C. Angry and loud

5) Throughout the hoedown, I hear woodblocks from the percussion section/woodwind section (circle one). The hollow rhythmic sound is mimicking: A G __ L L __ __ __ N G __ O R __ E

6) This type of dance shares its name with a shape. They are very popular at hoedowns! A person usually calls out which steps the dancers are to perform next. What am I? A __ __ __ __ __ __ DANCE!

Beautiful-Hill-Without-Text[1].svg

Think of the many voices you hear each day. How are they alike? How are they different? Your father’s voice might be similar to your grandfather’s voice, but they are also different. Your voice might sound similar to a friend’s voice, but they too are different. Even a baby’s cry is different from another baby’s cry. The characteristic sound of a voice or instrument is called timbre (TAM-ber). Synonyms (words that have a similar meaning) for timbre include tone quality and tone color.

The timbre of an instrument depends upon how the instrument creates sound and what the instrument is made of. There are four families of instruments in the orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Using a computer or your local library, explore more about the timbre of instruments by completing the following.

String Family

1. What are string instruments made of?

2. How do they create sound? (Name two ways.)

3. Describe their timbre.

Woodwind Family

1. What are woodwind instruments made of?

2. How do they create sound?

3. Describe their timbre.

Brass Family

1. What are brass instruments made of?

2. How do they create sound?

3. Describe their timbre.

Percussion Family

1. What are percussion instruments made of?

2. How do they create sound? (Name three ways.)

3. Describe their timbre.

Now Try This!

Visit http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/homemade-musical-instruments-shakers-maracas/

OR research other sites on how to build your own homemade shaker instrument. Listen how the timbre of the shaker changes just by how you play it!

Play your shaker by:

• Shaking it above your head. • Shaking it behind your back. • Rocking it left and right. • Holding it with both hands. Cover as much of

the shaker with your hands as possible. Now shake.

• Holding the shaker by its top. Move it in a stirring motion.

• Rolling the shaker across the floor. • Knocking on the shaker with your knuckles. • •

What other ways can you play your shaker? Add your ideas to the list above.

Join the Orchestra: Play a recording of Gillis’s Low Down Hoe-Down. Pick a method for playing your shaker and play along to the music! When it gets to the slow clarinet solo, change how you play. You may want to kneel on the floor and gently roll the shaker back and forth between your hands to create a lazy, sweeping sound! When the fast tempo returns, pick a new method for playing your shaker.

The Timbre Test: Challenge a classmate or family member to the Timbre Test! You and your partner should face away from each other. Take turns playing the shaker each of the different ways listed above while the other guesses how it was played. Listen carefully for the subtle changes of timbre.

Film music

Concert music featuring American folksong and dance

Patriotic music

Concert music for soloist and orchestra

ROLE CALL – CATEGORIES OF MUSIC Each of the pieces you will hear at the Music Discovery concert was created for a special purpose. After becoming familiar with each of the works, draw a line to connect the music titles on the left with their role on the right. Some titles will have more than one role! 1. The Star-Spangled Banner 2. Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man 3. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, Movement III. 4. Copland, Lincoln Portrait 5. Williams, Star Wars Medley 6. Gillis, Symphony No. 8, Movement III. Low Down Hoe-Down 7. Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Music Discovery Experience 2015

Recommended Websites

The Smithsonian’s Star-Spangled Banner website boasts a wealth of history, quizzes, and activities focused on the national anthem and our nation’s famous flag. http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/default.aspx

These websites include lesson plans and activities for classroom use.

http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/educational-resources.aspx

http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/classroom/elementary/please-stand-national-anthem/

http://www.webwranglerdesign.com/Music/WebSite/PDF/TheNationalAnthem-Packet.pdf

Fanfare for the Common Man

http://www.classicsforkids.com/activitysheets/july2011.pdf

Instruments of the Orchestra

http://www.dsokids.com/listen/by-instrument.aspx

Homemade Shakers

http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/homemade-musical-instruments-shakers-maracas/

This link provides informative podcasts about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in music. Recommended ages: 13-18.

https://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/series/AudioStories/abraham-lincoln-and-music#About

Answer Key Fanfare for the Uncommon Form

When you get ready for school in the morning, do you do things in a certain order? How about when you get ready for bed? It wouldn’t make much sense to jump into a pile of snow before putting on socks and boots, would it? Look at the pictures in each row below. They are not in the correct order. Put them in order by writing the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 beneath each picture.

A.

__3__ __ 1__ __4__ __2__

B.

__4__ __3__ __1__ __2__

C.

__3__ __2__ __1__ __4__

Listen to Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Do the brass and percussion play at the same time or does one play after the other? One plays after the other.

This is called call and response. In call and response, instruments sound like they are having a conversation.

Here is a map of Copland’s famous fanfare.

Music often follows a certain order, too. In music, we call that order form. Musical forms are like maps for our ears. As we listen to music, we can track our “location” because of the form of the piece. Let’s look at the form of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Do you remember which two families of instruments perform this piece?

Circle one. Is it:

A. woodwinds and strings B. strings and brass C. brass and percussion D. woodwinds and percussion

Find the instrument card sheet on the following page. Cut out the instruments along the dotted lines. Shuffle the squares. Listen to Fanfare for the Common again. Without looking at the map above, see if you can place the instruments in the correct order as you hear them. Add the last percussion card to the three-brass card for the final seconds of the fanfare. When finished, check your order with the map above.

The percussion joins the brass for the final seconds. We’ve

reached our destination!

Answer Key Intergalactic Intervals

When composers write a melody, they can choose from sounds or pitches that are high, low, or somewhere in between. Pitches can move from a low sound up to a high sound or from a high sound down to a low sound. Pitches can also be repeated. The distance between two pitches is called an interval.

Sometimes pitches move up or down to a pitch that is right beside it. These are called steps. When counting intervals, you must begin by counting the given or starting pitch.

The blue arrow shows a movement upward of three steps. Since Do is the starting pitch, we begin counting with Do (Do, Re, Mi). Start at the top step (Do’) and draw an arrow showing three steps down. Which step did you end on? Circle one: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do’

Follow the directions below. Use the steps to the left. Track your moves by pointing with the eraser end of a pencil.

• Start on La. • Move up one step. (Ti) • Counting the step you are on, move down three

steps. (Ti, La, So) • Counting the step you are on, move down four

steps. (So, Fa, Mi, Re) • Move up six steps. Include the step you are on.

(Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti) • Where did you end? Ti

Sometimes pitches move up or down by skips. They skip over a neighboring pitch to land on the very next pitch in line. Below, Do’ skips over Ti and moves down to La. Start at the bottom step (Do) and draw an arrow showing two skips up.

Fill in the blanks:

Do skips Re and ends on Mi. Mi skips Fa and ends on So.

Follow the directions below. Use the steps to the left. Track your moves by pointing with the eraser end of a pencil.

• Start on Re. • Move up one skip. (Re to Fa) • Move up two skips. (Fa to La, La to Do’) • Move down one skip. (Do’ to La) • Where did you end? La • Start on Ti. • Move down one skip. (Ti to So) • Move down two skips. (So to Mi, Mi to Do) • Move up one skip. (Do to Mi) • Where did you end? Mi

Pitches can also jump great distances! These are called leaps. Draw an arrow showing the alien how to leap from Fa down to Do and then from Do up to Ti.

Star Wars Contours In this theme (Fanfare for the Common Man), which does Copland use the least? Steps, skips, or leaps? Steps.

Copland often used larger intervals when composing his melodies. This creates a vast and open sound.

Listen to the main title from Star Wars. As you listen, hold your hands flat in front of you. Move your hands up and down as the melodic contour changes. Listen closely to when the pitches move up and down and whether they move by a small distance (step or skip) or a big distance (leap).

On a clean sheet of paper, create a symbol that represents pitch. Listen to the opening main theme from Star Wars and draw your own representation of the melodic contour. You may need to listen to it a few times. When finished, play it again while pointing to your symbols.

The student’s symbolic representation of melodic contour should look similar to the following.

ANSWER KEY for Don Gillis’s Symphony No. 8. Low Down Hoe-Down.

1) I notice that the melody: A. Is performed by one section of the orchestra. B. Jumps from section to section within the orchestra.

2) I hear violins playing a fast melody. At times they create a buzzing sound! A violin that is played in a country style is called a:

A. Banjo B. Cello C. Fiddle D. Classical guitar

3) About halfway through the piece, I notice that the speed (tempo) changes. This middle part sounds fast/slow (circle one). I hear an instrument playing all by itself. Which instrument is it?

A. French horn B. Clarinet C. Xylophone

4) What is the mood of the solo mentioned in question three?

A. Happy and silly B. Jazzy and soulful C. Angry and loud

5) Throughout the hoedown, I hear woodblocks from the percussion section/woodwind section (circle one). The hollow rhythmic sound is mimicking: A GALLOPING HORSE

6) This type of dance shares its name with a shape. They are very popular at hoedowns! A person usually calls out which steps the dancers are to perform next. What am I? A SQUARE DANCE!

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Think of the many voices you hear each day. How are they alike? How are they different? Your father’s voice might be similar to your grandfather’s voice, but they are also different. Your voice might sound similar to a friend’s voice, but they too are different. Even a baby’s cry is different from another baby’s cry. The characteristic sound of a voice or instrument is called timbre (TAM-ber). Synonyms (words that have a similar meaning) for timbre include tone quality and tone color.

The timbre of an instrument depends upon how the instrument creates sound and what the instrument is made of. There are four families of instruments in the orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Using a computer or your local library, explore more about the timbre of instruments by completing the following.

String Family

1. What are string instruments made of? String instruments are made of a hollow body of wood with strings stretched over a bridge.

2. How do they create sound? (Name two ways.) The strings must vibrate to create sound. Musicians can pluck the strings with their fingers or draw a bow across the strings to make them vibrate.

3. Describe their timbre. Warm, rich, voice-like

Woodwind Family

1. What are woodwind instruments made of? Woodwind instruments are made of a long tube of wood. The flute and saxophone, however, are made of metal.

2. How do they create sound? A woodwind player blows against a reed or thin piece of wood which vibrates and creates sound. Flute players blow air across an opening on the flute. The air vibrates and creates sound.

3. Describe their timbre. Round, light, clear. Double reeds like the oboe sound pinched or nasal.

Brass Family

1. What are brass instruments made of? Brass instruments of the orchestra are made of metal (brass) tubing that is turned and twisted into different shapes.

2. How do they create sound? A brass player buzzes or vibrates their lips against a cup-shaped mouthpiece. Their air travels through the instrument and creates sound.

3. Describe their timbre. Bright, metallic

Percussion Family

1. What are percussion instruments made of? There are hundreds of types of percussion instruments! Drums are often made by stretching a skin over a cylinder. Cymbals and gongs are made of metal while woodblocks and marimbas are made of wood. Each percussion instrument has a unique voice.

2. How do they create sound? (Name three ways.) Strike, shake, or scrape

3. Describe their timbre. Percussion instruments can be pitched or unpitched. They are known for providing rhythm but can also provide melody and create atmosphere. Their sounds include booming, crashing, ringing, knocking, rattling, and many more!

Film music

Concert music featuring American folksong and dance

Patriotic music

Concert music for soloist and orchestra

ANSWER KEY ROLE CALL – CATEGORIES OF MUSIC Each of the pieces you will hear at the Music Discovery concert was created for a special purpose. After becoming familiar with each of the works, draw a line to connect the music titles on the left with their role on the right. Some titles might have more than one role! 1. The Star-Spangled Banner 2. Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man 3. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, Movement III. 4. Copland, Lincoln Portrait 5. Williams, Star Wars Medley 6. Gillis, Symphony No. 8, Movement III. Low Down Hoe-Down 7. Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever