Benjamin Britten

Lesson Plan for Theme and select Variations from A Young Persons Guide to
the Orchestra

Developed by Stephanie Jones, Vocal/General Music State Road School - Webster

Standards Addressed:
Standard 1 - Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts
Standard 3 - Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art

Performance Indicators:
1b. Students sing songs and play instruments, maintaining tone quality, pitch, rhythm, tempo,
and dynamics; perform the music expressively; and sing or play simple repeated patterns with
familiar songs, rounds, partner songs, and harmonizing parts.
3b. Students describe the music in terms related to basic elements; especially melody, harmony,
dynamics, timbre, & form

Objectives:
Students will learn about Theme & Variations
Students will move with varying amounts of weight to characterize the different families
of instruments performing the theme
Students will identify Major and Minor triads
Students will identify Major and Minor triads in the theme of the Introduction

Materials: (see attachments)

melodic notation of the theme (for teacher only)
Major/Minor triads (for teacher only)
cue cards for movements
Theme & Variations poster (doors of Rochester available @ www.AllPosters.com)
Instrument family posters or PowerPoint or Smartboard
Vocabulary cards

Vocabulary: Theme & Variations, Major/Minor, Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion
families, Orchestra, Texture, Line, Color, movement words (heavy, light, bounce, push, float,
press, glide, etc.)

Listening Repertoire:
Recording of Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten
Procedures:

1. Major/Minor triad singing & movement game (8-12 min)

Teacher sings some Major & Minor triads using solfege. Students sing in echo. Teacher
explains/reviews that when it is in Major the triad pattern is based on DO & when it is in
Minor the triad pattern is based on LA.
Teacher asks students echo sing the Major & Minor patterns and do movement:
-Sit & echo sing when they hear a Minor triad
-Stand & echo sing when they hear a Major triad
-Jump 3 times & are silent if they hear any other group of 3 notes that is not
Major or Minor
If the teacher sings 2 of the same triads following one another, students remain sitting or
standing.
Teacher sings a variety of triads & students respond by singing or being quiet and either
sitting, standing, jumping 3 times or staying still.
Points are kept track of by the teacher on the board. If MOST students do the correct
movement & sing appropriately, the class gets a point, if not, the teacher gets a point.
Play until the students win by a slight margin, maybe 10-20 patterns.
If students are more advanced, try the game without singing the solfege names, only
singing pitches on a neutral syllable.

2. Listening for Major & Minor triads in Purcells theme (2 min)

Have students listen to the theme as teacher plays the melody on the piano & sings the
triads with solfege syllables.
Students raise their hand for Major triads, & put their hand down for minor on other notes
they pat the beat.

3. Definition and discussion of Theme & Variations (5-8 min)

Explain to the class that this piece is in the form of Theme & Variations based on the
original theme by Henry Purcell that they just heard. Britten composed this piece as a
way of introducing young people to the families of instruments in the orchestra. Tell
them that in a few moments, they will listen to the first section, Introduction.
Show the Theme & Variations poster to the students & ask them to brainstorm some
ways that the doors are different (Variations on the theme of doors!). Give them the
words Texture, Line & Color then create a quick list under each word.

4. Introduction/review of Families of Instruments in the Orchestra and seating of instruments in

the RPO (5 min)
Briefly review the String, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion sections using instrument
family posters or puzzle piece pictures in PowerPoint or Smartboard.
Show the sections of the orchestra mixed up using puzzle pieces on the overhead, in
PowerPoint or using a Smartboard. Have some students come up & put the pieces
together to create the correct seating for the RPO on stage.
5. Movement/weight words (5 min)
Explain that as you play the recording, students will be asked to think of words which
describe the different families of the orchestra and the music that they play. Ask them
to think about the differences in the doors in the poster. Guide them to relate the
concepts of Texture, Line & Color to music. Texture = heavy/light & simple/detailed,
line=curved/straight, (color=different instruments & families) etc. If necessary, give
students some examples from the words on the vocabulary cards provided in this
lesson or make cards with the students suggestions.
Play the music and ask each student to be ready to give one word for at least one of
the instrument families.

6. Movement activity (15-20 min)

Divide the class into 4 groups to represent the 4 families of the orchestra (teacher chooses
groupings prior to this lesson to ensure cooperative learning). Explain that each group
will invent movements for their family of instruments based on the movement/weight
words and will perform their choreography for the rest of the class.
Play the recording again. As the class listens, sitting in their groups, ask students to
discuss in their groups how they could show, with their bodies, some of these words that
they made up.
Give each group a few minutes to practice and perfect their ideas without music. Next,
play the recording again and have all groups work simultaneously to practice moving
with the recording. Give a little more time to discuss and explore. Suggest different
formations (circle, line, 2 lines, etc.).
After approximately 5 - 10 minutes, have each group perform their movement for the rest
of the class. The group performing stands and gets into position while the other 2 or 3
groups stay seated.
Self assessment - ask the class what they liked about each groups choreography (be
specific - what movements do they remember best to go with the different instrument
families?

Lesson Extensions

* Play a fun online game for Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra at:
http://www.weillmusicinstitute.org/listeningadventures/ypgto/ypgto-gamelogon/index.jsp

* Watch a video of the introduction to Young Persons Guide on You Tube with special
narration by Simon Rattle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqlXkr81t9c&feature=related

* Buy the CD along with a book with great instrument pictures at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152013040/embracingthechilA/
 Purcell Theme
Purcell

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 Purcell Patterns
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 Benjamin Britten

Born: On November 22, 1913 in Lowestoff, Suffolk

Died: December 4, 1976 at the Red House

Education: Entered Royal College of Music in London at age 16.

Marriage: Never married

Occupation: Composer

Selected Peter Grimes, Paul Bunyan, Suite on English Folk Tunes

Compositions:
Noted for:

Music to be Variations on a Theme by Purcell

heard at the
concert: