April is the mont that I focus on composing with my students. So the next couple posts will show off the projects I do with different grade levels to sum up some of our knowledge from the year. Then, we have a Composer Fair where parents can check out student work. Best advocacy I’ve ever done (in terms of educating parents on the fact that music is fun AND educational. We have standards and everything!).
Today I wanted to show you some of the things that I do with my Fourth Grade Theme and Variations Unit. Some of these are activities that I’ve done in the past. Some are new this year, and some are tried and true.
Introduction – Comparing Variations Across Genres
Before we even define the words Theme and Variation, I like to do a previewing activity where I show them variations in other contexts and we talk about what we see.
We can talk about differences and similarities between the different stars. Then we can look at Variations in Art:
Or Math:
Simple Gifts from Appalachian Springs
Aaron Copland does a great set of variations on Simple Gifts during one of the movements of Appalachian Springs (I believe it is the 7th movement). I like to have the kids listen to this to get an idea of what a theme and variation are. We can also use it to recap what we have learned this year about tempo, dynamics and instrument families in the orchestra, as we discuss the characteristics for each variation. It is a good jumping off point – a mix of new and old info.
I usually have the kids do a listening worksheet reviewing info as we listen to the piece. Then we have a discussion about what we heard and what makes it a variation.
Book: Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Anna Celenza
This is one of the books in a collection by Anna Celenza. She has several others that are about other famous works such as The Firebird Suite and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. This one tells the tale of Goldberg – a young student of JS Bach – and how his boss challenges him to create new versions of his song, and then finally Goldberg elicits help from Bach to put them all together into one piece. Spoiler alert – these pieces come together to become Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Theme and Variations Composing Project
Once students have had some exposure to how a Theme and Variations work, I give them a worksheet where they have to create a variation on Hot Cross Buns. I usually try and limit their variation options to either changing the pitch set or the rhythm. We do some examples as a class so we understand it. Then I have a worksheet that I have them to do. It takes the process step by step and allows them to create their own variation pretty simply.
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