Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Primary classroom

Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Primary classroom lesson plan Written by Rachel Leach

Lesson outcomes After this lesson, pupils will be able to: • listen and reflect on a piece of orchestral music • invent their own musical motifs and structure them into a piece • perform as an ensemble • learn musical language appropriate to the task Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 2

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 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 3

Glossary of music terms Term Definition Coda another word for ending Pitched percussion instruments that can play different pitches – xylophones, glockenspiels, chime bars etc. Tune another word for a melody. A linear line of notes that makes a satisfying musical shape Unpitched percussion instruments that can only make a limited number of sounds – drums, shakers woodblocks, tambourine etc. Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 4

Lesson 1 Watching and listening Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Background – the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958) • English composer • Born into a wealthy, wellconnected family and had the best education money could buy • Was a collector of folk songs LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 6

Background – the music The Lark Ascending § Written in 1914, inspired by a poem of the same name § Describes a lark flying, gliding and soaring through the air, looking down at the fields below § Is often voted the nation’s favourite classical piece by radio audiences LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 7

Watch the orchestral performance LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 8

Reflect a) Did you like the music? b) How did it make you feel? c) If you could float off anywhere, where would you go? d) What would you see down below? LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 9

Make a list • 1 colour (what colour does the music make you think of? ) • 1 emotion (how does the music make you feel? ) • 1 adjective (describe the music or the lark) • 1 movement word (describe how the lark travels) • 1 place (where is the lark flying over? ) • 1 thing/ noun (what can the lark see from the sky? ) LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 10

Write your own poem! LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 11

Lesson 2 The lark ascends Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

A shimmer LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 13

Create your own shimmer LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 14

The solo tune LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 15

Create your own piece LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 16

Lesson 3 The lark’s tune Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Sing along! LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 18

Create your own class version • Play the melody on xylophones/ orchestral instruments • Play the bassline on bass xylophones or bass bars if you have them. The bass notes can also be highlighted by chime bars/ glockenspiels • Add a strong drumbeat on the first note of each bar • Add your unpitched shimmer • Think about how many times to repeat the tune, how to start and stop and what to do in between repeats. LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 19

Lesson 4 The lark’s song Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Can you make your own birdsong? • short and loud • the same every time • played neatly LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 21

Follow the conductor LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 22

Recap • Shimmer and solo piece (the lark ascending) • Vaughan Williams' tune (the lark’s tune) • Birdsong (the lark’s song) LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 23

Lesson 5 The lark’s journey Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Recap • Shimmer and solo piece (the lark ascending) • Vaughan Williams' tune (the lark’s tune) • Birdsong (the lark’s song) LESSON 5 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 25

Let’s use instruments! LESSON 5 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 26

Structure your piece LESSON 5 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 27

Lesson 6 The lark’s descent and performance time! Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Let’s use instruments! LESSON 6 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 29

The ending (or coda) Should the lark: • fly away? • descend back to earth? • or something else? LESSON 6 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 30

Tell the story! LESSON 6 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 31

Taking it further – cross-curricular activities LISTENING: Birdsong features in many famous pieces. Listen to Beethoven’s 6 th Symphony, Movement 2 (ending), The Birds by Respighi or French composer Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques and draw the birds that you hear. ARTWORK: Vaughan Williams' lark looks down on the world from up high. What would the world around your school look like to the lark? Draw the school and its surroundings from the sky LITERACY: Turn your poems into stories or even songs Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 32