CLASSROOM CONCERT GUIDE

FOR THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY WOODWIND QUINTET

Written and developed by:

Jordan Drum, Education Assistant The Phoenix Symphony

2 Table of Contents

Introducon to Woodwinds.…………………………………………………………………………...3 Meet the Instruments………………………………………………………………………………..…...3 Sound Science: Woodwinds...... 4 Instrument Vibraons...... ….………………………………………………………….……….5 Guide Assessment………………………………………………………………………………….………..6 Lesson Plans………………………………………………………………………………………….………….7 Lesson: Straw Panpipes (Music/Math)……………………..………………….……..7 Lesson: Tube Experiments (Music/Science)..……………………………….……...8 Lesson: Peter and the Wolf (Music/Language Arts)…………………….……...9 Teacher’s Answer Guide………………………………………………………………………………...11

Academic Standards Alignment

The lessons in this guide align with the following Arizona Academic Content Standards and Common Core Standards:

ARIZONA MUSIC STANDARDS: ST‐C1‐PO2: Describe the effect of an instrument’s physical properes on its sound ST1‐CO3‐PO1 (K‐2): Improvise simple rhythmic accompaniments ST1‐CO4‐PO1 (3‐4): Create a short song within specified guidelines choosing from a variety of sound sources ST2‐CO1‐PO4 (K‐5): Explore and analyze the relaonship of music to language arts ST3‐CO1‐PO2 (K‐3): Name, idenfy and classify the sound of a variety of […] instruments ST3‐CO2‐PO1 (K‐5): Discuss, explain or express personal reacons to a performance; disnguish music preferences from music judgments

COMMON CORE MATH STANDARDS: 3.NF.1: Understand a fracon 1/b […]; understand a fracon a/b 5.MD.1: Convert among different‐sized standard measurements units

ARIZONA SCIENCE STANDARDS: ST1‐CO2‐PO2 (K‐5): Parcipate in guided invesgaons in physical sciences

COMMON CORE READING AND LITERATURE STANDARDS: RL‐Key Ideas and Details (1‐5): Describe [and compare] characters in a story

3 Woodwinds: An Introduction

Woodwinds, despite their name, are not always made of wood. They can also be made of ivory, various metals like silver or gold, or even plasc. Like every other instrument family, the woodwind family is grouped mainly by how they make sound (but more on that later). First, let’s get to know some instruments.

Though there are many woodwind instruments, in this guide, we’ll focus on the members of the woodwind quintet, a popular ensemble including the four most common woodwind instruments in the orchestra. Here they are from highest‐pitched to lowest (plus one unique friend):

 Flute  Oboe  Clarinet  Bassoon  Horn (a member of the brass family)

Meet the Instruments

The flute (le) is a perfect example of a woodwind instrument that is not made of wood, but rather various metals. It is one of the oldest musical instruments and was originally made from wood or bone. The flute is the highest‐pitched of the woodwinds (except for its cousin, the piccolo).

The oboe belongs to a sub‐category of the woodwind family, the double reeds. These very unique instruments make use of two very thin pieces of wood (called reeds) that vibrate against each other to make their sound. The oboe’s sound has been described as “that of a duck if a duck were a songbird.”

Instrument Design: Key and Tone Holes Woodwind instruments use metal keys to open and close various tone holes, which allow the woodwind player to change the pitch of their instrument by changing the length of the vibrang air column inside their instrument (see page 4). Because there are so many holes to cover, a key system can be very complicated; if you ever get a chance, take an up‐close look at woodwind keys for yourself. 4 Clarinets (le) are part of a sub‐category of woodwind instruments called single reed instruments. They get their name from a single piece of thin wood (a reed) that vibrates against the instrument’s mouth‐ piece. The clarinet is actually part of the largest woodwind family, the clarinet family, which consists of more than a dozen members. The instrument is very popular as both a solo and ensemble instrument.

The bassoon is the lowest member of the woodwind quintet. Like the oboe, it too is a member of the double reed family. The bassoon, which is also the largest in the quintet, is usually played sing down. Like other woodwinds, it is not a solid piece of wood, but rather several pieces that fit together. In fact, the air that travels through the bassoon has to travel all the way down to the boom before it can go out the top, which is about 9 feet!

Remember the “one unique friend” in the woodwind quintet? It is the horn (le), somemes called the French horn in the United States. The horn is actually not a woodwind at all, but a member of the brass family. It is in‐ cluded in the woodwind quintet because, of all the brass instruments, the horn’s warm and mellow sound blends the best with woodwinds.

Science of Sound: Woodwinds

All sound, whether from a clarinet, a drum or the human voice, comes from vibraon. If you’ve ever plucked a rubber band, then you have already seen this concept in pracce. The vibraon of an object back and forth moves the air around it. The air begins to form sound waves, which move through the air and eventually get to your ear and then your brain, which translates those waves into sound.

With woodwinds, things work the same way. Inside of woodwind instruments are long columns of air. Depending on the length of these air columns, different notes come out. Check out this diagram:

The tube on the le has longer air columns. This means that the sound will be lower (much like a long‐ er rubber band has a lower sound). The tube on the right has shorter air columns. This means that its sound will be higher. Now, in order to change the length of these columns, woodwind players push down different keys (see the Instrument Design box on the previous page), which open up different holes for air to pass through. It is as simple as that!

Instrument Design: Reeds

Reeds are very thin pieces of a special wood from the plant Arundo donax, or “Giant Cane,” of which those from the South of France are the most popular. They can also be made of plasc, though this is less common. They come in two variees: single and double. Single reeds (furthest le) vibrate against a mouthpiece while double reeds vibrate against themselves; these vibraons are what give woodwind instruments their sound. 5 Instrument Vibrations

So, we understand how woodwinds change pitch. We even understand that we need vibraon to get sound. But how do woodwind instruments make vibraons?

Because they’re so diverse, woodwind instruments make their sounds in three different ways, depend‐ ing on if they are a flute, a single reed instrument, or a double reed instrument. First, let’s look at the flute, which is quite unique in the woodwind family.

Flutes

Have you ever blown air over the top of a bole or jug? When you play a flute, or even a whistle, it’s basically the same premise. What happens is this: air blown over a hole at the correct angle alternates between (1) missing the hole or (2) entering the hole (see diagram on right).

The alternaon between in and out is simply a back‐and‐forth vibraon of the air. This sends vibrang air into the flute, where the keys and tone holes can open and close to control the pitch.

Single Reed Instruments

Single reed instruments include the clarinet and, though it is not a member of the woodwind quintet, the saxophone. These instruments ulize a single reed which is held against a mouthpiece by a ligature.

When blown on correctly, air travels (1) on top of the reed, then (1) below it (2) (sound familiar?). This back‐and‐forth movement of the (2) reed causes air to vibrate inside the mouthpiece. It then travels in side the body of the clarinet where it forms an air column which the player can manipulate using keys and tone holes.

Double Reed Instruments

Double reed instruments include the oboe, its cousin the English horn (which is not a member of the woodwind quintet), and the bassoon. As their name indicates, these instruments ulize two reeds that vi‐ brate against each other in order to produce vibraon. In fact, it is possible to remove a prepared double reed from the instrument and play it on its own!

Vibraons on a double reed happen slightly differently than on a flute or a single reed instrument. When air is pushed into a double reed, the reeds part, allowing air in between them, then hit back together, causing vibraon as they alternate back and forth.

Musical Terms: Timbre As you have probably already guessed, all instruments create sound through the vibraon of air. How the create that vibraon is what gives instruments their unique sound (or mbre). An instrument’s mbre is simply its unique musi‐ cal voice; it’s the same as the difference between you and your dad’s voices. Woodwind instruments have very dis‐ nct mbres. It’s rather easy to tell which instrument is playing based on its unique character and sound. 6 Guide Assessment

Match the following terms with their definions:

Sound waves  The highest and oldest woodwind instru‐ ment

Keys/tone holes  Air moving back and forth quickly; it re‐ sults in sound

Clarinet  The lowest and largest woodwind; a dou‐ ble reed instrument

Single reed  A single piece of wood vibrang against a mouthpiece

Bassoon  A double reed instrument with a duck‐ like sound

Flute  A single reed instrument; member of the largest family of woodwinds

Woodwind Quintet  Two pieces of thin wood that vibrate to‐ gether and make sound

Double reed  System of buons and holes that allow woodwinds to change pitch

Vibraon  How sound travels through the air and reaches your ear

Oboe  Four woodwind instruments plus a French horn

Timbre  An instrument’s unique sound, different from every other instrument 7

Lesson: Straw Panpipes

(Music/Math) Suggested Level: 2‐6 Time: One full class period

Standards Music: S2‐C1‐PO2 (5‐6): Describe the effect of an instrument’s physical properes on its sound Math: (these are only suggesons; several more are possible) 3.NF.1: Understand a fracon 1/b […]; understand a fracon a/b 5.MD.1: Convert among different‐sized standard measurements units

Objecves: TSW engineer a musical instrument. TSW be able to solve equaons using conversions between the English and Metric systems.

Materials: Straws; scissors; rulers or meter scks; tape; popsicle or chop scks; hot glue gun

Instrucon and Setup: Demonstrate how straws/tubes have a pitch by blocking off the boom with you finger and blowing over the top. Relate this to the process by which a flute creates sound (page 5, “Flutes”).

Explain to the students that musical scales are built on raos and that they will be engineering a set of pan‐ pipes built on this principle. Students can either calculate their own lengths using the raos below or do it as a class. Furthermore, lengths can be given in inches to the students, then they can convert the lengths to cen‐ meters. Below are suggested lengths for each straw, but depending on the length of the straws that you start with, a different base length can be used (as long as the raos listed below are followed). Essenally, this les‐ son is very flexible and can be modified easily to fit the level of your students.

Construcon: Use a dab of glue from a hot glue gun to stop up the ends of the Suggested Lengths: Conversion Formula straws. It is best to leave the lengths of straw longer than they 12.7 cm (base length) cm x 0.39 = in should be, and then trim the TOP part of the straw. Avoid tap‐ 11.28 cm (8/9) in x 2.54 = cm ing the end of the straw (it doesn’t work as well). Using a ruler 10.16 cm (4/5) or meter sck, measure out the correct length of each straw, 9.53 cm (3/4) then cut appropriately. 8.47 cm (2/3) 7.62 cm (3/5) To assemble the pipes, lay a long strip of duct tape scky side‐up 6.77 cm (8/15) on the table. Place the straws on the duct tape in size order, with the open ends even and the closed ends staggered. You may wish to separate the straws slightly as you lay them on the tape to make it easier to blow a single pitch. Place the popsicle or chopsck across the straws and wrap the tape around it to strengthen the instrument.

For more advanced students, look for raos in measurement by starng with longer or shorter straws (e.g., what would the measurements be if you started with the first straw being 7 inches long? 3 inches long?). If constructed correctly, the students should end up with a major scale when played.

8

Lesson: Tube Experiments

(Music/Science) Suggested Level: K‐4 Time: 30‐45 minutes

Standards Music: ST1‐CO3‐PO1 (K‐2): Improvise simple rhythmic accompaniments ST1‐CO4‐PO1 (3‐4): Create a short song within specified guidelines choosing from a variety of sound sources Science: ST1‐CO2‐PO2 (K‐5): Parcipate in guided invesgaons in physical sciences

Objecves: TSW make predicons about how physical changes to a tube will change its acouscs. TSW experiment with modified cardboard tubes and compare their sounds. TSW create a piece of music using their newly‐invented instruments.

Materials: Several wrapping paper or cardboard tubes; tape; scissors; wring materials; metronome

Prerequisites: Students should have a good grasp of simple pipe acouscs (see pages 4‐5 of this guide).

Instrucon: This lesson would work well as an introducon to scienfic tesng. Begin by reviewing how wood‐ wind instruments change their sound (by manipulang holes along the instruments to let air out or keep it in). Review how longer tubes have a lower pitch and shorter tubes have a higher pitch. Ex‐ plaining to the students that they will be experimenng with tubes, have the students write down their predicons to the following quesons:

‐How will a short tube’s sound compare to a longer tube’s sound? ‐How will holes in the instrument change the sound of that instrument? ‐Does the locaon of a hole on a tube maer? ‐If the end of a tube is closed off with tape, how will that affect the sound?

Then, making sure to leave one tube in its original state, modify other tubes by cung lengths off, drilling holes in various places and taping up the booms (note: depending on the class, it might be best for the teacher to perform these operaons). Then ‘play’ each modified tube by either hing the tube on the ground on its edge or by using a palm to slap its opening.

Have the students create their own musical piece using their newly‐constructed instruments. They can either hit (with a pencil or on the ground) or slap the tops on the instruments. Put on a metro‐ nome (around quarter note=60) and, sing in a circle, have each student play once per beat. En‐ courage them to cover drilled holes (as would a woodwind player) and experiment to get as many original sounds as possible. For older students, have them improvise for four beats each. As a class, try to explain why all of the modificaons changed or didn’t change the sound of the tube. Compare the sounds that the students discovered with that of the unmodified tube.

9

Lesson: Peter and the Wolf

(Music/Language Arts) Suggested Level: 1‐4 Time: One full class period

Standards Music: ST2‐CO1‐PO4 (K‐5): Explore and analyze the relaonship of music to language arts[.] ST3‐CO1‐PO2 (K‐3): Name, idenfy and classify the sound of a variety of […] instruments. ST3‐CO2‐PO1 (K‐5): Discuss, explain or express personal reacons to a performance. Disnguish mu‐ sic preferences from music judgments. Reading: RL‐Key Ideas and Details‐(1‐5): Describe [and compare] characters in a story.

Objecves: TSW relate an instrument’s mbre in music to a character’s personality in a narrave. TSW employ crical listening to describe how mbre in Peter and the Wolf reflects the personality of the characters.

Materials: Peter and the Wolf film (1946 version) ‐hp://www.amazon.com/gp/offer‐lisng/B00004R99B/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condion=new ‐hp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr25umYkxe4

Prerequisites: An introducon to woodwind instruments (pages 3‐5 of this guide). This lesson would work well dur‐ ing a Language Arts unit on character study.

Instrucon: When wring stories, authors use personalies to give life to their characters. This means that the characters tend to act a certain way, just like people do in real life. Composers, or people who write music, oen use spe‐ cific instruments to represent characters or ideas in their music. This is because each instrument has a very unique personality, or sound, called its mbre (see page 5). Oen, words that we use to describe characters (e.g., sly, playful, sad or scary) can be used to describe the sounds that instruments make. (Before moving to the next paragraph, students can describe characters from books that they’re reading.)

In Peter and the Wolf, originally wrien for chamber ensemble and narrator, the famous Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev uses instruments from the woodwind quintet (and some friends) to represent certain charac‐ ters. This is because he felt that the mbre of those instruments related to the personality of a parcular char‐ acter:

Bird—Flute Duck—Oboe Cat—Clarinet Grandfather—Bassoon Wolf—French Horn Peter—Strings Hunters—Drums

Prior to watching the Disney cartoon adaptaon of Peter and the Wolf, tell students to pay special aenon to how each character’s personality is represented by the sounds of their respecve instrument (e.g., the bird’s playful fluering about is represented by the flute’s light, airy sound). Encourage them to use a paper and pen‐ cil to jot down words and notes describing the emoons or personality of the characters as they watch the film. Then, watch the film (though the first four minutes or so are enough if you are short on me) and have them fill out the worksheet on page 10.

Finally, as a class, reflect on how the mbre of an instrument represented parcular acons or emoons of a character in the film. Students can share the answers to their worksheets if they wish. 10

Lesson: Peter and the Wolf (Worksheet)

Why do you think Prokofiev used the mbre of the flute to represent a bird?

How does the mbre of an oboe sound like a duck’s quack?

What are some similaries between the mbre of a clarinet and a cat’s personality?

How does the mbre of a bassoon sound like an upset grandfather?

What about the mbre of a French horn reminds you of a fierce wolf?

Compare and contrast two animal characters from the movie Peter and the Wolf in the first space below. Then, directly underneath the first box, compare the mbre of the in‐ struments that represent those characters.

Character: Character: Personality traits: Personality traits:

Timbre descripon: Timbre descripon: 11

Answer Guide

Guide Assessment Matching (pg. 6)

Sound waves  The highest and oldest woodwind instrument

 Air moving back‐and‐forth quickly; it results in Keys/tone holes sound

 The lowest and largest woodwind; a double Clarinet reed instrument

 A single piece of wood vibrang against a Single reed mouthpiece

 A double reed instrument with a duck‐like Bassoon sound

 A single reed instrument; member of the Flute largest family of woodwinds

 Two pieces of thin wood that vibrate together Woodwind Quintet and make sound

 Double reed System of buons and holes that allow wood‐ winds to change pitch

Vibraon  How sound travels through the air and reaches your ear

Oboe  Four woodwind instruments plus a French horn

Timbre  An instrument’s unique sound, different from every other instrument