Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students will find that the story told by Rogers and Hammerstein in the musical The Sound of Music was forceful, meaningful, and enchanting, but was not entirely true to the characters or the situation. In the previous lessons, students have created original endings to the story of the von Trapp family, and have created monologues that relate to the life of one character. During this lesson students will select music to accompany the monologue by making connections between the musical elements and the mood, emotions, and actions of the character.

Length of Lesson:

Three 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• discuss the music and lyrics written by Rodgers and Hammerstein to accompany the story of The Sound of Music.
• explain why they chose this piece, using musical vocabulary.
• follow the writing process to explain the music they selected to accompany their original ending and character monologue for The Sound of Music.
• gain constructive meaning from a film production.
• select a piece of music to accompany the monologue created based on their original story ending.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencils
• Television
• VCR or DVD Player
• VHS or DVD: The Sound of Music
• Independent listening stations (Walkman, headphones)
• Musical recordings from student homes and teacher library

Instructional Plan:

Preparation

(This timetable is practical if the lessons, Composing with Solfege and The Life of Maria von Trapp: Creating a Conclusion are previously taught. In the prior lessons, students should have seen the film, The Sound of Music. If this lesson is taught without the prior lessons, and additional two hours of class time will be necessary to allow students to watch the entire film.)

Warm Up:

As a class, students will create a list of songs from the musical The Sound of Music.

You may choose to refer to the website, My Favourite Things. This Web site lists all the songs of the musical/film and the characters who perform them.

Introductory Activity

As a class, students will create a list of musical elements a composer may choose to use in a composition to reflect the mood, emotions or actions.

(Note: Guide the students to reach the terms used on the Musical Elements Worksheet Handout.)

Examples of musical elements might include:

• Dynamics
• Instrumentation
• Lyrics
• Melody
• Modality
• Rhythm
• Tempo

Discuss the use of musical elements in current films. Distribute the Vocabulary Handout.

Distribute the Musical Elements Worksheet to the students. If the class feels strongly about adding any other elements discussed, they can be added to the row labeled "other."

Guided Practice: Musical Elements

As a class, listen to one musical selection from The Sound of Music.

In small groups, students will fill in the columns of the Musical Elements Worksheet, reflecting the choices made by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Groups will discuss the following question:

Do the composer's choices regarding the musical elements reflect mood, emotion, or action?

Independent Practice: Choosing Musical Accompaniment

Have students review their original story ending and monologue.

Utilizing independent listening stations, students should listen to musical recordings, brought from home and/or supplied by you. Each piece should be analyzed to determine whether the musical elements reflect the mood, emotion, or action of the monologue. The music chosen could be a lyrical piece, current or past, where that reflects the mood, emotion or action. The music could be an instrumental piece in which the instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, mode, or other musical elements depict the mood, emotion or action.

Inform students that the musical accompaniment may be used as an introduction or conclusion to the monologue or can be played to accompany the reading of the monologue.

Upon choosing a piece, students should fill in the Musical Elements Worksheet.

Guided Practice: Monologue Guidelines

Distribute the Monologue Guidelines Handout, and discuss its' contents.

Independent Practice

Using the Musical Elements Worksheet as a pre-write, students will produce a rough draft of the letter persuading you, the director, that their musical choice is best suited to accompany the monologue.

The rough draft will be shared with a classmate in a pair-and-share activity.

Students will provide feedback to their classmates regarding the level of persuasiveness and the use of musical vocabulary. Any questions will be directed to you.

Students will complete the final copy of the letter.

Guided Practice: Presentation of the Monologue

Students will pair-and-share to rehearse the presentation of the monologue with musical accompaniment. Please remind students: Musical accompaniment may be used as an introduction or conclusion to the monologue, or played during the presentation.

Partners should provide feedback regarding professionalism and accuracy. Pacing, pronunciation, and accuracy should also be discussed.

Independent Practice

Students will share their monologues, including musical accompaniment, with the class. Remember, musical accompaniment may be used as an introduction or conclusion to the monologue, or may accompany the reading of the monologue.

Remind students that their written monologue may be memorized or used as a guideline for improvisation. Students should include all points on the Monologue Guidelines Handout in their presentations.

Conclusion

As a class, students will discuss the use of music in other films to compliment the story.

Assessment:

Use the Assessment Rubric Handout to assess the students.

Extensions:

Creating an original ending to an existing story could be used with almost any piece of literature, play, film, or television show.

Choosing a musical selection to accompany a piece of original writing or a piece of literature is a valuable exercise for practicing the writing process, writing to persuade, and building musical vocabulary.

Sources:

Media

• The Sound of Music (The Five Star Collection) Directed by Robert Wise. 175 min. Twentieth Century Home Video, 2000. DVD

Authors:

• Leslie A. Thomas, Suzuki String Teacher
  Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet
  Landover, MD United States