Lesson Overview:

Students will explore the ways music reflects contemporary society by focusing on popular music of the 19th and early 20th centuries—orchestral music of the Romantic era. After students conduct research online about musical instruments, they will create an advertisement about a musical instrument and its connection to history.

Length of Lesson:

Five to six 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• analyze how specific ideas and beliefs influenced a period of history.
• conduct research online about musical instruments in orchestras over time
• create an advertisement reflecting research about a musical instrument and its connection to history
• understand the impact of cultural achievements on 19th-century Europe

Supplies:

• pen and journal (one each per student)
• Computers with Internet access (one per student or pair of students)
• headphones (one set per student)
• 8/12 x 14" paper
• colored pencils
• rulers
• construction paper or poster board

Instructional Plan:

Warm Up

Ask students what their favorite bands and musicians are. Ask them to describe the music and explain why they like it. Then ask students to describe the music that their parents or guardians listen to and describe it. Do they like the music that their parents' listen to? Why or why not? Foster a discussion about the ways the popular music of the day reflects the ideas and attitudes of the people who primarily listen to it.

Tell students that they will be exploring how music has always reflected contemporary society, and they will focus on popular music of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Computer Lab Activity: Musical Timeline

Explain to students that, before there was Hip Hop or rock or techno music, there was orchestral music. Tell them to keep in mind that music that seems completely old-fashioned to them was the popular music of the day.

In a computer lab, allow students to explore the "Meet the Players" section of Perfect Pitch on their own or with a partner. Give each student or student pair a set of headphones so that they can listen to each instrument's sound. Allow students a few minutes to browse through the site without specific directions so they can gain a sense of the site's format. Next ask students to choose three instruments per era that they would like to focus on more closely. They should choose a total of 12 different instruments. Make sure they read through the "Fun Facts" related to each instrument.

Instruct students to go to the "Create a Lineup" section of the site and listen to the sample music provided for each era. Invite students to work with a partner to come up with three ways that the orchestra has changed over time. They should refer to the information they learned and the music they heard in both the "Create a Lineup" and "Meet the Players" sections. After each pair has written down three observations, ask students to share their observations with the whole class.

Pass out 8 1/2 x 14" paper, colored pencils, and rulers. Tell students to make a timeline that includes dates related to the information provided about the 12 instruments they chose. The timeline should include the following components:

• the start and end dates of each musical era
• each of the 12 instrument's rookie seasons
• any fun fact that contains a date, especially those that are listed under "Historical Connection"

This timeline will help students to contextualize the orchestra within important events and moments in history.

A Romantic Focus

Inform students that they will be focusing on the Romantic era of music and will discuss how the music of the day was shaped by ideas and values that were prevalent during 19th– and early 20th-century European history. Explain to students that, in the 18th century, much of European life was centered around aristocrats, wealthy people who lived in lavish homes that were often subsidized by the government. But with the French Revolution of 1789-1799, Europe saw the downfall of aristocracy, the rise of the middle class, and the rise of democratic values. For more information on the French Revolution, see the PBS site, Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution.

Just as France was becoming democratized, so was music. With the downfall of aristocracy, many court orchestras disbanded. By the 19th century, a number of municipal concert orchestras were established. Theatrical and symphonic music filled public spaces, necessitating more and larger music halls and luring the "common man."

Ask students how larger music halls might affect the music that is performed in them. Perhaps students have experienced a concert in a large space and can compare the sound of the music with that being performed in a small space. Explain to students that today we have amplifiers and microphones to help carry sounds to a large audience. But such technologies weren't yet invented in the 19th century. So orchestras grew considerably during the Romantic era. This was also due, in part, to advances in technology and innovations in musical instruments.

Tell students to visit the "Meet the Players" section of Perfect Pitch again. Instruct them to look at all of the new instruments in the Romantic section. Have students work in pairs and pick an instrument in its "rookie year" to do a short research project on. Students will take notes from the Perfect Pitch site and conduct searches online and in a library about their instrument. They will design an ad for their instrument as if they are the inventor of that instrument and they want to sell the instrument to orchestras and individual musicians. What makes the sound unique? What does the instrument do that other instruments already in the orchestra cannot do? What technological advances improved the instrument's sound (i.e., introduction of valves on woodwinds and brass instruments? Students should come up with a slogan for their instrument and five bullet points that convey aspects of their instrument that would encourage people to buy it.

Remind students that classical music was previously performed in a room in the home of an aristocrat. The steadily increasing middle class admired the status of the nobility and attempted to recreate aspects of aristocratic lifestyle for themselves. By the end of the 19th century, every fairly well-off middle class home had a piano, which had become a status symbol. Students should specifically design their ad so that it speaks to the middle class family. How might their instrument be appealing to a family who is not particularly wealthy, but is interested in a cultured life? For example, could they entertain guests at a dinner party by playing their instrument? Allow students to work on scratch paper to formulate their ideas then pass out construction paper or poster board and have students work on their final drafts.

When students complete their advertisements, tell them that because of advances in instrument manufacture, composers were able to make increased demands of their performers. Orchestral works became even more technically challenging. By the 20th century, instruments were played in ways that they were not originally designed to be played (see the prepared piano in the Modern era of the Perfect Pitch site's "Meet the Players" section). And once again, the size of the orchestra grew and the need for a conductor became apparent.

Romantic Music: From Mechanical to Emotional and Representational

In the computer lab, instruct students to revisit the "Create a Lineup" section of Perfect Pitch. Tell them to play the music in the Classical and Baroque sections of the site. Next have them listen to the music in the Romantic section of the site. Discuss the differences. Students should be able to differentiate between the more mechanical style of the Classical and Baroque selections and the emotional quality of the Romantic music.

Inform students that those considered in the Romantic movement rejected the ordered rationality of the Enlightenment and preferred the directness of relaying personal emotional experiences. In all the arts—not just music—artists loosened older structures and gained a greater freedom of expression.

Music and art increasingly was written "about something" such as an event or a character. During the Romantic era, this "programme music" or representational music was often grounded in folklore. This was due, in part, to an increase in nationalism. Reacting against the threat and upheaval of the French Revolution, artists of the Romantic era wanted to communicate something about national identity and national traditions. In the 19th and 20th centuries, composers such as Edward Grieg (Peer Gynt, based on Henrik Ibsen’s play of the same name), Jean Sibelius (Pohjola’s Daugher, 1906, based on the Finnish National Epic, The Kalevala), and Franz Liszt ("Hungarian" Rhapsodies) were inspired by the folklore of their countries.

Choose an orchestral work mentioned in the prior paragraph and have students listen to a portion of the piece as a group. Provide students with a summary of the folklore that influenced that composer's music (see the liner notes provided in the CD for specific information). Lead a discussion about what they noticed. Could they see any similarities in mood or tone between the folklore and the music? Was there a part of the music that appeared sad or happy, angry or regal? Can they find a parallel between the emotion in the music and something that a character experiences in the folklore?

Discussion and Wrap up

Ask students for examples of music that are popular today. Can they find any connections between characteristics of popular music today with characteristics of society today? Some possibilities are: music compositions utilizing innovations in technology (i.e., new instruments), music that rebels against current political establishments or previous generations' style or ideas, music about current trends (i.e., bands who sing music from Harry Potter), and lyrics containing current slang.

Assessment:

Assess students' timelines based on whether the following components are included:

• the start and end dates of each musical era
• each of the 12 instruments' rookie seasons
• any fun fact that contains a date, especially those that are listed under "Historical Connection"

You may also wish to assess learning based on students' participation in class discussions.

• provide information about an instrument's sound
• provide information about an instrument's characteristics, including technological advances that improved the instrument's sound
• include a slogan
• include five bullet points conveying aspects of their instrument that would encourage people to buy it

Extensions:

Tell students to think about a story that they have heard from their parents or grandparents or a story that is meaningful to them in American culture. Invite them to pick an instrument that would be appropriate to tell the story without words—in music. Have students work in teams to choose one story that they can set to music. Students will be responsible for picking one instrument to tell the story and composing a simple melody that represents an emotional moment in the story. You may wish to work with a music teacher and have students work on keyboards. Allow students to use their imagination when composing the melody. Depending on the emotion that is being conveyed, will the music be loud, quiet, fast, slow, etc.?

Authors:

• Theresa Sotto
  Santa Monica, CA