Musik, Serious Gaming und Konzentrationsfähigkeit – mit der App entdecken die Kinder die Magie der klassischen Musik mit interaktiven Spielen.
Activity 1
Playing in the orchestra
Watch the video
45 min.
Rhythm instruments (e.g. - classroom percussion instruments or body percussion)
Give a rhythm instrument to every child. Ideally you'd have four different types of classroom percussion instruments to use.
Sit the children in four groups in front of the projector screen. The children with the same instruments should form a group. Each group should be assigned a colour (purple, blue, yellow or red).
Practice exercise: The teacher will call out the name of a colour and the corresponding group should play when their colour is called.
Optional
If you either don't have or have insufficient classroom percussion instruments, individual groups or all children can make body percussion sounds instead (e.g. - stomping, slapping, clapping, finger clicking, wiping etc)
Teacher:
'Now I'll play the video. Mozart jumps through the starry sky and when he lands on a star that is your colour, make sure to play your instrument'
This play-a-long activity can be repeated.
Pupils can change their instrument or group colour and play-a-long again.
Discussion
The teacher discusses the following with the class:
- How many of you recognise this piece of music or have heard it before? In which context did you hear this piece of music?
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) is one of Wolfgang A. Mozart's most famous pieces of music. It is often played during classical concerts.
- The title of the piece is Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) What do you think this title could mean?
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) means something along the lines of 'A Little Night Piece'. Mozart composed the piece to be played at evening social occasions. Pieces like this are also known as 'serenades' (in Italian, 'sera' = evening).
- Why do you think Mozart composed this piece for evening social occasions?
This piece was the ideal type of music to be played at evening social gatherings or garden parties, creating a pleasant, happy and formal atmosphere. These sorts of occasions were relaxed, sociable evenings in which music would be played in the background to entertain guests and lift the mood. The piece of music, with its light, elegant and cheerful sound worked perfectly to put guests in a pleasant and relaxed mood.
- What feelings and pictures come to mind when you listen to 'A Little Night Music'?
Light, happy, elegant, perfect for a beautiful evening, lively, calm, formal, friendly, cheerful, exuberant, playful, relaxed, etc.
- How does the mood of 'A Little Night Music' differ from other pieces of music that you know?
e.g. - The mood of 'A Little Night Music' is light and happy, so much so that you feel you could be at a garden party. In comparison to this, other styles of music, such as rock music, are often much louder, more energetic and sometimes you might even say aggresive.
e.g. - Whilst 'A Little Night Music' sounds relaxed and elegant, pop music produces a more exuberant atmosphere, encouraging people to dance. Pop music is more rhythm focused.
e.g. - Other classical music, such as Beethoven's 'Für Elise' (For Elise) evokes a soft, quiet mood in comparison to the much livelier and exciting 'A Little Night Music'.
- We will listen again to the beginning of the video. Which instruments do you hear?
The piece is played by string instruments. We hear the violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Skills learned in this lesson:
Pupils...
... accompany the first movement of A Little Night Music rhythmically using classroom percussion instruments, with the help of simple graphic notation.