Lesson Plan Title:

Classical Music Connection-Popular Music – Connecting Pachelbel, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky to Disco and Rap

 

Subject:

Music

 

Grade Level:

Middle School

 

Rationale:

Many students perceive classical music as an unimportant music genre.  Students need to understand that all types of music are important to our society, and that classical music was widely used by many rock groups to create a new art form called “Art-Rock,” in 1967 with eth use of the orchestra and a hundred-voiced choir, then to the relevance of classical music as classical themes are used in popular music today by many pop artists and musicians.  With this lesson, students reviews classical themes in their original genre, then to be shown how popular musicians incorporate theses themes into popular music.  The students may learn to appreciate classical music, if popular music is used to introduce it in an interesting style.

 

Objectives:

The student will be able to:

1. Understand that the classical music genre has relevance in our society, both historically, and in the popular music setting of “Art-Rock.”
2. Recognize classical themes and their composers used in popular music styles.
3. Identify the popular music styles of disco, funk, and rap music and compare by using the Rock Window.
4. Identify Instruments used in recordings—traditional orchestral instruments or traditional rock band instruments.
5. Perform “back beat” with various instruments during the “Hooked on Classics” recording, and identify classical music theme changes.

 

Audience:

Suggested for 7^th grade general music classes.  Could be used in 8^th or 9^th grade music classes projects, if the entire “Rock Window” analysis is used for more in-depth study of each song especially if the lyrics section and videos of artists’ performances are available. 

 

Time Frame:

3-4 forty-minute class periods.  Analysis of the “Rock Window,” group work, and discussion may push this plan into the fourth class period, to allow enough time to thoroughly analyze the music.

 

Materials:

 

CD player, worksheets on “Disco/Funk” music and “Rap Music,” the handout of the “Rock Window,” Keyboard melodies paper for “Pachelbel’s Canon in D,” musical examples on CD (see recording list) small instruments such as tambourines, claves, and maracas - at least one for each student; and a drum set.

 

Background:

This plan will be used as an introduction to Popular Music in our society, as part of the History of Popular Music.  The lessons that follow will give the student a “taste” of the disco funk, and rap music styles, to keep their interest and give them a sense of the development of popular music genres, but focus primarily on the classical music themes that are present in the music, and why popular artists may have incorporated these themes in their music.  Students have completed a unit on how to study music elements in popular music—including Form in Britney Spears’ “Sometimes” and Melody in NSYNC’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”  Now we will expand melody to include “theme” in music.  Students have prior knowledge of the composers Pachelbel from the Baroque Period, Beethoven for the Classical Period, and discussed a few pages about “Art-Rock” (p.71-75) from “History of Rock Music” by Richard T. Dasher, J. Weston Walsh Publisher, as in introduction to “Art-Rock” music.

 

Lesson One:  Analyzing Disco Music

 

1. Play disco music examples: “YMCA” by the Village People and “Night Fever” from the movie “Saturday Night Fever.” Have the students do the traditional disco dance or form the letters Y-M-C-A with arms during the playing of the music.  Have a student play the steady disco beat on the drum set.

2.      Hand out the worksheet “Disco/Funk” and read in class one paragraph at a time around the room.  Answer questions and fill in crossword puzzle as a class, to review disco and Funk elements.

3. Play two listening examples – “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees (Saturday Night Fever CD) and “Atomic Dog” by George Clinton.  Ask students to decide which example is disco music, and why – discuss the difference between disco and funk music.
4. After students have decided and discussed that “Stayin’ Alive” is the disco example, go back to “YMCA” and use the Rock Window for analysis – use section one-Music, and section four – societal context in your analysis.  Students may write answers to the Music Section in small groups, and then discuss their findings in class.
5. Review Beethoven and Mussorgsky as composers.  How important do you think their music was to the people who were listening to it, since it was the popular music of the time?  Discuss.
6. Play excerpts of the classical version of Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” and Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” listen for the melody (theme) can you sing it in your head?
7. Play the disco versions from the Saturday Night Fever CD – “A Fifth of Beethoven” and “Night on Disco Mountain.”  Students raise their hands when you hear one of the classical themes and identify it – song title and composer.
8. Some students could sing the classical theme on the syllable “la” with the teacher while each recording plays, while others dance the disco moves, and another student plays the disco beat on the drum set.

 

Lesson Two: Analyzing Rap Music (using the same format of Lesson One)

 

1. Play rap music examples fro the “Space Jam” movie soundtrack and De La Soul’s “The Magic Number.”  Students should try break dancing on the floor in front of the class during the dongs, or rapping with the song if they know it (most of my students have the Space Jam D memorized).
2. Handout worksheet on Rap music, read one paragraph at a time around the room, and answer questions in crossword puzzle to have a good working knowledge of Rap music elements.
3. Use the “Rock Window” for analysis of the rap song from the Space Jam CD- “The Winner” by Coolio.  Write answers to the music section of the Rock Window in small groups, them bring findings back to class discussion.  Do the societal context section of the Rock Window also in class discussion.
4. Play an excerpt of “Pachebel’s Canon in D.”  Listen for half notes in the melody line. 
5. Play “See you When you Get There” from Coolio’s My Soul CD.  Play the introduction (which is Pachebel’s Canon with string instruments.) and a little farther into the song, where the    record scratching occurs and the rap beat is established.  If you have an edited version, you could go on to a verse and a refrain.  Ask students where they heard “Pachebel’s Canon” in the Coolio excerpt.  Why do you think Coolio included a classical song in his rap song?  (Hopefully someone will answer, “taking old popular music and putting it into a new style” or “Coolio thought it was important music!)
6. Allow students to dance, rap or play the drum set to Coolio’s “See You When You Get There” to respond to the music.

 

Lesson Three: Additional Classical/Pop Activities

 

1. Listening – Compare instruments used in Metallica’s “Form Whom the Bell Tolls” to instruments used in Apocalyptica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. Apocalyptica is a group of four cellists who play Metallica’s music in its original style on cellos only.  Discuss traditional rock band instruments and compare to traditional orchestral instruments.  How does the Metallica song sound with different instruments?

2. Listening – Compare Emerson Lake and Palmer’s recording of “Pictures At An Exhibition” to the original version by Mussorgsky.  Can students heart Mussorgsky’s theme in the rock version?  Analyze the Emerson, Lake and Palmer version with the “Rock Window” sections I and IV.

3. Listening – Compare Using “Beethoven’s Last Night” a Rock Opera by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

1. Use the overture from the Rock opera and “Fur Elise” (both are instrumental versions) to discuss classical and pop music elements.  Use the Rock Window for music analysis.  Can students identify or sing any of Beethoven’s themes in these two songs?
2. Compare the overture and another instrumental excerpt from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” a Rock opera, to “Beethoven’s Last Night”.  Use the Rock Window to analyze music elements in “Superstar” – compare to findings in “Beethoven’s Last Night”.
3. Expand upon the knowledge of Rock operas and their significance in popular music.  Do Internet research about “Superstar” and Beethoven’s Last Night” to gain a historical perspective.  Analyze lyrics and entire Rock Opera and its significance to the Musicals/Opera genre.

4.      Hands on Activity – Back Beat with Classical Music”.  Use the “Hooked on Classics” album side 1 “Hooked On Classics Part 1 & 2”. There are 17 Classical themes arranged in the following order that change themes in short and long phrases.  During the entire selection, “back beat” is present to give the music pop flavor. 

 

Have the students play tambourines during the first classical theme play the instrument on the “back beat”.  When the classical theme changes, play a maraca during the second theme.  Keep changing the instrument that each student plays on the “back beat” – hand your instrument to the left for the third theme change and to the person behind you for the fourth theme change, etc.  You may want to use two students at the drum set who would trade off playing the “back beat”, during every other theme.

 

Evaluation:

Students could write reactions about classical music after they have experienced it with pop music.  Would you listen to classical music ore now?  Would you listen to Classical music to see if you could find it in popular music?  I would also give listening tests on the material covered, to see if students could identify the correct classical theme in popular music, or to see if they could identify the presence of classical music elements.  Students would also be given a written test and /or listening test to identify the musical elements of disco, funk, “Art-Rock” and rap music.

 

Selected Recordings:

“YMCA” recorded by The Village People, on The Very Best of the Village People, Mercury Record, 1998, #314 558 7.9-2

 

“Atomic Dog” recorded by George Clinton, on The Millennium Funk Party, Rhino Entertainment Company, 1998, #R2 75467

 

“Symphony No. 5 – Allegro con brio”, composed by Beethoven, on Beethoven’s Greatest Hits, Intersound, Inc., 1993, #RGD 3602

 

“A Night On Bald Mountain” composed by Modest Mussorgsky, on Fantasia, Discs 2, Buena Bvista Records, 1990, #CD021

 

“Stayin’ Alive”, “Night Fever” “A Fifth of Beethoven”, and Night on Disco Mountain, from “Saturday Night Fever Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”, Polygram International Music, 1995, #42282 5389 2

 

“The Winner” recorded by Coolio on Space Jam - The Soundtrack, Atlantic Records #82961

 

“The Magic Number” recorded by De La Soul on 3 Feet High and Rising, Tommy Boy Music, 1989, #TBCD 1019

 

“Pachebel: Canon in D” composed by Johann Pachebel found on Best of the Millennium – Top 40 Classical Hits, UTV Records. 1999, #289 463 240-2

 

“See you When you Get There” recorded by Coolio on My Soul, Tommy Boy Music, 1997, #TBCD1221 (edited)

 

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” recorded by Metallica on Ride the Lightening, Electra Entertainment group, 1984, #9 60396-2

 

 

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” recorded by Apocalyptica on Inquisition Symphony, Mercury Records, 1998, #314 558 300-2

 

“Pictures At An Exhibition” recorded by Emerson, Lake and Palmer pm In the Hot Seat, Victory Records, 1994, #383 480 034-4

 

“Pictures At An Exhibition” composed by Modest Musssorgsky found on Pictures At An Exhibition and Other Works, Columbia, #60693

 

“Superstar” composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber found on Andrew Lloyd Webber – Greatest Songs, Silva America, 1995, #1044

 

“Hooked On Classics Parts 1 & 2” arranged by Louis Clark found on Hooked On Classics, RCA, 1984, # PCD14373

 

“Beethoven’s Last Night, A Rock Opera” recorded by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Lava/Altantic Records, 2000, #83319-2

 

Enrichment/Additional Resources:

 

The Rock Window is a tool designed to aid students in outlining and analyzing the elements of popular music.  You can learn more about the Rock Window in Rock and Roll a Social History by Paul Friedlander.

 

History of Rock Music by Richard T. Dasher; J. Weston Walsh – Publisher

 

American Popular Music – Student Workbook by Mark Ammons, D.M.A.

Copyright 1996; Mark Twain Media, Inc.  Reproducible grades 5-8 can be ordered through www.musicinmotion.com or www.friendshiphouse.com approximate cost $10; includes Stephen Foster Through Rap Music, with crossword puzzles, word searches, word scrambles, and ten questions on selected readings