Hans Zimmer Earth Secondary KS 3 3 rd

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Hans Zimmer Earth Secondary / KS 3 / 3 rd & 4 th Level

Hans Zimmer Earth Secondary / KS 3 / 3 rd & 4 th Level Classroom Lesson Plan Written by Rachel Leach

Trailblazer Film composer Hans Zimmer uses all sorts of different techniques to create music.

Trailblazer Film composer Hans Zimmer uses all sorts of different techniques to create music. He has helped shape the sound of today’s film, tv and games music

Lesson outcomes After this lesson, pupils will be able to: • listen and reflect

Lesson outcomes After this lesson, pupils will be able to: • listen and reflect on a piece of orchestral music • create their own piece of music using instruments and voice • perform as an ensemble • learn musical language appropriate to the task

Curriculum checklist Learners will: • play and perform in ensemble contexts, using voices and

Curriculum checklist Learners will: • play and perform in ensemble contexts, using voices and playing musical instruments • improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the interrelated dimensions of music • listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory

Glossary of music terms Term Definition Crescendo gradually getting louder (opposite: decrescendo or diminuendo)

Glossary of music terms Term Definition Crescendo gradually getting louder (opposite: decrescendo or diminuendo) Duration the length of a note. Different durations make rhythms Dynamics the term used for louds and softs/volume Motif A very short musical ‘idea’ – often just a sound or a rhythm Pianissimo Very softly Pitched percussion instruments that can play different pitches – xylophones, glockenspiels, chime bars, etc. Unpitched percussion instruments that can only make a limited number of sounds – drums, shakers, woodblocks, tambourines, etc.

Lesson 1 Watching and listening

Lesson 1 Watching and listening

Background – the composer Hans ZIMMER (b. 1957) • Self-taught German film composer •

Background – the composer Hans ZIMMER (b. 1957) • Self-taught German film composer • Has composed more than 150 films scores and been nominated for ten Oscars • Loves using technology, synthesizers, samplers and computers as well as the orchestra

Background – the music Earth • Written especially for BBC Ten Pieces • Draws

Background – the music Earth • Written especially for BBC Ten Pieces • Draws upon the soundworld he used for Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II – two of his most popular scores • This isn’t a film score (it wasn’t written for a movie) but it does sound very ‘filmic’

Watch the orchestral performance

Watch the orchestral performance

Listen carefully, and create a ‘list of events’ in the music

Listen carefully, and create a ‘list of events’ in the music

Create a storyboard! What images would you like to see with each of these

Create a storyboard! What images would you like to see with each of these events?

Lesson 2 Make the film to fit the music

Lesson 2 Make the film to fit the music

Let’s start filming! If you have recording equipment, then great; if not, have a

Let’s start filming! If you have recording equipment, then great; if not, have a look at existing film clips on the internet and try editing these

Lesson 3 Recreating Zimmer - atmosphere

Lesson 3 Recreating Zimmer - atmosphere

Create a shimmery warm-up Play pitches on your instruments, similar to Zimmer at the

Create a shimmery warm-up Play pitches on your instruments, similar to Zimmer at the beginning of his piece. Make sure they are really quiet, or pianissimo

Lesson 4 Recreating Zimmer – three-note patterns

Lesson 4 Recreating Zimmer – three-note patterns

It gets much busier in the middle of Zimmer’s piece – what do you

It gets much busier in the middle of Zimmer’s piece – what do you think is happening? Choose three notes from these pitches and play them at different speeds

Which instruments should play which note lengths? Try this out on the instruments that

Which instruments should play which note lengths? Try this out on the instruments that you have and see what sounds the best

Lesson 5 ‘Life on Earth’ - leitmotifs

Lesson 5 ‘Life on Earth’ - leitmotifs

Have a brainstorm! What can you think of that is associated with the earth

Have a brainstorm! What can you think of that is associated with the earth – maybe landscape, life on the planet or scientific facts

Create a musical motif for the things on your list. Make a short piece

Create a musical motif for the things on your list. Make a short piece using these motifs: • • What goes first? What goes last? Do the motifs fit together? Do the motifs overlap or repeat?

Lesson 6 ‘Spot’ a film, perform to picture

Lesson 6 ‘Spot’ a film, perform to picture

Play your chosen or filmed clip to the group WITHOUT sound Note down absolutely

Play your chosen or filmed clip to the group WITHOUT sound Note down absolutely everything that is heard, including characters, events, actions, emotions and scenery

Structure all ideas, and use them to make a piece of music that fits

Structure all ideas, and use them to make a piece of music that fits with the film

Perform your live score to picture!

Perform your live score to picture!

Taking it further – cross-curricular activities MUSIC: Explore the other planets with Holst’s Planet

Taking it further – cross-curricular activities MUSIC: Explore the other planets with Holst’s Planet Suite. Mars features on BBC Ten Pieces. MUSIC: Zimmer has a lot in common with another BBC Ten Pieces composer – Delia Derbyshire. She created theme to ‘Doctor Who’. Zimmer has made many tv themes and like Delia, he is a huge fan of electronic music. FILM: Watch some of Hans Zimmer’s greatest film music moments and have a go at creating your own film music by muting the sound and playing your new compositions on top. ‘Blue Planet’ and ‘Planet Earth’ are good places to start. UPLOAD: Show us what you’ve created! Submit your creative responses using our Uploader for a chance to be featured on the Ten Pieces website.