6 minute read
Form: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, I. Molto allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
BORN: January 27, 1756, Salzburg, Austria DIED: December 5, 1791, Vienna, Austria
BIOGRAPHY (in Student Book)
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart showed promise at an early age. Watching his older sister practice the piano helped shape his basic understanding of musical concepts. It wasn’t long before his father, an accomplished composer and musician, began tutoring him to advance his playing. At just six years old, he and his sister started performing for audiences. The stress of touring presented frequent health issues within the family and made for a difficult childhood. These obstacles didn’t stop Mozart from carrying on as a composer and a performer. As he got older, Mozart eventually arrived in Vienna where he wrote music, taught lessons, and performed in various venues. His life wasn’t long, but he performed often and collaborated with other composers to create timeless art. He continued to write operas, string quartets, symphonies, and more until the end of his life, becoming one of the most well-known composers in history.
FUN FACTS (in Student Book)
• Mozart had many different pets, including a horse, a dog, and two songbirds: a starling and a canary. • He was disorganized and would refuse to organize his music. Decades later, Ludwig Ritter von Köchel catalogued everything and saw how much music Mozart had written. • He spoke 15 languages! Travelling the world as a musician helped him pick up languages at nearly every stop.
At no time was the separation between Mozart’s personal life and his transcendent music more apparent than in the summer of 1788—when, at the age of 32, he had only three years to live. His family was navigating health issues, his work was falling short of expectations, and he was in financial trouble. Yet, amid all these difficulties, he produced the three crowning jewels of his orchestral output: Symphonies No. 39, 40, and 41. In particular, the G-Minor symphony reflects the composer’s distressed emotional state at the time. It is one of the great works of Mozart that look forward to music of the 19th century while holding on to the structure from the Classical era. Many writers consider the G-minor Symphony to be equally influenced by Classicism and Romanticism.
FUNDAMENTAL OF MUSIC: Form
Form can be described as the map, the layout, or the blueprint for the structure of the music. It is the overall organizational plan the composer creates, dividing the composition into sections arranged in a specific order.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY #1: I Can Make Music Like Mozart!
NORTH CAROLINA ESSENTIAL STANDARDS IN MUSIC:
2.ML.1.4 Apply changes in music to the elements of dynamics, tempo, melody, and form. 2.MR.1.1 Illustrate prominent musical characteristics or specific musical events while listening to and/or singing music. 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.MR.1.2 Use music terminology in explaining music, including notation, instruments, voices, and performances.
OBJECTIVE:
Students will understand the concept of form in music and identify the particular form of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Students will then arrange premade melodies into a particular form with a partner or group.
MATERIALS:
• Video Recording: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, I. Molto allegro • Audio Recording (optional): “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” • Groups of pre-made melodies on small colored cards using solfege syllables (See examples!) • White board and markers
PROCESS:
1. Begin by explaining the lesson objective – to understand and identify form in music. 2. As a class, sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” either with accompaniment or without. Ask the following questions: a. Why is it easy for small children to learn “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”? b. Do you remember how you memorized the song? c. Is there a pattern to the song? 3. This time while singing through the song, ask students to raise their hands during the first line of the song, put it down when the melody changes and put it back up when that first line repeats. You may need to do this twice. 4. Explain that music is organized into patterns and we call this form. We use letters to represent each section of the song. 5. Ask students to help find the form of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and write it on the board. (ABA) 6. Give background on Mozart and his Symphony No. 40. Ask students to listen carefully as you play the first movement. 7. Ask these questions: a. Have you heard this song before? b. Did you hear a full orchestra or a small group of instruments? c. What instruments did you hear? d. How many different sections of music do you think you heard? 8. Together, map out the form of the first movement of Symphony No. 40 using letters. 9. Divide students into partners or small groups. Give each group several of each melody pattern. 10. Tell students that you are going to give them a form and they must “arrange” a song in that form.
Example: Give students the form ABA. They must choose three melodies and the first one must match the third.
Students work with their groups, then check their work. 11. If time permits, have students play their “arrangements” on xylophones or sing their melodies.
Do Mi So Do’ So La So Mi Do Do Do Re
So Mi So Mi Do’ Ti La Ti Re Re Re Do
NORTH CAROLINA ESSENTIAL STANDARDS IN MUSIC:
K.MR.1.1 Use musical terminology when describing music that is presented aurally. 1.MR.1.1 Illustrate perceptual skills by moving to, answering questions about, and describing aural examples of music of various styles and cultures. 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.MR.1.2 Use music terminology in explaining music, including notation, instruments, voices, and performances.
OBJECTIVE:
Students will understand the concept of form in music and identify changes in different songs of varying styles.
MATERIALS:
• Video Recording: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, I. Molto allegro • Audio Recording (optional): “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” • Colored scarves or flags • Assorted percussion instruments and/or rhythm sticks
PROCESS:
1. Begin by telling students the lesson objective—to identify changes in music they hear. 2. Introduce Mozart and explain that he was a child musician with great talent. Use this time to define what a
“composer” is. Ask these questions: a. Have you ever wanted to write music? b. How would writing a piece of music make you feel? c. Would you write music that was happy or sad? 3. Have students stand and move to the music as they listen to Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. 4. After listening and moving, ask students: a. Did this music sound happy or sad? b. What instruments did you hear? c. How did the music make you feel and why? 5. Pass out colored scarves. As the music plays, have students begin by moving their scarves side to side. Tell them when the music changes, they should move their scarves up and down. When they hear the sections repeat, they should repeat that movement. 6. Have students sit in a circle with percussion instruments. Teach the song “Shoo Fly.” 7. Once students have learned the song, have them play percussion on the “shoo fly” section and stop on the “morning star” section. Ask: a. What was different about the two sections? b. How else could you make the sections different? c. Can you think of any other songs that have two different sections?
