Carnegie Hall

You can also play “The Name Game” accompanied by instrumental selections from The Orchestra Rocks repertoire, such as “La Follia” or “Go BIG or Go HOME,” adapting to the steady beat of each piece.

• Try other variations on this game, playing instruments or creating movements that represent each name. Be sure to keep the steady beat going with body percussion or instruments.
  • What was challenging or easy about this activity?
  • What did you notice about performing names with different numbers of syllables?
  • How did we all stay together?
  • Why is the steady beat important?

Explore Strong and Weak Beats in the “Anvil Chorus”

“Anvil Chorus” is a lively tune from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore. In this scene, a group of men are going to work with their hammers and anvils, tools used to shape metal. They sing along with the women in their camp, all looking forward to the end of a long day's work.

• Listen to Track 7 “Anvil Chorus” from Il trovatore (complete).
• Divide the class into two groups to perform the rhythmic patterns below from the “Anvil Chorus” (may be performed with the recording or unaccompanied).
• Group 1 stomps on the strong or accented “anvil” beats.
• Group 2 claps lightly on the weaker or unaccented beats.
• You may also try the above activity with classroom percussion instruments, with Group 1 playing a louder, heavier instrument like a drum and Group 2 playing a lighter instrument like a triangle.

Watch a video performance of “Anvil Chorus” from Il trovatore by The Metropolitan Opera and ask students to observe the motions of the metalworkers as they swing their hammers, striking the anvils on the strong beats. Repeat the activity above, inviting students to utilize this movement to embody the strong and weak beats.

Go Deeper

Explore strong and weak beats in Track 30 “Johnny B. Goode” (complete) and Track 16 “La Follia” (“Madness”):

• “Johnny B. Goode” has a backbeat that is characteristic of rock music: The strong beats fall on beats 2 and 4 and the weak beats on beats 1 and 3, inverting the pattern in “Anvil Chorus.”
• “La Follia” is in 3/4 meter, and the pattern of strong and weak beats is different in each variation.

When Giuseppe Verdi began composing, Italy was not yet an independent country and was ruled by Austria. People would cry out “Viva Verdi!”; the Austrian rulers believed that they were just shouting the name of their favorite opera composer, but it was also a secret code they used to voice their support for the man they wanted to lead them: Vittorio Emanuele Rei (king) D’Italia (of Italy).

Discover Meter

Meter is the organization of the rhythmic pulse into groups of strong and weak beats. When the beats are organized into groups of two, the work is in duple meter (2/4). When the beats are organized into groups of three, the work is in triple meter (3/4), and groups of four are quadruple meter (4/4). The meter is noted with a time signature, in which the top number indicates the number of beats per measure, and the bottom number indicates the type of note that gets one beat. Explore how meter influences the strong and weak beats by listening and moving to works in different meters.

• Play Track 16 “La Follia” (“Madness”) to discover 3/4 meter. Ask students to choose a body percussion movement to represent the strong beat (beat 1), and a different body percussion movement to represent the weak beats (2 and 3). For example, pat-clap-clap.

• Play Track 25 “Drumlines” to discover 4/4 meter. Ask students to choose a body percussion movement to represent the strong beats (beats 1 and 3), and a different body percussion movement to represent the weak beats (2 and 4). For example, stomp-snap-stomp-snap.

• Listen to a different Link Up work and ask students to identify the meter of the piece by trying out the different patterns that they created for 3/4 and 4/4 meter.
  • Why did you choose the pattern that you did?
  • Can you hear and feel the strong beat(s)?
  • How could you identify the meter?

Go Deeper: Discover Conducting Patterns

Students can learn to conduct duple meter, triple meter, and quadruple meter using the diagrams below and the Conduct Like a Maestro video resource.

Using a baton or their hand, students can learn the patterns below. After practicing each pattern, play different works in the Link Up repertoire while students conduct the music.

Experience the Impact of Tempo

In several pieces of repertoire in The Orchestra Rocks, there are shifts in tempo that impact the performers’ and listeners’ experience of the steady beat.

• Listen to any of the following Link Up selections to discover tempo changes:
  • Track 20 “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana: 0:00–0:34; 1:40–2:38
  • Track 28 “Go BIG or Go HOME” (complete): 0:30–0:57; 2:03–2:58
• Ask your students to maintain the steady beat on their body (either through quiet tapping or patting) to note where they hear the tempo change.
  • Did the tempo change happen suddenly or gradually?
  • If the tempo change happens suddenly, it is called subito.
  • If the tempo gradually speeds up, it is called accelerando; if it gradually slows down, it is called ritardando.
• Listen again to the selected piece, this time asking your students to experiment with several ways to reflect different tempos. This can include:
  • Body percussion: Using different parts of the body
  • Instruments: Using different instruments, or different techniques or pitches on a single instrument
  • Stationary movement: Using shorter, lighter movements with smaller parts of the body for faster pulse (i.e. fingers, shoulders, eye blinking, and other fine motor movement) and larger, heavier movements for slower sections (i.e. stomping, pounding, and other gross motor movement)
  • Locomotor movement: Using smaller, lighter movements for faster tempos (i.e. tip toes and small steps) and larger, heavier movements for slower sections (i.e. lunges)
• Invite students to reflect on the impact of the tempo changes.
  • Do different tempos change the quality, character, or personality of the music?
  • Why or why not?