Category: Composition

Free Halloween Resource Round-Up!

9/25/2018

Looking for a few Halloween activities to do with your students this October? Today I am sharing links to the Halloween resources available on my website!

Click on the pictures below to download free music, a composition activity, and a rhythm game. Or, scroll down to find a link to search for all of the Halloween-appropriate solos and duets in my music catalog!

Free primer piece

Free early elementary piece with optional teacher duet

Free elementary piece

Free composition activity

Free rhythm activity

For more Halloween fun, click HERE to search my catalog! Select the level you are looking for, then select "Halloween" under "Search by genre." You will be able to listen to each piece, as well as click on a link to see and/or purchase the music.

Do you have any fun activities planned for your students for Halloween this year? Please leave a comment below--I'd love to hear from you!

0 Comments

An Art-Inspired Improv Activity

6/14/2018

0 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous blog post HERE, this summer I am having fun doing more improvisation and composition activities with my students. Today I would like to share an activity that I have done with several students recently that has been a big hit—using artwork as inspiration for an improv activity!

This improv activity can be done using these 5 steps:

1. Choose your inspiration.
Find a piece of art that your student would like to use to inspire an improv. Some of my students enjoy using their own original artwork for inspiration. For other students, we find images using a Google search or Pinterest. Artwork depicting nature, such as animals or landscapes, are always a good bet if your student needs help finding inspiration.

2. Choose 3 adjectives that describe the artwork.
These adjectives might describe the artwork itself, or they might describe how your student feels when looking at the artwork. For example, a painting of a waterfall might inspire the adjectives: flowing, peaceful, or colorful.

3. Decide how to represent each adjective through music.
Using the adjectives your student has chosen, experiment with sounds at the piano. What sounds would best represent each word--high or low, loud or soft? Would major or minor scales or chords work best? Should you use staccato notes, or hold the damper pedal? Have fun experimenting with ideas to fit each of the words your student has chosen.

4. Create a story using your adjectives.
Once your student has several musical ideas in mind, put the adjectives together with some action words to form a story. Using our waterfall example, our story might be: The water trickles slowly, then begins flowing down the waterfall. A peaceful pool forms at the bottom of the waterfall, where colorful flowers grow.

5. Put it all together.
Help your student put the musical ideas together using the story you created to structure the improv. Remember: there are no wrong answers!

What do you think? Do you use artwork as inspiration in your lessons—either for improvisation or performance? Let me know in the comments below!

0 Comments

"The Carnival of the Animals": A Group Class Listening and Improv Activity

4/20/2018

0 Comments

Today I would like to share a fun activity that my students did at their most recent group class. (See my other group class lesson plans HERE!) I have done this activity a few times now with my students and it is always a hit! It is a great way to incorporate music history into the lesson and get students thinking like a composer.

First, we start by learning a bit about French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, who lived from 1835-1921. Here are a few fun facts about Camille Saint-Saëns:

Like Mozart, Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy. He played his debut concert at age 10, where he offered to perform any of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas from memory.
Saint-Saëns was an accomplished organist and worked as a church organist upon finishing his studies at the Paris Conservatory. Upon hearing him play, Franz Liszt declared that Saint-Saëns was the greatest organist in the world.
Saint-Saëns taught composer Gabriel Fauré, who in turn taught Maurice Ravel.
“The Carnival of the Animals” is one of Saint-Saëns’ best known works. Completed in 1886, it contains 14 short movements and was originally written for an ensemble including two pianos, strings, flute, clarinet, xylophone, and glass harmonica. It was such a humorous work that Saint-Saëns insisted that it not be published in his lifetime, as he was afraid it would detract from his image as a serious composer! The only movement he allowed to be published in his lifetime was “The Swan.”

Next, we listen to a few movements from “The Carnival of the Animals.” I ask students to guess what animal they think each movement represents. Then we discuss how Saint-Saëns represented that animal in the music using instrumentation, tempo, and pitch. The movements that I have found that work the best for this activity are:

"IV. Turtles”—this clever piece contains the melody from Offenbach’s famous “Can-Can Song” played very, very slowly. Be sure to play students a snippet of the original, up-to-tempo “Can-Can” theme first so they get the full effect!
"V. The Elephant”—students usually guess this one correctly as soon as they hear the first low melody notes!
"VII. The Aquarium”—many students recognize this piece from its use in TV commercials and movies. It has a magical, floating feeling that perfectly depicts a school of underwater creatures as they dart and swim around.
“X. The Aviary”—the opening flute solo sounds just like a bird song, making this movement easy to recognize!

Finally, I tell students that it is their turn to create a piece that represents an animal! I put several animal names in a hat (at this most recent class the animals included a bear, frog, snake, kitten, snail, and a cheetah) and each student must draw a name from the hat and improvise a piece at the piano to represent that animal. The other students then must guess which animal they hear! I remind students to ask themselves the following questions, both when creating their improvs and when listening to the other students:

Is this animal noisy or quiet, big or small?
Does this animal move quickly or slowly?
Does this animal hop, or move smoothly?
Is this animal friendly or scary?

It is always fun to hear what creative ideas the students come up with to depict each animal—and it is usually surprisingly easy for the other students to recognize each animal correctly! This activity often jump starts ideas for new compositions for my students that we can continue working on in their private lessons.

What do you think? Have you ever used “The Carnival of the Animals” as part of a lesson? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments!

0 Comments

<<Previous

Free Halloween Resource Round-Up!

An Art-Inspired Improv Activity

"The Carnival of the Animals": A Group Class Listening and Improv Activity

Author

Archives

Categories