Lesson Plan- What does Romantic music sound like?
Class: Music History-Romantic Era
Grade Level: Varied; student only needs to know how to surf the web and have an ability to try to listen critically.
Curriculum: A History of Western Music, Grout & Palisca
Assignment: What does Romantic Music sound like?
Materials: Macintosh or PC with webbrowser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape, ability to listen to music on computer that is downloaded or in quicktime format.
Objective: To learn what Romantic Music sounds like and how we would describe it using internet resources.
Introduction: One cannot fully understand music history without listening to it. Especially in the Romantic era with so many extraordinary works. Students will use the internet to go to sites with mp3 and other types of files that can be downloaded and listened to.
Where to find the Information:
They will pick three works to listen to and try to describe. Works can be picked by going to the Other Information Page and going to sites listed there in hypertext. Each has numerous files in various audio forms to be downloaded or played in Quicktime. Typical files usually have the suffix, ".wav,""midi," or "MP3."
Alternative way to find information:
Go to your school library and check out some classical music for your class if you do not have the ability to download it off the web.
Students will describe each piece of music through pictures and descriptive adjectives, or even poetry, trying to get a sense of how the music sounds.
Evaluation:
All of the music the students have found on line will be compiled into one master list. The teacher will have foreknowledge of who found what music. Then, a section each piece will be played, and the student who has studied the work will identify it on a piece of paper, by name, and by describing it once again through poetry, drawing, or description.
Tips to facilitate this process:
-How does the music make you feel?
-What types of instruments are used?
-Where and when are they loud or soft?
-What current music could you compare this to?
Sample of Student Work