Experiences and Outcomes:
I can sing and play music from a range of styles and cultures, showing skill and using performance directions, and/or musical notation. EXA 2-16a

I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to experiment with sounds, pitch, melody, rhythm, timbre and dynamics. EXA 2-17a

Inspired by a range of stimuli, and working on my own and/or with others, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through musical activities. EXA 2-18a

I have listened to a range of music and can respond by discussing my thoughts and feelings. EXA 2-19a

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

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

Activities

Warm-up. Begin with your class sitting in a large circle. Pass a clap around the circle and have a race to see how fast you can pass it. Try clapping two times each, going clockwise and anti-clockwise, passing a stamp or a vocal sound etc. Ask your children to suggest ‘flying’ sounds and gestures to pass around the circle too.

Remind your children about Wagner’s piece and the story behind it. Explain that you are now going to begin making your own version of it on instruments.

Demonstrate the following two ideas; these are taken from the beginning of ‘Ride of the Valkyries’:

Idea 1: The trill (or wobble)

Throughout the piece there is always a set of instruments providing a feeling of excitement and suspense by playing rapid trills.

Idea 2: The upward swoop

To give the idea of flying there are many fast, upward swoops. These occur prominently at the beginning of the piece –

Choose one child to come forward and have a go at playing one of these ideas using whatever instruments you have in class. If you are lacking in pitched percussion, ask them to try and make the same effect using something unpitched – the ‘wobble’ could become a ‘rumble’ on a drum and the ‘swoop’ could become a flourish on maracas for example.

Now, demonstrate the third idea. This is the most complex of the three.

 Idea 3: The 3-note tune

Wagner takes a three note chord (known as a triad) –

(on a xylophone, take off all the notes leaving behind all the C, E and Gs)

  …opens it up with a spiky rhythm –

(any rhythm will work, the children can invent their own)

 … and keeps going upwards (inverting) –

(keep playing the same pattern until you’ve used up all the notes available)

Choose a child to come forward and try this out. They can use whatever rhythm and pattern they like.

Split into three working groups and challenge each group to make a short, exciting piece using these three ideas. Tell them that the ‘wobble’ must be constant, the ‘swoop’ happens only occasionally and there should be one big, loud version of the ‘tune’.

Bring the class back together, hear each group separately making any tweaks needed to make the pieces as exciting as possible. Challenge your class to join their group pieces together to make one big, exciting piece. Call this the ‘A section’

Finish the lesson by encouraging your class to write down carefully what they have done and who played what. They can do this as a simple list, make a clever diagram or a graphic score.

Additional resources and a more detailed lesson plan can be found here on the BBC Ten Pieces website;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces/classical-music-richard-wagner-ride-of-the-valkyries/zdyfmfr