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How do you think the orchestra will look twenty years from now? Use your
imagination and the information you’ve learned about the different musical periods
to write about how you think the orchestra will have grown larger or smaller by this
time in history. What new instruments do you think there will be? What will they
look like? Will there still be a real live conductor or will a computer have taken his/her place? What will the music sound like? Will the orchestra still play music from
composers like Bach, Beethoven or Mozart?Match the word to its correct definition
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BE A CONDUCTOR
Use the Conducting Patterns page to practice the conducting pattern for the 4/4 time
signature. Then listen to two minutes and 30 seconds of the theme from In The Hall Of The Mountain
King by Edvard Grieg.
Practice conducting this part of the music. Make it more fun by having a partner to help
or conduct a certain part of the music.
Conducting Tips
Conducting is a mystery to most people, but it doesn’t have to be. Although it takes some practice it’s very necessary
to ensembles. It tells them when to play, how to play, when to get louder or softer, and much more. Anyone can learn
to read or use basic conducting gestures with just a few simple lessons.
The 4/4 pattern: This is the most basic of
all patterns. Use your right hand to conduct.
Hold your hand up high and out in front of
you. Draw it straight down, then over to the
left, then over to the right, then back up.
You should make a basic square shape with
your hand as you conduct. Down is “1,”
left is “2,” right is “3,” and up is “4.” Make
sure you make it clear where your hand
is going, because otherwise you will be
impossible to follow!
The 3/4 pattern: It’s similar to the 4/4 pattern, but you don’t need as many beats. Hold your hand out the same way and draw it down, over to the RIGHT, then back up. You should make a roughly right triangle. Down is “1,” right is “2,” and up is “3.”
The 2/4 or 2/2 pattern: These are the same thing as far as conductors are concerned. Hold your hand out, as before. Draw it down and slightly to the right, then bounce back up again. Down is “1,” and up is “2.” The reason you draw it just slightly to the right is so the musicians can tell where 1 is. Otherwise it looks like you’re going simply up and down, not giving beats.
In each of these patterns, emphasize each beat by bouncing your hand slightly. This is so musicians can tell you’re actually ON that beat, and not still traveling to it.
Conductors also make other gestures. They use their left hands for all of these.
Cuing: Sometimes there is a soloist or soli section in the ensemble that is coming in at a difficult time. In order to
help that player or players, the conductor will cue them. To do this, hold your left hand out, with your index finger
extended. Move your hand so your index finger is facing up, then bring it down and point to the person who
should play. Moving the hand up is done on the beat before the player begins (to let them know it’s almost time),
and moving the hand down is to let the player know it’s time to start now. You should always give this kind of “updown”
preparation.
Crescendo: Place your hand down low and open, palm up. Raise your hand slowly, keeping the palm flat. This indicates that the group should get louder.
Diminuendo: Hold your hand high and palm down. Slowly lower it, keeping the palm facing downwards. This indicates that the group should get softer.
Preparation: Before starting a group, give them an upbeat (bring your hands up, as though you were conducting beat 4), then down again. This lets the group know how fast the conductor wants to go, and that the conductor is ready to start.
Hold: If you want your group to hold a note longer than what’s printed (a fermata or the end of the piece), use your right hand. Keep it about mid-level and palm up. Hold it out in front of your body and slowly move it off to your right. The group should hold for as long as you move your hand.
Cut-off: Use both hands for this. Conduct in the basic pattern until it’s time to end the piece (or section). Then, leave the conducting pattern by drawing your hands out to opposite sides (left off to the left, right off to the right) and up. It will be almost like a circle. When you finish the “circle,” close your fingers against your hands, as though you were physically cutting something off.
In all of these gestures, make sure your hands have some bounce to them, and that each beginning and ending point is clear. These are all of the basic gestures that conductors use to direct their ensembles, and which anyone, with a little practice, can use.
Music SOL Connection:
Third Grade 3.4(3), 3.11, 3.12, 3.14, 3.15
Fourth Grade 4.10, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15
Fifth Grade 5.11, 5.12, 5.13
MAKE A LISTENING MAP
If you remember, the conductor uses a musical score to direct the musicians on how a piece of music is to be
played. This score has musical staves, notes, and symbols on it to help the conductor do a great job. The score is
a type of map for the conductor to follow.
You can make a special type of musical score that is called a listening map. A listening map contains your own
special symbols for certain sounds in the music that you hear in certain parts of the music. The symbols you come
up with may be very simple and easy to read. You may use pictures or symbols to represent what you hear in the
music.
Since you’ve already conducted it, why not come up with a listening map for the main theme of In The Hall Of The
Mountain King? Again, listen to the first two minutes and 30 seconds of this piece, decide what symbols you will
use to represent what you are hearing in the music, and make a listening map for it. After you’ve completed the
map, you should be able to use it as your musical score in order to conduct what you’ve written.
Music SOL Connection:
Third Grade 3.4(3), 3.11, 3.12, 3.14, 3.15
Fourth Grade 4.10, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15
Fifth Grade 5.11, 5.12, 5.13
MAKE A TIME LINE
What is a Timeline?
A timeline is an actual picture of events that happened in history. Timelines can be LINEAR or COMPARATIVE:
A linear timeline shows a picture of events as they occurred in a certain period of time. Use a linear timeline for
one subject and time frame. A linear timeline can be written horizontally or vertically, for example:
A comparative timeline shows two or more subject areas which occurred at the same time; it shows readers
the “big picture.” A comparative timeline might compare historical events in two or more countries or compare two
or more subjects like music and theater. A comparative timeline could look like this:
Do some research and find out in what year and musical period each of the pieces of music was written that you
have heard in “How The Orchestra Grew.” Make a linear timeline based on the information that you find.
Make a comparative timeline using the year that the music was written in and compare what was happening in
America at that time. Do the same to show what was happening in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the year that
the music was written.
By each composer, write the city and country they come from.
______________________ 
________________________
_______________________
______________________________
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_________________
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Find out about and make the flag for each of these countries colored green. Place the flag next to the country it represents.
History, Social Science, Virginia Studies SOL Connection
Third Grade 3.5(a), 3.6,
Fourth Grade VS.1(a)
Fifth Grade USI.1(b)(e)(f), USI.2(a)
World Geography SOL Connection:
Third through Fifth Grade WG.1, WG.4, WG.12
Vocabulary
Orchestra - usually a large group of musicians led by a conductor who play classical music on musical instruments
that belong to the string, woodwind, brass and percussion families
Opera – a story set to music
Homophony – music that has one melody with background music
Monophony – music that has one melody with no background music
Virtuoso – a highly skilled performer
Harpsichord - a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when
each key is pressed. It was used during the Baroque and part of the Classical music periods. It looks very much
like a piano.
Keyboard Continuo – the bass line in music played by the harpsichord or organ in the Baroque and Classical
periods of music
Musical Staff - a musical staff represents the time line of music. It is generally made up of five lines and four spaces.
Notes are placed on these lines and spaces to show which pitch should sound.
Staves – the plural for staff
Musical Score - a written form of a musical composition; parts for different instruments appear on separate staves on
large pages of paper
Conductor – a man or woman who directs rehearsals and performances by an orchestra, band, chorus, opera
company, or other musical group
Baton - a stick that is used by conductors to show the steady beat of a piece through horizontal or vertical
movements
Conducting Pattern – the horizontal or vertical movements the conductor’s baton makes in the air as the conductor
helps the orchestra keep the steady beat for the music being played
Tempo – the speed of music. It’s a steady constant pulse, like a clock ticking. Tempo can be slow or fast or in between,
and it can change during a song. Tempo influences how music sounds and feels. The same piece of music
will sound different if it is played slower or faster.
Dynamics – the loudness or softness of a sound or note
Articulation – the way the notes are played
Legato – smooth and connected
Staccato – disconnected and separated
Maestro – indicates that the conductor is a man. It means “master” or “teacher” in Italian.
Maestra – indicates that the conductor is a woman. It has the same meaning as “maestro.”
TEACHER EVALUATION FORM
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