Listening List
1. Symphony No. 4 Mvt. 1
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
This piece is an aggressive orchestra piece that highlights motivic figures
and passes them around in an easy to follow format. I would use this to not
only expose children to quality orchestral music, but to also use as an
example for how a simple musical line can translate to easy to understand
emotions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xak6kQqoRo
2. Swan Lake
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
This work utilizes several compositional ideas over the course of a
sprawling ballet. I will utilize these concepts to teach children about
inversions and how they can be used to create music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqZfoK25lnY
3. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat Major
Frederic Chopin
This gentle, beautiful piano solo has a song-like melody over an obvious
waltz feel. I will use this to engage students in feeling the triplet meter
while moving around the room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIA9QNHsAf0 at (5:25)
4. Peter and the Wolf
Sergei Prokofiev
This piece has easy to follow motives that have written in character
interpretations from the composer. I will use this piece to stimulate kids
imaginations and create stories with them about the different characters
represented in the piece. Ultimately, this will aid in not only their
audiation capabilities but also in their emotional attachment to music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfM7Y9Pcdzw
5. Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine
Eric Whitacre
Another story telling piece but instead of through pure sound, it is done
with words as well. The piece has clear sections that are not only marked
by phrase changes but also in words. I will use this to help children
differentiate between the beginnings of musical ideas, and the ends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsLiivVgxmM
6. Nessun Dorma
Giacomo Puccini
One of the most well-known opera solos of all time. I will use this piece as
an example of what music can do to a performer; stressing on the face, the
tone of their voice, and the emotion that they feel while watching it.
However, my main goal is to immerse them in as much historical music as
possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs-p1oEvuGg
7. Horn Concerto No. 4 Mvt. 4
Amadeus Mozart
This piece is a beautifully orchestrated French horn concerto that outlines
aspects of the classical period while still being easily digestible. It has a
clear ABCBDB Rondo form that I will be able to introduce to the children.
I can also talk about moods of the piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJFuWgkGkY (12:26)
8. That’s Amore!
Dean Martin
An incredible jazz-standard solo work about the glories of Italian love.
Honestly, I just really love hearing this on the radio. It has some cultural
high points, but mainly it’s just a really fun song that the kids will enjoy
singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69O4PXzAQ5Y
9. A-ha!
Pentatonix
This song is an acapela arrangement of Imogen Heap’s, A-ha. The words
and the song itself are unimportant. I will use this piece as an example of
all the different sounds that can be made with one voice. This will invite
the idea to some of the students to experiment more with the sounds that
their voice is naturally making.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8WGKPumbYI
10. Dance Macabre
Camille Saint-Saens
A fun Halloween-styled piece that utilizes a lot of easy to digest motivic
ideas. I will use this to talk about the characters that each melody
represents, the call and response composition found in the piece, and to
build children’s ears on the sounds that each instrument makes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyknBTm_YyM
11. Rite of Spring
Igor Stravinksy
Not only is this piece a very important work in the symphonic orchestral
repertoire, it also contains a lot of interesting and new sounds that children
can be exposed to. In addition, there are a lot of mixed meters and strange
rhythmic passages that will help students be able to discern rhythmic
structures later on in life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq1q6u3mLSM
12. Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Paul Dukas
Students will be able to better connect musical phrases and styles with
emotions after watching the cartoon that accompanies this piece. By
helping foster this skill, students will be able to better connect music with
ideas and emotional meaning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrm8usaH0sM
13. Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairies
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
All children usually recognize this piece because of the winter holidays.
Because of this, students will more easily be able to connect this piece to
movements and emotions. In the classroom, students will be able to do
laban movements ranging to heavy stomping on the downbeats, to light
prancing on the melody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rapf3g_XvCc
14. In The Hall of the Mountain King
Edvard Grieg
Another easily recognizable piece. Children will be able to move to the
music and show that they recognize the mood of a piece through their
body gestures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLp_Hh6DKWc
15. Theme From Up
Michael Giacchino
This piece of music contains many different instrument sounds that can
easily be pointed out in a classroom setting. The teacher could also use the
many varying styles and themes presented in the music to further expand
upon connecting music with human emotions. Students could also be
tasked with creating a story based on the music alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqGo3bm6OAs
16. Come Fly with Me
Frank Sinatra
This particular song is not only a live piece of history but is also a great
way to introduce students to Jazz and American Swing. Students can be
tasked with comparing the way this song sounds to the other music to
better enforce their ability to compare and contrast different forms of
music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmQq6yLe2ww
17. Wayfaring Stranger
Ed Sheeran
This song is perfect for introducing students to the Aeolian mode. Because
of it’s use of looping, it’s also great gateway into a composition or a
looping project for students to experiment with composing new music, or
alternatively open them for the Vernacular Music Project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buAzVkcH4YI
18. 4-chord Song
Axis of Awesome
This is an excellent example of the relation of different songs. The video,
up to 2:16 for appropriateness, shows how closely related different songs
are because of their chord structure. This video can be used, again only up
to 2:16, as an introduction to a mash-up project, a loops project, or just a
lesson on chord structures and how they are present in everyday music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgFrVqUXS8I
19. Fandango 13
Michael Burrit
This piece can be used to show the different types of ensembles that exist
in the world. In addition, the teacher can use this to show the different
types of instruments and the sounds they make.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7BerR_qbLw
20. Sossa Bola
Emmanuel Sojourn
This piece is just another example of what sort of music exists in the
world. By using this piece, the teacher can introduce children to the
various ways sound in music can be produced, encorouging the student to
experiment on their own and hopefully expand the soundscape in later
years. In addition, the piece represents a different cultural identity that can
be expanded upon by the teacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSHHm_WMSxM