Introduction to Classical Music

Grade Level: 9-12 Subject: Music Appreciation Prepared by: Mike Procyk Overview and Purpose: The lesson will be an introduction to classical music. Students will be exposed to several examples from various artistic periods of orchestral music. They will use the mobile app Shazam on tablet devices (iPad) to identify the selections, then as a group work to research the piece, find and critique multiple performances, and present their findings to the class. Ohio Music Standards Covered: Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts o Identify composers and classify them according to chronological historical periods. o Identify, listen and respond to music of different composers. Analyzing and Responding Standard o Apply appropriate, established criteria to evaluate a variety of music performances. Valuing Music/ Aesthetic Reflection o Develop and apply specific criteria for making informed, critical judgments about quality and effectiveness of music works both written and performed.

Objectives: At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to: Correctly identify the pieces and composers. Collect information regarding the composer, historical period, and musical characteristics associated with the period. Discover several performances of the given piece of music. Critique each of the found performances based on musical criteria such as accuracy, dynamic range, intonation, expression, and tone quality. Appreciate and value the artistic elements inherent to the piece and the performance.

Materials Needed: laptop iPads (one per group of 5 students) Shazam mobile music app projector with usb input from iPads mp3 files of music selections: o Leonin, Viderunt omnes o Dufay, Nuper Rosarum Flores

o J. S. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Fugue in E minor o Haydn, Symphony No. 100 in G Major, first movement o Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, excerpt from Act I, Scene 5 o Ives, Three Places in New England, "St. Gaudens" integrated sound system whiteboard

Other Resources: youtube.com wikipedia.com classicalarchives.com www.naxos.com/education grooveshark.com

Procedure: 1. Greet students and explain that students will be working in groups to identify, research and critique performances from different periods of classical music. The groups will present their findings to the class in the following lesson the next day. 2. Allow the students to form into groups of five. 3. Teacher will play one minute of each of the mp3 examples. The groups will use Shazam to identify the pieces, and write down the name, composer and performing ensemble. 4. Students will email the above information to the teacher for assessment. 5. Each group will draw a number to determine which piece they will be working with. 6. Once a piece has been assigned, the group will use their iPad to research details about the piece including the composer's dates, date of composition, and which artistic era the piece belongs to (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century). Teacher will write the websites listed in resources on the board as possible sources to retrieve this information. 7. Students will then be asked to listen to their piece and identify specific musical traits that match the descriptions of music from that era. 8. The students will then need to find three different performances of the piece form online sources such as youtube and grooveshark. Student will be asked to listen to the first three minutes of each performance. 9. The students in each group will then discuss critique the performances. The group will pick the performance they thought was best. 10. Using the iPad, each group will be given 10 minutes to present their piece to the group. This portion of the lesson will likely need to be continued the following day. The presentation will include: o Title, date of composition, and artistic period represented. o Composer and dates o Playing the selected performance for the class (3 minutes max) o A discussion of the traits in the piece that identify it as belonging to the given historical artistic period. o A discussion of the aesthetic merits of the performance.

Verification 1. Students were able to use Shazam to properly identify the piece, as demonstrated by email received during lesson. 2. Students demonstrate the ability to do proper research by presenting findings to the class. 3. Presentation demonstrates the students understanding and synthesis of the information gathered. 4. Students are able to critique the performance based on musical criteria identified in previous lessons, such as accuracy, dynamic range, intonation, expression, and tone quality.

Activity: As described above, the lesson will be an activity based lesson, with the students actively constructing knowledge through conducting their own research on a specific piece of music and presenting findings to the class. Notes Teacher will act as a facilitator throughout the lesson. As groups are conducting research, teacher can visit with each group to make sure the information gathered online is accurate. The teacher can also ask leading questions to prompt student action or aid in critiquing performances.