Moving to the Beat of Georges Bizet Lesson Plan

Grade(s): 3-8 Moving to the Beat Lesson length: 40 minutes

Instructional objectives: of Georges Bizet Students will:  Keep a steady beat through various movement and verbal exercises  Use basic music notation to identify specific beats of the DESCRIPTION music

Materials  Musical recordings of Students will listen to the piece Les Toréadors from Carmen, Georges featured repertoire listed Bizet’s most famous opera. below.  Sound system for musical Students will explore the steady beat throughout the musical selection excerpts of concert repertoire individually by clapping or marching, notating with numbers on paper and (e.g.) laptop and speakers, through a movement exercise. iPhone® dock, Spotify®, etc.)  Paper and writing utensil Assessment Strategies

In this lesson, students should be able to successfully do the following: Featured Repertoire* march in place and walk to a steady beat, enhancing the exercise with  Georges Bizet Carmen Suite various verbal phrases and physical movements. Learn more about No. 1, V. Les Toréadors assessment strategies on page 5.

*Click on the link above to listen to these Learning Standards examples on Spotify. A free account is required to listen. This lesson uses Common Core and National Core Arts Anchor Standards. You can find more information about the standards featured in this lesson on page 4.

These lessons were created as part of a long-standing partnership program offered from 1998–2015. Copyright © 2016 by Michael Riendeau and the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This document may be duplicated without cost for educational use. Duplication must include the above copyright notice.

PROCEDURE

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

1Classics for Kids, Web. Mar 2016 Georges Bizet [say: bih-ZAY] was born in Paris, France to parents who http://www.classicsforkids.com/com were both musicians. He loved music, but also loved books—his parents posers/bio.asp?id=10 wanted him to follow in their footsteps, so they wound up hiding his books so he would focus on his musical studies instead!

Bizet began studying at the Paris Conservatory at the age of 10. While there, he composed his first and only symphony. After graduating, he continued to compose a variety of works.1

At the time, many French composers were inspired by music from other countries, especially after the 1889 Paris World Exhibition, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. They wanted their music to sound like faraway places—the result, French music with a twist!

Bizet was being adventurous when he wrote music about Spain in his opera, Carmen. When it first opened, French audiences refused to see it because it’s a story about an elusive woman that ends in tragic violence, but now Carmen is one of the most popular operas in the world!

INTRODUCTION

1. Using the biographical information above, introduce the

composer Georges Bizet.

2. Discuss the musical selection, Les Toréadors from Bizet’s most

famous opera Carmen.

 This aria is sung by the bullfighter Escamillo as he enters in

act 2 (toréador is a French term for "bullfighter").  The aria describes various situations in the bullring, the cheering of the crowds and the fame that comes with victory.

Copyright © 2016 by Michael Riendeau and the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This document may be duplicated without cost for educational use. Duplication must include the above copyright notice.

PROCEDURE

Repertoire* TEACHING STEPS

Georges Bizet Carmen Suite No. 1, 1. Listen to Georges Bizet’s Les Toreadors from Carmen Suite No. 1. V. Les Toréadors

2. Ask the students to keep a steady beat to the music, by either *Click on the link above to listen to these clapping their hands or marching their feet in place. examples on Spotify. A free account is required to listen. 3. Ask students if they think that all of the beats sound the same or if they hear emphasis placed on certain ones. What do they hear in the music that draws their attention to certain beats?

4. Ask the students to use numbers to represent each beat.

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 etc…

5. Listen to the music again. Ask the students to circle the numbers that correspond with the cymbal crashes.

6. Listen to the music again and this time have students march in place to the beat. Once they can successfully march in place, have them clap when they hear the cymbal crashes. Have students count the numbers out loud as they perform the activity. Repeat the music as needed.

7. Assemble the students in a large circle, if space allows in your classroom. Ask each student to face to their right. As the music begins have students march in a circle to the beat of the music. As in Step 6, have students clap when they hear the cymbal crashes. When they can successfully march and clap to the music, have the students count the numbers out loud.

If space is limited, the students may stand in place and turn 90° in place when they hear each cymbal crash.

Optional: when the main theme repeats, have students switch their direction in the circle and march the other way.

VOCABULARY

Opera: A play set to orchestral music in which the characters sing all their lines

Aria: A vocal solo, with instrumental accompaniment, from an opera or oratorio.

Toréador: French term for bullfighter.

Cymbal: A percussion instrument consisting of two round metal plates that create classing sounds when struck together or hit with a drum stick.

LEARNING STANDARDS

Common Core Anchor Standards Tempo: The speed at which a passage of music is played. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

National Core Arts Anchor Standards

Music Anchor Standard 9 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Dance Anchor Standard 5c Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.

ASSESSMENT

 Observe students’ ability to maintain a steady beat in the following ways: clapping, marching in place, walking around in a circle as a group, verbally counting aloud with the music.

NOTES