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Lesson 5

We explore how the violin, viola, cello and double bass sound

1
talk about music
whole class
2
listen to music
in groups
3
discover musical instruments
independently
4
z-fold
independently

Preparation

Print materials (for the entire series):

Corelli-printing-material-DINA4.pdf Corelli-lesson-transparency-DINA4.pdf Corelli-teaching-series-transparency-DINA3.pdf

Additional materials:

  • Printouts M6-M7

Activity 1

Talk about music
Whole classroom
5 min.

Teacher:

"Do you remember the pitch experiment we did during the last class? Do you remember what we found out about pitch?"

Activity 2

Listen to music
In groups
25 min.
A piece of rope or string
M6 printout

Teacher:

"Now let’s listen to the sounds of our four string instruments: violin, viola, cello and double bass. Try to memorise how each instrument sounds."

A4: String instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass)

String instrumentsA4

Children are devided in groups of 4.

M6: String instruments cards (hand out one violin, one viola, one cello and one double bass card per group, each child in the group should pick one card).

Each group also receives a piece of rope or string used to form a circle on the floor inside which the children stand.

Teacher:

"We’re now going to play a listening game. Each one of you will become the string instrument depicted on your card. In each group, there should be one violin, one viola, one cello and one double bass. Everytime you hear your instrument playing, step outside the circle and move around it. When your instrument stops playing, step back into the circle. At the start, Violetta will give you a cue and tell you which instrument is playing when. But halfway through the piece, you will have to try to hear it by yourself. Listen out for the triangle though as it indicates when there is a change of instrument."

A5: String instruments music (play)

String instruments musicA5
A5 solutions:
  1. CELLO
  2. VIOLIN
  3. VIOLA
  4. DOUBLE BASS
  5. CELLO 
  6. VIOLA
  7. VIOLIN
  8. DOUBLE BASS
  9. CELLO

FROM THIS POINT THE NAMES OF THE INSTRUMENTS ARE NO LONGER ANNOUNCED.

  1. VIOLIN
  2. VIOLA
  3. DOUBLE BASS
  4. CELLO 
  5. VIOLIN
  6. TUTTI (VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO AND DOUBLE BASS)
Optional

Children can swap their cards within their group and listen to a different instrument as the game is repeated. Instead of using a piece of rope or string, children can also simply stand in a circle.

Activity 3

Discover musical instruments
Independently
10 min.
M7 printout

M7: String family (hand out to each pupil)

Teacher:

"Cut out the four string instruments and stick them in the boxes according to pitch order, going from lowest to highest." 

Activity 4

Z-fold
Independently
5 min.
Z-fold

Teacher:

"Now, cut out the string family worksheet and stick it on to the next page of your Z-fold. If you want, you can decorate the pictures."

A3: 'La Follia' (play as musical background)

A. Corelli: La Follia, Violin Sonata in D minor, Op.5, No.12A3

If there's still time...

… children can carry on decorating their Z-fold.

… children can take a physical break (e.g. 15 jumping jacks, 10 squats, etc.).

Skills learned in this lesson:

Students...

… explore the link between pitch and string length further. 
… learn more about the similarities and differences between the violin, viola, cello and double bass.