Unit Overview:
This unit enables students to explore the foundations of orchestral music through Perfect Pitch, an online multimedia exploration that uses the metaphor of baseball to teach about the structure of the orchestra in the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras. Students will use the knowledge they gain from exploring the Perfect Pitch interactive to write creatively and persuasively, drawing on both the unique qualities of an instrument and it's connection to historical events.
Lesson Overviews:
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.
Students will learn about musical instruments in an orchestra by exploring the Perfect Pitch interactive. Students will compare and contrast aspects of baseball and orchestras. They will write a creative story from the perspective of a musical instrument that would convince a composer to choose the instrument for the "orchestral team."
