For the next few weeks, we will begin to learn about the Nutcracker ballet. We have read the story and will hopefully get to watch some video clips of the actual ballet. We will listen to some of the most popular pieces of music from the Nutcracker.
First, we learned what a composer is: the person who writes the music. Tchaikovsky is the composer for the Nutcracker. When he first wrote the music, it wasn't very popular, but people grew to like it and now every year it is performed around Christmas time.
We listened to the very first piece that is played in a production like the Nutcracker. If you went to the theater to see the ballet, you would see the lights dim, then the orchestra would begin to play some music before any dancing happened. This is called the "Overture."
We have listened to a piece called "March." We will be adding a tricky clapping pattern to this song to work our brain!
We also listened to "Russian Dance" a very popular one! Many students recognized it right away! For this, we used a listening map to follow along with the music. We then got out the music parachute and every time there was an accent in the music (a louder, emphasized note) we threw our hands up and down with the parachute. We even got to step under the parachute!
The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is another popular piece from the Nutcracker. Second graders recognized this piece and were able to say the rhythm along with the music.
Ask your student about the Nutcracker story, or Tchaikovsky. See what they remember!
Check out these websites for more information about The Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky.
http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showdesc.asp?id=93
http://www.bostonballet.org/just-for-kids.html
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
First, we learned what a composer is: the person who writes the music. Tchaikovsky is the composer for the Nutcracker. When he first wrote the music, it wasn't very popular, but people grew to like it and now every year it is performed around Christmas time.
We listened to the very first piece that is played in a production like the Nutcracker. If you went to the theater to see the ballet, you would see the lights dim, then the orchestra would begin to play some music before any dancing happened. This is called the "Overture."
We have listened to a piece called "March." We will be adding a tricky clapping pattern to this song to work our brain!
We also listened to "Russian Dance" a very popular one! Many students recognized it right away! For this, we used a listening map to follow along with the music. We then got out the music parachute and every time there was an accent in the music (a louder, emphasized note) we threw our hands up and down with the parachute. We even got to step under the parachute!
The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is another popular piece from the Nutcracker. Second graders recognized this piece and were able to say the rhythm along with the music.
Ask your student about the Nutcracker story, or Tchaikovsky. See what they remember!
Check out these websites for more information about The Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky.
http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showdesc.asp?id=93
http://www.bostonballet.org/just-for-kids.html
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!