Ode to Community
Explore what it means to be a good musical citizen in an ensemble. Learn about the assortment of personal roles that individuals take on while working in a group (e.g., leaders, nurturers, challengers), as well as the musical roles that a composition asks you to step into (e.g., melody, bass line, harmony). Identify which roles you inhabit most often and the roles you’d like to learn more about.
Musical Word Wall
- Melody
- Beat
- Bass Line
- Countermelody
- Harmony
Classroom Discussion Prompts
- What does being a good musical citizen mean to you?
- How do you personally contribute to your musical ensemble? How might you want to contribute in the future?
- Go around and have each ensemble member highlight another member’s personal contributions to the group.
- Can you identify which instruments have which role in the “Ode to Joy” excerpt (06:28)?
- Besides the musical roles discussed in this video (e.g., melody, beat, bass line, countermelody, and harmony), can you think of any other musical roles?
- Which musical role do you find most often in your instrument’s part? Are there any roles you’d like to explore?
- Choose an excerpt from a piece of music your ensemble is working on and as a group identify which instrumental parts contain which roles (e.g., flute has the melody, trombone has the harmony).
Explore More
Articulation
Explore how articulation can change the mood and intention of a piece of music.
Texture
Discover how changes in texture and layering can alter how we hear a piece of music.
Theme and Variations
Learn how to identify a musical theme, describe its character and tone, and how it can be transformed through various compositional techniques.
About Listen and Learn
Join Ensemble Connect fellows in a series of interactive videos that introduce core musicianship skills through guided listening activities. The fellows dissect an excerpt of classical ensemble music through the lens of a particular technique (e.g., articulation), helping students understand the technique and how to apply it to their own music. Alongside each video is a list of suggested prompts for discussion and further learning with your students.
Ensemble Connect is a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.