SERENADE FOR STRINGS TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Oakland East Bay Symphony’s Serenade for Strings Teacher’s Guide is designed to enrich students’ Young People’s Concert experience. A series of activities for students in the elementary grades are provided, each focusing on different aspects of the symphony performance. Students will have an opportunity to listen to string music, and complete activities to learn how string instruments are made, create a concert etiquette skit, and participate in a “guess which instrument is playing” activity. They will also make a string instrument book, and create a string instrument collage.
Materials:
Several string music CDs or cassettes
Internet access
Construction paper
Yarn
Large sheet of butcher type paper
The purpose of this activity is for students to build background knowledge on how string instruments are made.
Violin Materials
1. Ask students if they know what material the body of violins, violas, cellos and double basses are made from. (After a student correctly answers, “wood,” you can introduce the concept that several different kinds of wood are used to create a violin.) Teacher Note: Visit the sites listed at the end of this lesson to learn more about the different woods used in violin construction.
The Bow
2. Explain to students that most bows are strung with hair. Ask students to predict where this hair comes from. (The hair comes from horses’ tails.) After students have guessed correctly, or have been given the answer, explain to students that generally stallion hair from Siberia is considered the best hair for this purpose. Horsehair from animals in northern climates tends to be stronger.
Teacher Note: You may choose to have students find the person in the class whose hair would make the best hair for a bow. The hair should be the strongest, but shouldn’t have too many bumps that might cause unwanted noises when the instrument is played.
The Sound
3. Explain to students that string instruments produce sound when one or more of their strings vibrate causing the instrument to vibrate. This vibration results in a sound wave. Give each student a rubber band. Tell the students to wrap the rubber band around their fingers and pluck it. Ask students what they see and feel. Ask students what happens when they pluck the rubber band harder. (It will vibrate more and create a louder sound.) Ask students what happens when they stretch the rubber band and pluck. (It will produce a higher pitched sound.) Teacher Note: If you don’t have rubber bands, another way to have your students hear a sound and feel the vibration is to have your students place their fingers on their throats and loudly say, “Huh.”
Violin Construction
4. The Philharmonia Orchestra Website contains photographs of the step-by-step process of the making of a viola. Share these photographs as a class. Click on the site below and scroll down to the “How String Instruments are Made” section and click on the “Stage One” button next to the “See Each Stage of Construction” section.
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/the_orchestra/instruments/violins/construction/
After viewing the photographs of the making of the viola, you can hear the finished instrument and see what happened when Vicci Wardman, viola with the Philharmonia Orchestra, met Rod Ward to try out the new instrument.
These sites also contain information about the construction of string instruments.
Violin Making by Hans Johannsson
http://www.gussetviolins.com/newhome.htm
David Gusset: Violin Maker
http://library.thinkquest.org/27178/en/index.html
5. After completing these activities, have your students visit the site below and take Phil’s Music Quiz on the violin. http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/the_orchestra/quizzes/the_violin_-_easy_level.html
Teacher Note: This site gives you the option of downloading the violin quiz into a word document.
The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn how to be respectful and considerate concertgoers.
1. Break the class into ten groups. Assign each group one of the following tips for concert etiquette. Tell students that they are going to create a skit that shows concertgoers breaking their group’s assigned tip. Tell the groups not to share their tip with their classmates because when they guess what the tip is, they will be using the material from the skit.
Concert Etiquette Tips
1. Arrive at the concert
early. Don’t be late.
2. Avoid wearing or bringing
things that might bother the people sitting near you, such as strong perfumes,
over-sized hats, jangling bracelets, crinkly plastic bags, etc.
3. Do not talk, whisper, sing, or hum during the performance.
4. Do not eat and drink during the performance.
5. Turn off all electronic devices including cell phones, pagers, and watch
alarms.
6. Keep feet on the floor, not on the seat front of you.
7. Do not use cameras or videotape during the performance.
8. If you have a cold, unwrap cough drops before the concert or during
applause.
9. Clap or say "Brava" or "Bravo." Don’t shout or whistle.
10. Don’t rush for the exits at the end of the performance.
2. After each group performs its skit, have the class guess which concert etiquette tip has been broken. Have the class put the tip in their own words and write it on the board.
3. After all of the skits have been performed and the ten concert etiquette tips are written on the board, discuss how the main idea behind the tips is about being respectful and considerate of the performers and the other concertgoers.
The purpose of this activity is to familiarize students with the looks and sounds of the instruments featured in the Serenade for Strings program.
1. Pass out the instrument work sheet to students. Divide the class into pairs to complete this activity. If there are an odd number of students, one group will contain three students. Write the following brief descriptions on the board to help students with their predictions.
2. Tell students that they are going to listen to a sound clip of the instruments on the worksheet. After listening to the clip, tell students to predict which instrument was featured on the sound clip. Encourage students to discuss their predictions with their partners. Explain to students that they don’t have to agree with their partner’s predictions.
3. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra website contains sound clips of the instruments listed on the worksheet. To play these clips for your students, visit the links below and then click on the “Hear it Play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” button. Provide time for the students to discuss their predictions. Tell students that this activity is a fun learning experience that will help strengthen their listening and thinking skills. Explain to students that it doesn’t really matter if they guess correctly.
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=152
Violin
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=251
Harp
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=218
Cello
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=246
Harpsichord
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=161
Viola
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=166
Double Bass
4. After students have finished making their predictions, tell them the name of the instrument and replay the sound clip.
The purpose of this activity is for students to become acquainted with pieces of music and to begin to recognize the titles and composers of selected pieces of music.
1. Pick out three or four pieces of music to play during the week before the performance. These might include music that they will hear at the Serenade for Strings performance or other pieces. Tell your students the name of the piece and its composer every time you play it. At the end of the week have a game to see who can remember the name of the piece and the composer when you play the music.
Pieces from the performance include the following:
Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Handel – Harp Concerto
J.S. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto
Herrmann – Theme from the movie Psycho
Villa Lobos – Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 (for Soprano and 8 cellos)
Viewing Activity
1. Pass out the Serenade for Strings Picture Frame worksheet either before the concert or when you get there. Explain to students that they are going to draw a picture of the stage in the center of the picture frame and write words that describe the sights and sounds of their experience on the frame itself. Encourage students to include descriptive words about the music, performers, the venue, the instruments, etc.
Post-Viewing Activities
Activity One
Reflection Time
The purpose of this activity is to help students reflect upon and capture their experiences at the Serenade for Strings concert.
1. Ask students to refer to the Serenade for Strings Picture Frame that they brought to the concert for this activity. Involve the students in a discussion about their Serenade for Strings experience. The following questions may serve as a springboard for this discussion:
· What was your favorite part of the experience?
· What impressed you the most about the venue?
· What was your favorite piece of music?
· How did the music make you feel?
· What instrument did you like the most?
· What were some of the words you used to describe the music?
Activity Two
String Instrument Book
The purpose of this activity is for students to write a book about a string instrument that incorporates what they learned during the activities and the performance.
1. Explain to students that they are going to write a book about one of the instruments from the Serenade for Strings performance. The book should contain the following sections.
· Picture – This may be hand drawn or a photograph of the instrument
· Parts of the Instrument– An illustration showing the parts of the instrument
· Instrument Facts – At least five pieces of information about the instrument
· Poem – A poem about the instrument
Teacher Note: A Cinquain poem might work well for this activity
Line 1: Write the name of the instrument. Example: violin
Line 2: Four syllables describing the instrument
Line 3: Six syllables showing action
Line 4: Eight syllables describing a feeling or observation about the instrument
Line 5: Two syllables describing or renaming the instrument
Ask students to think about each line one at a time, and generate a list of as many words as they can think of for that category, choose the words for the poem from the list, and spend some time experimenting and playing around with their word selection.
Teacher Note: When working with younger students, this assignment might best be completed as a whole class assignment resulting in the creation of a single book. Older students might expand the book to include additional sections on how the violin is constructed and famous violin players.
Activity Three
Violin Art
The purpose of this activity is for students to create a work of art that captures an essence of the violin.
Materials needed
Different sized and colored construction paper
Different colored yarn
Large sheet of butcher type paper
1. Tell students that they are going to create a string instrument collage.
2. You will need four different sized pieces of construction paper. The smallest size paper will be for the violin, slightly bigger pieces of paper for the viola, a piece of paper that is double the size of the viola paper for the cello, and the largest size for the bass. It is best to use a variety of colored paper.
3. Give each student a piece of paper. Explain to them which instrument they will be making based on the size of the piece of paper they receive. Tell them to fold the paper in half lengthwise. Explain that working from the folded edge they will draw the outline of half of the instrument (violin, viola, cello, or bass) on the piece of paper. After they finish drawing, tell the students to cut along the line. When they open the paper, they will have a complete instrument. (This is the same concept as drawing half a heart on a piece of paper and opening it to create a complete heart.)
4. After the students open the paper, have them draw details on the violin. Pass out yarn to the students and have them glue the yarn on to the instrument for the strings.
5. Ask students to think of three words that describe the instrument and/or the sounds it makes. Tell students to write the words on the leftover scraps of construction paper.
6. Create a string instrument collage by gluing all of the instruments and words onto a big piece of butcher paper. This works best when instruments are overlapped so that very little of the background paper is showing.
Extension Ideas
Make a String Instrument
Make a string instrument using everyday materials. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra site provides the directions.
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=101
Listen to Music
Listen to music in your classroom. Encourage students who are interested to find string music recordings at the local library and bring them in to share with the class.
STANDARDS
California Visual and Performing Arts Standards http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp
Kindergarten
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Grade 1
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Derive Meaning
4.2 Describe how ideas or moods are communicated through music.
Grade 2
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Role of Music
3.1 Identify the uses of specific music in daily or special events.
5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS,
APPLICATIONS
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Music to Learning in Other Art Forms
and Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in music across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills.
Grade 3
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Derive Meaning
4.3 Describe how specific musical elements communicate particular ideas or
moods in music.
Grade 4
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Grade 5
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Music to Learning in Other Art Forms and Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in music across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills.