MUSIC
Artsource
®
The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts
TRANSFORMATION
ENDURING VALUES
ARTISTIC PROCESSES
TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL
1. CREATING (Cr)
CONTEMPORARY
2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr)
EXPERIMENTAL
3. RESPONDING (Re)
MULTI-MEDIA
4. CONNECTING (Cn)
FREEDOM & OPPRESSION
THE POWER OF NATURE
THE HUMAN FAMILY
Title of Work:
About the Artwork:
The Prowling Cat (recorded September 23, 1965)
The Prowling Cat, is a definitive example of the
Creator: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974)
Background Information: Duke Ellington’s personal style and dapper appearance earned him his nickname while still in high school. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington in 1899, in Washington, D.C., the young Ellington showed promise in art as well as music. He dabbled in both as he was growing up, receiving instruction in piano and drawing. He composed his first piece, Soda Fountain Rag, while still a teenager. By the time he graduated from high school he had won a scholarship to Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in Brooklyn, New York. He decided, however, to pursue a career in music and eventually organized his own band which he led for 50 years. The band became the channel through which Ellington expressed his creativity. He and his bandsmen revolutionized the concept of jazz, elevating it to a new level as he introduced original compositions with complex arrangements. As time passed his scores began to combine the depth and scope of classical compositions while maintaining a basic jazz base. Ellington composed more than 2,000 compositions. Many of his arrangements were collaborations with his bandsmen. Among the musicians who worked and remained with Ellington for many years was Billy Strayhorn, pianist-arranger. He contributed numerous songs including Take the A Train. Ellington toured many countries under the auspices of the State Department, and in 1969 on his 70th birthday, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
Ellington genius. It is one of many numbers from Ellington’s treasure chest of previously un-issued recordings, several of which have been released recently by the Music Heritage Society, Inc. The remainder are housed in the Smithsonian Institute archives. The Prowling Cat is a short, playful, swinging tune which is an energetic tour de force for solo trumpet. From the introductory fanfare, the trumpet sings and wails, reminding the listener of a cat’s night whines and howls. This leads into swinging brasses and reeds strongly supported by the driving rhythm section. A jaunty trumpet solo soars over the surging momentum of the full band, eventually leading to a short conversation between the trumpet and drums, followed by a similar exchange between the trumpet and winds. It is capped with the trumpet screaming in its high register as the full bands drives home.
Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: Ellington’s treasure chest of unissued compositions is evidence of his testing ground. Sometimes Ellington introduced a bare bones arrangement to the band and together they collaborated to flesh it out. At other times he worked from his piano, expanding or discarding ideas, or saving them for another work. New York
“Good music is music that sounds good.” Duke Ellington
Discussion Questions: After listening to the audio recording: • Which instrument assumed the role of the prowling cat? (trumpet) What are some of the sounds the trumpet made to remind one of a cat? • How do you think the cat was moving? What gave you this impression? • How many words can you think of to describe the music’s tempo, dynamics, texture and mood? • Name some of the instruments you heard in The Prowling Cat. • Describe the characteristics of jazz which The Prowling Cat demonstrated.
Multidisciplinary Options: • Duke Ellington was born at the turn of the century in the United States. Learn about the styles in music, art, dance and drama during the first two decades. Find out: how people dressed, what they liked to read, how they spent their leisure time, and what kind of entertainment and amusements were popular.
Sample Experiences: Level I * • The Prowling Cat playfully describes the meanderings of a cat. Through guided listening, create individual stories about the cat. • Listen to other compositions which describe the actions or characteristics of animals or insects. Examples: Selections from Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns); “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” from Pictures at an Exhibition (Mussorgsky); Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov); Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev); Bear Dance from Hungarian Sketches (Bartok); Bear’s Dance from Petrouchka (Stravinsky). • Listen to music about cats which has been written by other composers, such as: The Waltzing Cat (Leroy Anderson); “Gellico Cats” from the musical Cats (Andrew Lloyd Webber); “Royal March of the Lions” from Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns). Discover how instruments or voices are used to suggest the sounds and movements of cats. Discuss what kind of cat is portrayed in each composition.
Level II • Read to discover why there was a rise and fall in the popularity of big bands such as Duke Ellington’s. What were the historical and cultural factors which contributed to the changes?
Ten Basic Elements of Jazz: • syncopation • improvisation • percussion • rhythm • blue notes
• tone color • harmony • break • riff • joy of playing
Audio-Visual Materials: • Artsource® audio recording: “The Prowling Cat” from Ellington. Used by permission of the Musical Heritage Society, Inc. © 1991. All rights reserved. • Photo: courtesy of the Musical Heritage Society and the New York Public Library.
Additional References: See listing at the end of the unit.
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• In the Artsource® Unit, New Pacific, the composition Sumer Time combines an ancient folk style with jazz. Compare the recordings of New Pacific’s Sumer Time and Duke Ellington’s The Prowling Cat. How are they alike harmonically and rhythmically? How do the tone colors and textures differ? * • Experiment with movement about The Prowling Cat.
Level III * • Listen to teacher-selected examples of the blues, ragtime, early jazz/Dixieland, big band swing and cool jazz. Identify the unique aspects of each style. Discuss some early pioneers who contributed significantly to each. Decide how the styles relate to each other and how they have influenced today’s popular music. • Have the students listen to several different examples of Duke Ellington’s work. Ask them to ascertain what are the unique qualities in his music as compared to other big bands. • Improvisation is a key element in jazz. Listen to The Prowling Cat and try to pinpoint instances where improvisation may have occurred. • Indicates sample lessons
MUSIC
MUSIC AND MY IMAGINATION TRANSFORMATION
LEVEL I Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: Sometimes a composer creates music which describes a scene or action, tells a story, expresses an idea or establishes a mood. This music is called program music. (Absolute music is the opposite, and has no ‘program’ to define it.) In program music composers provide a setting for the listener to imagine what is happening in the music. The Prowling Cat provides such an opportunity. Students may enjoy developing their own ideas about this cat. OBJECTIVE: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Discuss how some music can motivate story development. (Connecting) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting) MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording of The Prowling Cat (Ellington). • A story or poem about a cat. • Art supplies for drawing. PROGRESSION: • Read a story (or poem) about cats to the students, then have them describe the cat. (mysterious, proud, shy, mischievous, quiet, playful, frisky, etc.) Ask them to retell the story being careful to sequence each event or action accurately. At this point, some children may wish to relate brief incidents about their own pet cats. • Explain to the students that they are going to hear music about a different cat, however, this time they will have to imagine what this cat is doing. Tell them that the composer, Duke Ellington, wrote a composition called The Prowling Cat. The instrument that plays the part of the cat is the trumpet. • Have the students listen to a beginning excerpt from The Prowling Cat to identify the sound of the trumpet. (Play the solo trumpet introduction and stop when the band begins to play.) • Ask the following questions, then play the excerpt again to confirm their responses. • Did the trumpet play high sounds or low sounds? • Was the trumpet playing alone, or with other instruments? • How did the trumpet sounds remind you of a cat? • Was the tempo fast or slow?
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• Introduce the remaining portion of the music by asking the students to listen carefully to decide whether: • the tempo remains the same or changes. • the dynamics are loud or soft. • Play the entire composition (1 1/2 minutes), and have the students begin to imagine what the cat is doing. Help them to understand that they are free to develop their own ideas based on what they hear in the music. Here are some suggested questions to help them focus their listening. • How do you think the cat is moving? • What kind of cat sounds do you hear? • Do you think the cat is big or little? • What do you think the cat is doing? • Play the composition again and have the children begin to think of their own stories about a cat. Remind them that stories should have a beginning, middle and end, just as the one they heard at the beginning of the lesson. • Distribute the art materials and show the students how to fold their papers into three sections. Tell them to number the sections 1, 2 and 3. In number 1 they will draw the beginning of their cat story. In number 2 they will draw the middle of the story, and the ending will be drawn in number 3. Some students may be able to use both sides of the paper to give their stories six illustrations. • Have some volunteers tell their stories as they exhibit their drawings. • Play The Prowling Cat again as the children follow their sequenced drawings. EXTENSION: • Have the children add sentences to their illustrations. VOCABULARY: dynamics, tempo, trumpet ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DESCRIBE: Describe the kind of cat you see in your imagination when listening to this music. DISCUSS: Discuss the types of actions you used in your movement idea about the cat. ANALYZE: Discuss the differences between the actions of a prowling cat and a cat eating or stretching. CONNECT: What other animals do you think musicians might write music or a song about. Give the title you would use for an animal of your choice. Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking 4
MUSIC
IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE MOVING TRANSFORMATION
LEVEL II Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: The Prowling Cat is a fast-paced piece, recorded with Ellington’s swinging band which was driven by its forceful rhythm section. This composition is an example of the music that was popular in the mid-twentieth century. In composing a piece, sometimes a musical idea took complete form in Ellington’s mind and an arrangement emerged intact. At other times, Ellington relied on the brilliant musicianship of his chief arranger, Billy Strayhorn, to breath life into an idea. For a gifted musician such as Ellington the creative process had many facets. OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Create movement which reflects the spirit and energy of the music and capture the essence and actions of cats. (Creating & Performing) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Performing) MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording of The Prowling Cat (Ellington). The length is 1 1/2 minutes. PROGRESSION: • Chart or list on the chalkboard the following words: shy assertive timid hesitant regal unassertive
proud elegant frisky confident mischievous quiet
• Discuss the meaning of each word. Ask for volunteers to demonstrate each word using mime or creative movement. • Ask the students to listen to the introduction (trumpet solo) to The Prowling Cat (Ellington), and write down the words from the list that best describe the cat. (Responses are not to be shared at this point.) • After the words are chosen, ask the students to listen to the introduction again to decide what they heard in the music that helped them make their selections. 5
• Have the students share their responses and substantiate them with the clues they heard in the music. (The trumpet/cat solo is very strong and high-pitched, and announces itself in a very regal manner. The tempo is deliberate and slow.) • Select half of the class to demonstrate their own movement ideas which characterize The Prowling Cat in the introductory portion. • Let the second half of the class do the same. • Listen to the entire piece. Discuss the change in tempo, the swinging beat in the rhythm section, the sound of the solo trumpet as it soars above the band, how the brasses and reeds interact, the conversation between the solo trumpet and the rhythm section, followed by one between the trumpet and the full band, and finally the screeching ending. • Assign groups of students to listen for different sections of the band, i.e., solo trumpet, rhythm section, reeds (woodwinds), and brass. Give each group a movement or signal to use when they hear their section playing. Play The Prowling Cat. Provide assistance when it is needed. • Play the recording again. This time remind them that the tempo is very fast and moves in fours. When tapping the beat with a swinging jazz piece such as this, it is common to tap the ‘off beats’ (2 & 4). Have them practice keeping the beat to The Prowling Cat, tapping on the off beats. Tell them to listen for the off beats that are accented in the rhythm section. • Divide the class into small working groups. Ask them to develop movement ideas that either illustrate the different sections of the music, or portray a story about the cat. Give them ample time to work out their movement ideas. Allow the students to hear the music again, if they wish. • Let each group demonstrate their movements. EXTENSIONS: • If instruments are available, have some students add sounds from a selected group of instruments at appropriate times during the performance of each group. • Listen to another composition by Duke Ellington which is in a different mood. Create movement which exemplifies its mood. (Refer to the Discography.) VOCABULARY: beat, brass/brasses, jazz, off beats, reeds, rhythm section, solo, syncopation, tempo, trumpet ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DISCUSS: Ask each group to discuss their own movement study. Discuss what they felt was strong, what they would have changed and what they could do to develop their idea further. 6
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking
MUSIC
JAZZ: BORN IN THE U.S.A. TRANSFORMATION
LEVEL III Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: As the twentieth century dawned, a new style of music was taking form - jazz. By the third decade it had become a very popular style, and by the fourth decade musicologists had begun to research its past and record its progress. As the century progressed, jazz began to generate offspring such as big band swing, cool jazz, rhythm and blues, be bop, rock ’n’ roll, and soul, to name a few. Each of these styles produced musicians who reached musical stardom because of their immense talent and creative musicianship. Duke Ellington is one who achieved this status and maintained it throughout his lifetime. Today, even after his death, the name Duke Ellington commands respect in the music world. He was one who managed to elevate a popular form of music into the respected sphere of serious art. “Jazz is a way of playing music even more than it is composed music.” Langston Hughes OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Discuss how the styles which influenced jazz and those which emerged from it relate to each other and have affected current popular styles. (Responding & Connecting) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting) MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording of The Prowling Cat. • Teacher selected examples of ragtime, blues, early jazz/Dixieland, big band swing, cool and modern jazz, rhythm and blues and rock ’n’ roll. (See discography.) PROGRESSION: • Introduce The Prowling Cat by explaining that it is an example of big band swing that was popular in the mid-twentieth century. Its composer, Duke Ellington, became famous for elevating jazz to a new level. Ask them to listen for the solo trumpet, the strong rhythm section, the weaving in and out of the brasses and reeds, and the examples of call and response. Play the recording. • Discuss what was heard. • Explain that you will now play excerpts of ragtime, blues and early jazz. Ask them to listen for the unique aspects and the similarities which exist among them. Distribute copies of the Listening Guide. 7
• Next play examples of big band swing, modern jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock ’n’ roll. Have the students continue to use their Listening Guides. Discuss what was heard. • Divide the class into seven groups. Assign each group to read about one of the seven styles. Ask them to learn about the musicians who gained fame performing or composing in the particular style. (See listing at end of unit.) In addition, ask them to try to discover how that style has affected current styles. • Provide time for each group to share information. Introduce each group by playing an example of the style they represent. EXTENSION: • Listen to symphonic compositions which have incorporated aspects of jazz. VOCABULARY: big band swing, blues, brasses, call and response, early jazz, modern jazz, ragtime, reeds, rhythm and blues, rhythm section, rock ’n’ roll ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DESCRIBE: Describe the main characteristics of ragtime, blues and big band swing. DISCUSS: Discuss the style you find most appealing and give specific reasons why. ANALYZE: Select any two of the styles that were listened to and compare and contrast them. CONNECT: Take three different fashion styles from different periods and compare and contrast them. Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking
‘Duke’ Ellington Lithograph: Avery Clayton
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LISTENING GUIDE LEVEL III Sample Lesson STYLE
What to Listen For:
Ragtime contrasting sections syncopation steady basic beat in twos instrumentation - generally piano, sometimes arranged for band and other instrumental forms Notes:
Early Blues syncopation steady basic beat in two/fours features vocals 12-bar form standard harmonic structure - four bars (measures) tonic (I), two bars sub-dominant (IV), two bars tonic, two bars dominant (V), two bars tonic harmony - use of flatted 3rd, 5th or 7th (called ‘blue notes’) guitar or banjo accompaniment (traditional) Notes:
Early Jazz syncopated melodic lines strong basic beat in twos/fours accents on 1st and 3rd beats improvisation based on melodic line instrumental solos small ensembles blue notes scat singing rhythm section maintains steady beat breaks Notes:
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Big Band Swing syncopation strong basic beat instrumental and vocal large ensembles improvisation based on melodic line instrumental solos riffs blue notes strong off beats (2 & 4) scat singing breaks Notes: Modern Jazz (Be-bop, Progressive and Cool) emphasis upon harmonic structure improvisation based on chord sequence rather than the melody basic beat in twos/fours accents on the 2nd and 4th beats steady beat on cymbal unexpected accents on bass drum instrumental solos mainly instrumental blue notes complex rhythms Notes: Rhythm and Blues (R & B) vocals basic beat in two/fours faster tempo as compared to standard blues 12-bar form with breaks and verses blue notes strong basic rhythm accents on the 2nd and 4th beats Notes: Rock ’n’ Roll small ensembles basic beat in twos/fours electronic amplification blue notes strong basic rhythm each beat equally accented guitars and vocals Notes 10
DISCOGRAPHY The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. The Smithsonian Institute. The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943. Prestige Records. The Count Meets the Duke. Columbia Jazz Masterpieces. The Ellington Era, Volume I (1927 - 1940). Columbia Records. Duke Ellington: All-Star Road Band. CBS Records. Duke Ellington’s Greatest Hits. Columbia Records. Ellington. Musical Heritage Society. Four Symphonic Works by Duke Ellington. Musical Heritage Society. This is Duke Ellington. RCA Records.
AUDIO-VISUAL REFERENCES: • “Duke Ellington,” Black Composer’s Series. CBS Records Inc. (To order write The College Music Society, 202 West Spruce Street, Missoula, MT 59802). Nine records plus a 16-page booklet. A reissue of the series of recordings made between 1974 and 1979. • Four Symphonic Works by Duke Ellington. American Composers Orchestra, Maurice Peress, Conductor. Musical Heritage Society, Inc. Ocean, NJ: 1989.
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