What do you hear? How do you feel?

One of the ways that we learn is by analysing the work of experts, and figuring out how they build that skyscraper or make that light bulb glow.  In music class, we listen to recordings of professional musicians everyday.  We explore ways of moving to the music, noticing how each person can represent the beat in their own unique way.  We also learn the names of instruments that we see, and discuss how each one generates sound.

Then we ask the big questions,

“How does this music make me feel?”  

“What is happening in the music that makes me feel this way?”  

The composer, Joseph Haydn

Students talk about the different emotions that a piece can inspire, and then consider the elements of music that can inspire those feelings.  Is the music fast or slow, loud or quiet, bouncy or smooth?  

These ideas are the basic elements of the musical concepts of tempo (speed), dynamics (volume), and articulation (how the sounds are shaped).  As they grow more confident in using these terms, students will learn the musical vocabulary to describe what they hear, and refine their ability to hear the more subtle distinctions between the extremes of fast/slow and loud/soft.

Our most recent listening sample was the first section of the “Surprise Symphony” by J. Haydn. CLICK HERE  to listen to the music, and discover how this music got this nickname!