Lesson 2 - Rhythm by northcarolinasymphony

Grant Llewellyn, Music Director

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LESSON 2

RHYTHM

TEACHER WORKBOOK

NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY EDUCATION SUPPORTERS

Our Education Concert is created in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and is made possible by a generous grant-in-aid from the State of North Carolina, the Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor; the Honorable Susi H. Hamilton, Secretary for Natural and Cultural Resources. We express our gratitude to our Boards of Trustees: The Symphony’s mission to achieve the highest level of artistic quality and performance standards, and embrace the dual legacies of statewide service and music education, is led by the North Carolina Symphony Society, Inc., and the Symphony’s endowed funds are held by the North Carolina Symphony Foundation, Inc.

EDUCATION SUSTAINERS ($100,000+)

EDUCATION BENEFACTORS ($50,000+)

EDUCATION PATRONS ($10,000+)

Anonymous The Bastian Family Charitable Foundation William C. Ethridge Foundation, Inc Robert P. Holding Foundation, Inc.

EDUCATION PARTNERS ($1,000+) Alamance County Government Arts Council of Carteret County Arts Council of Wayne County The Harold H. Bate Foundation Beane Wright Foundation Bell Family Foundation Bertsch Family Charitable Foundation, Inc. BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina The Borden Fund, Inc. R.A. Bryan Foundation, Inc. The DeLeon Carter Foundation Carteret Community Foundation Cherbec Advancement Foundation Chowan Community Funds Foundation The Cole Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey A. Corbett Corning Incorporated Foundation Craven County Community Foundation Edna Williams Curl and Myron R. Curl Charitable Fund Emily Monk Davidson Foundation The Dickson Foundation, Inc. The Lundy Fetterman Family Foundation Trust George Foundation, Inc. Gipson Family Foundation Granville County Community Foundation Gregory Poole Equipment

The Hellendall Family Foundation of North Carolina Iredell County Community Foundation Jacksonville OnslowCouncil for the Arts Kinston Community Council for the Arts The Landfall Foundation Lenoir County Community Foundation Moore County Community Foundation The Noël Foundation North Carolina Community Foundation Onslow Caring Communities Foundation Outer Banks Community Foundation Poole Family Foundation George Smedes Poyner Foundation Prescott Family Charitable Trust The Florence Rogers Charitable Trust E.T. Rollins, Jr. and Frances P. Rollins Foundation The Norman and Rose S. Shamberg Foundation The Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, Inc. Southern Bank Foundation Swearingen Foundation The Titmus Foundation Joseph M. Wright Charitable Foundation, Inc. Youths’ Friends Association Inc.

MUSIC EDUCATION ENDOWMENT FUNDS, NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY FOUNDATION The Joseph C. and Diane E. Bastian Fund for Music Education The Ruby and Raymond A. Bryan Foundation Fund The Mary Whiting Ewing Charitable Foundation Fund The Hulka Ensemble and Chamber Music Programs Fund The Janirve Foundation Fund The Elaine Tayloe Kirkland Fund The Ina Mae and Rex G. Powell Wake County Music Education Fund

SCHOOL SYSTEM SUPPORTERS Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Cumberland County Schools Edgecombe County Schools Harnett County Schools Lee County Schools Lenoir County Schools New Hanover County Schools Orange County Schools Wake County Public Schools Sponsors are current as of March 18, 2020

Authors: Linda Good, Sarah Kronenwetter, Alexis Kagel, Andrea Perrone Designer: Kimberly Ridge Editors: Sarah Baron, Jason Spencer, Layla Dougani, Erin Lunsford North Carolina Symphony, 3700 Glenwood Ave., Suite 130, Raleigh, NC 27612, 919.733.2750 ncsymphony.org/education North Carolina Symphony Student and Teacher Handbook © 2017, 2020 by North Carolina Symphony Society, Inc. Reproduction of this book in its entirety is strictly prohibited.

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Samuel P. Mandell Foundation Gloria Miner Charitable Music Fund Simple Gifts Fund Mrs. Jennie H. Wallace

rHYtHm A PATTERN OF NOTES OF VARIED LENGTHS AND ACCENTS . . . THE BEAT OR THE PULSE OF THE MUSIC

TEACHER WORKBOOK

featured work

William Grant Still

Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American Symphony”, Mvt. III. Scherzo

Born May 11, 1895, Woodville, MS Died December 3, 1978, Los Angeles, CA

Biography William Grant Still was born in Woodville, Mississippi, but was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas by his mother and grandmother. He studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Later, he went to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and studied under George W. Chadwick. After his time in Boston he began studying with a composer of the avant-garde, Edgard Varese. In the 1920s, he began working in jazz music. He was a jazz arranger for Paul Whiteman, a dance-band leader of the time, and the blues composer W.C. Handy. In 1939, he moved to Los Angeles after getting married to pianist Verna Arvey. After moving, he began composing works for chamber orchestra; two of his early works are Darker America and From the Black Belt. Still’s concern with the treatment of African-Americans in the U.S. can be seen in many of his works. This can especially be seen in the Afro-American Symphony, his ballet Sahdji, and his operas Troubled Island and Highway No. 1 U.S.A. These pieces were composed after Still’s extensive study and research on African music. His eclectic musical style, which included many different musical influences, was enjoyed by audience members of every race and ethnicity. Still is remembered as one of America’s greatest composers and his music is still widely performed today.

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Fun Facts He studied medicine at Wilberforce University before he went to Oberlin for music. He was known as “The Dean of African-American Classical Composers.”

STILL’S LIFE • While he was studying medicine, he spent most of his free time conducting the band. This is where he learned to play different instruments and began his first attempts at composing. • He was the first African-American to conduct a professional symphony orchestra in the United States. • After attending Oberlin, he began working in popular music and playing in orchestras. • He made his first appearance as a serious composer in New York, and this is where he met Dr. Howard Hanson, a composer and educator from Rochester. • He was awarded the Extended Guggenheim and Rosenwald Fellowships in the 1920s. • In 1999, Still was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

TEACHER WORKBOOK

Featured Work: Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American Symphony,” Mvt. III. Scherzo

This is the first symphony composed by an African American that was performed by a professional orchestra. The “Afro-American Symphony” is Still’s most famous work and was premiered by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 1931, the year after it was composed. The symphony has influences from the jazz and blues genre. Still’s goal was to raise the blues’ musical standing, since it was considered the music of the lower class. The symphony has four movements; each are packed with musical influences and colors.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: Snappy Jazzy Rhythm North Carolina Essential Standards in Music:

3.ML.1.3 - Use instruments to perform rhythmic and melodic patterns accurately and independently on classroom rhythmic and melodic instruments. 3.ML.2.1 - Interpret rhythm patterns, including notes and rests in 3/4 and 4/4 meter signatures. 3.MR.1.1 - Illustrate the corresponding response to conductor gestures for meter, tempo, and dynamics. 3.MR.1.2 - Use musical terminology when describing music that is presented aurally. 4.ML.2.1 - Interpret rhythm patterns, including whole, half, dotted half, quarter, and eighth notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meter signatures. 4.MR.1.1 - Illustrate perceptual skills by moving to, answering questions about, and describing aural examples of music of various styles and cultures. 5.ML.1.1 - Illustrate independence and accuracy while singing and playing instruments within a group or ensemble. 5.ML.1.3 - Use instruments to perform rhythmic, melodic, and chordal patterns accurately and independently on classroom rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic instruments. 5.ML.2.1 - Interpret rhythm patterns, including whole, half, dotted half, quarter, dotted quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8 meter signatures. 5.ML.2.3 - Apply understanding of standard symbols and traditional terms for dynamics, tempo, articulation, rhythm, meter, and pitch when reading and notating music. 5.MR.1.2 - Use music terminology in explaining music, including notation, instruments, voices, and performances.

Objective: Students will identify and play different jazz/syncopated rhythms when presented aurally. Materials: Non-pitched percussion instruments (tabletop is fine) Process:

1. Listen to and watch the Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”, third movement in the North Carolina Symphony Education video (Rhythm) 2. Quietly pat the beat. 3. Count the rhythms as you hear them. 4. What does this music remind you of? Why?

Explain (if the students have not identified it already, or just to reinforce) that this piece uses many ideas from jazz, such as syncopation. It also uses different contrasting rhythmic patterns.

5. Students create their own dance patterns to perform along to the different rhythms heard in the music.

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