CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
CMP TEACHING PLAN
Philip Meyer
With Quiet Courage
Larry Daehn
Concert Band: Grade 3
Daehn Publications 1995
Analysis
Broad Discription
Lush, lyrical composition written in memory of Larry Daehn’s mother: Lois Daehn
Type/Genre
A beautiful lyrical tone poem that embodies both the loss of a loved one and feeling of hope
for what lies ahead.
Background Information
Larry Daehn was born in Rosendale, Wisconsin. He received his B.A. in Music Education
from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in 1964, then his Masters degree in Music
Education from University of Wisconsin at Platteville in 1976. He is a past president of the
Wisconsin chapter of Phi Beta Mu, and was honored by that group as “Outstanding
Bandmaster.” As a composer, he is an admirer of Percy Grainger, and has written several
arrangements of his melodies, and has published an article about the Grainger Museum.
For the last 27 years, Larry Daehn has been a high school band director in New Glarus
Wisconsin.
Program Notes
Her life was heroic, but without fanfare.
She worked and hoped and inspired.
She loved and was loved.
Her life was a noble song of quiet courage.
With those words, Larry Daehn dedicated this composition to the memory of his mother.
He describes her as a brave woman who raised her family through the hardships of farm
life in Wisconsin. Despite the loss of both legs due to diabetes, she lived with nobility and
quiet courage. She loved to sing. These qualities are evident in this composition, which
was written in the summer of 1995 following Lois Daehn’s death. It is a song that is passed
between the horns, saxophones, a solo trumpet, percussion, and finally the full ensemble.
Building from a quiet pianissimo to the strength of a fortissimo, it concludes with the gentle
chords symbolic of the open Wisconsin farmland and a full rewarding life. With Quiet
Courage was premiered by the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C. in 1995.
Elements of Music
Form
The piece is in Rondo Form (ABACADA) where “D” is a modulation to a new key for the
final presentation of the main theme.
Rhythm
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Consists primarily of quarter notes and eighth notes. Whenever a sixteenth note is played,
it is part of the primary rhythmic motif. This is the motif of a dotted-eighth tied to a
sixteenth note.
Melody
The primary theme’s melody is played four times. The primary melody contains two peaks
that are essentially driving forces to return to the beginning, or the end, of the main theme.
The first three times that the melody occurs is played in the key of D-flat major, and at the
end it modulates to the key of B-flat major. The first time theme A is presented is in the F
horn and alto sax. The melody of B is played by the trumpet, flute, oboe, and e-flat clarinet.
The second time theme A is presented is again in the horns and saxophones. Theme C is
presented by the flute, oboe, e-flat clarinet, and b-flat clarinet. Theme A returns, but is
presented by the flutes, oboes, e-flat clarinet, and the trumpets. The piece then has an
eight-measure modulating melody from the flutes, oboes, e-flat clarinet, and b-flat clarinet.
The key then changes to b-flat major, and theme A is presented for the last time by the
flutes, e-flat clarinet, oboe, b-flat clarinet, and the trumpets.
Harmony
The piece contains a beautiful melody that is enriched by harmonies that fit pleasantly to
create a simple chord progression that lends the listener to feel the pastoral qualities of the
piece. There are also several instances of tension and release that evoke the feeling of loss
and longing, that begin with suspension figures and end with a musical sigh, just before the
main theme returns.
Tibre
Throughout the piece, the instrumental colors are reflected by the texture of the
instrumentation of each section. When there is a fuller instrumentation, the timbre is also
a fuller, and warmer sound, so the low brass and low reeds are featured in these sections.
When the instrumentation is thinner, such as in measures 25-33, the timbre is lighter,
thinner, and softer.
Texture
The piece is written with a homophonic texture, where there are simple melodies that are
accompanied by harmonies and countermelodies. The texture is never complex, but the
main theme, which has a full and warm sound, is contrasted by the other sections by
thinner textures.
Expression/Dynamics.
The overall dynamic changes reflect the climaxes of the piece. The first “climax” is the third
time that the main theme is presented, at measure 33, but this is not the main climax. The
second climax is the next time and final time that the main theme is played. This climax is
prefaced by a modulation over eight measures that build by thickening the texture. This
second climax’s arrival is at measure 49 is in the key of Bb Major, and the entire ensemble
is playing (including percussion!). The entire piece is a slow moving piece, which is marked
Andante e Legato.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
The Heart
The heart of the piece is the motif of the dotted eighth note followed by the sixteenth note.
This rhythmic figure represents holding on to someone who has passed. This motif is what
gives the piece the feeling of longing for a loved one. Without this motif, the piece is just a
pretty lyrical piece that evokes the pastoral setting of the farm in Wisconsin on which Larry
Daehn grew up, but would be dry of emotion and passion. The aforementioned two notes
bring the emotion of longing for a lost loved one to the music, and makes it truly a beautiful
musical work.
Concepts that can be Taught using this Composition
The students will be able to learn several things from this composition. The students will
be able to effectively understand the importance of tension and release; be able to
effectively play the lines emotionally; to understand how to balance between melody,
countermelody, and harmony; and to be able to effectively express the feeling of loss and
longing through music.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 1
Introducing the Piece
(PowerPoint presentation)
During the PowerPoint presentation, the students will be exposed to several things
regarding With Quiet Courage. The students will learn a little about the composer, and the
piece. On the first day, there are a couple of activities planned for the first day’s lesson.
These activities include a writing activity where the students will write to their mother or
someone important to them where the students will tell them how he/she makes them feel,
what they enjoy doing with this person, and to thank them for what he/she does for them;
and with the second activity the students will discuss the musical themes, motifs, or ideas
that they might illustrate or paint a picture in their minds. I will finish the presentation
with describing the heart of the piece, asking the students to listen for it one more time.
After the presentation is complete, the ensemble will play the piece for the first time.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 2
Skill Outcome
Students will demonstrate an understanding and comfort within the concert Db major
scale.
Strategies
1. Warm-up
The students will perform the Db major scale and familiarize themselves with the notes of
the scale.
2. The students will perform a series of exercises from Function Chorales by Stephen
Melillo. (This will take some time.) Here is an example of one of these chorales:
3. The students will discuss the role of each line in the chorale.
Assessment
The students will compose their own eight-measure “Function Chorale” to be played by the
class.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 3
Skill Outcomes
The Students will differentiate between the two different articulations present in the piece:
slurred and legato, and be able to identify cadences in the music.
Strategies
1. Warm up
Start the rehearsal by warming up the students on a scale that is in the same key as the
opening of the piece, in D-flat major. First they will play the scale with regular tonguing,
neither legato nor slurred. Ask them what the difference between legato and slurred is,
and to describe the differences between legato tonguing and slurred.
2. Separating Legato and Slurred
Have students play the scale again just as they did before and ask them to keep the key in
their minds. Next have the students sing the scale on “loo.” First sing the scale slurred,
connecting all of the notes, then sing the notes legato. Help the students see the similarities
and differences between legato and slurred. Make sure they understand that legato is
connected while rearticulating, while slurred is simply connected without rearticulating.
Assessment
1. Have students listen to the music and try to listen for the slurred lines in the music.
(There are only a few of them!!)
2. Have the students write down what they think the importance of these slurred lines is,
and how it relates to the rest of the music. Stress the importance of the slurred lines, and
how they move the music toward the cadence points.
3. Play through the piece, and ask the students to listen closely for the slurred lines, in the
music.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 4
Knowledge Outcome
The students will recognize and understand the ABACADA form of the piece (Rondo)
Strategies
1. Listening
Challenge! Play a popular piece of the day, that is in Rondo Form, and then play With Quiet
Courage. Ask the students what the two pieces have in common.
Have the students listen to the pieces, and discover where the main theme is played, and
where the different sections are located in the music.
2. Similarities and Difference
Ask the students to share what they hear that is similar and different between the main
theme (A) sections…are they played exactly the same? What makes them interesting?
What makes them boring? If they are written the same and the students think it is boring,
how can we make them different and interesting?
3. Discussion
In groups, have the students discuss with one another what is different about the sections,
and how they make them feel. Because this piece was written in memory of the composer’s
mother, how does each section relate to how someone might feel about a lost loved one?
Assessment
1. Homework assignment!! Have students find 3 other works (preferably in different
genres) that are in rondo form (ABACADA). Bonus points for popular pieces!!
2. What other things reflect this form? Get creative with the answers! (Triple-decker
sandwiches, poems, 7 layer dips, etc.)
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 5
Skill Outcomes
The students will be able to effectively subdivide and perform the main theme, where the
heart of the music is located.
Strategies
1. Clapping Game/ Challenge
First begin by having the students clapping this pattern together. (X stands for a clap).
Each Example will be clapped first at a slow tempo, and then again faster.
1
X
2
3
4
X
|1
X
2
3
4
X
|1
X
2
3
4
X
Then:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
X
X X
X X
X X
X X
X X
X
(Ask the students what is happening to the tempo; most likely, the students will be
rushing)
Do the same exercise with them counting out loud. Do the same exercise while clapping
every beat and accenting the marked beats. Ask the students how these clapping patterns
relate to the main melody of the music. The motif of the dotted eighth followed by a
sixteenth is a condensed version of the same rhythmic pattern laid out above.
2. Playing the main melody.
Give each student a copy of the main melody transposed to his or her instrument. The
main theme, or A will be played as a group, focusing on subdividing the heart of the music.
Assessment
1. Have the students be able to individually clap the above clapping patterns at any random
tempo that I provide. This will challenge them to subdivide a variety of tempi that could be
applicable to many other pieces.
2. Application
Play the entire piece, and check to see if the syncopated rhythm is played correctly.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 6
Knowledge Outcome
The students will identify the appropriate phrase beginning and endings throughout the
piece.
Strategies
1. Sing the Melodies
The students will sing the melody of the piece to see where a breath is needed. The
students will sing the melody on “Loo” for each articulation.
2. Play with differing phrase lengths
The students will play the A section with different lengths of phrases, beginning with ½
measure “phrases.” The students will play phrases of lengths of ½ measures, 1 measure, 2
measures, 4 measures, and eight measures. The students will then discuss what they think
is an appropriate phrase length, and why.
3. Relate the Melody to the Phrases
The students will look at the contour of the melody and see how it fits with the phrases.
The students will draw the shape of the melody with a line on a sheet of paper, and see how
the melodic line defines the phrases.
Assessment
1. The students will compose lyrics for With Quiet Courage that coincide with the phrases in
the piece. The students will be encouraged to write lyrics that reflect the mood of the piece
as well.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 7
Skill Outcome
Students will be able to perform with a variety of colors, displaying their awareness of
timbre and how it can be used to express emotion.
Strategies
1. In groups, the students will be asked to describe words that describe sounds that can be
made by a human voice (yell, hum, scream, howl, sing, etc). The students will experiment
playing a single note that reflects each of these words.
2. With what the students come up with, they will perform single notes that reflect those
words, and the rest of the class will have to guess what word they are performing.
3. As a class, the students will come up with words that appropriately describe the different
sections of With Quiet Courage. The ensemble will perform the piece keeping these
expression terms in mind.
4. With the list of words that the students came up with that fit the expression of the
different sections of the piece, the students will compare them to the translations of the
written expression markings in the music.
Assessment
1. The students will perform a short simple melody, such as Mary Had a Little Lamb with a
variety of different expressions and colors. The students will get to choose their own
expression words, but they will be required to include at least 5 words from at least 3
different languages and are of varying expression. In their list of expression words, the
students will also include the English translation or definition. The students will play the
melody for student partners, and the student partners will score based on the following
rubric:
5-The student displays 5 clear distinct expressions that appropriately match the written
expressions
4-The student displays 4 of the 5 distinct expressions that appropriately match the written
expressions
3-The student displays 3 of the 5 distinct expressions that appropriately match the written
expressions
2-The student displays 2 of the 5 distinct expressions that appropriately match the written
expressions
1-The student displays 1 of the 5 distinct expressions that appropriately match the written
expressions
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 8
Knowledge Outcome
The students will understand the different ways that tension and release are used in With
Quiet Courage
Strategies
1. Discussion
The students will have a discussion about how tension and release can be created in music.
The students can relate the idea of tension and release to horror films, or other things in
life that have tension and release. In this strategy, I will introduce the compositional
techniques of suspension, syncopation, and augmentation.
2. Visual Application
Give the students each a rubber band. While listening to the piece, students will stretch the
rubber band when they feel moments of tension in the music. The tenser the music seems
to get, the farther the rubber band would be stretched. When the music releases the
tension, then the students will release the rubber bands (not shooting them, but just
bringing them back to their original state.
3. Group discussion
In groups, the students will discuss how composer Larry Daehn created moments of
tension and release in the music, and what compositional techniques are used during each
moment of tension and release
Assessment
1. Students will locate all of the moments of tension and release, and identify which
technique(s) are used during that particular moment.
2. Students will compose a short composition of no more than eight measures, and will
provide a harmony and a melody. The student is required to use at least one of the
compositional techniques of tension and release that were discussed earlier.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 9
Affective Outcome
The students will articulate their opinions about how this composition, and how it is an
effective piece of music.
Strategies
1. Listen to examples of music that uses words, images, movement, etc. to evoke a specific
mood. The students will describe how these different elements create the mood.
2. Listen to examples of music that do not involve non-musical elements. The students will
describe the ways in which composer creates a feeling.
3. Journal activity- The students will write a short journal entry (no more than 1 page) in
which the students will write about anything in their lives that evoke a specific feeling. The
students will focus on every small detail that they can think of that lends this particular
thing to making the student feel that specific feeling.
Assessment
1. Journal Entry – The students will comment on the specific compositional elements in
With Quiet Courage that make this composition so emotional.
2. Program Notes – The students will write program notes for With Quiet Courage, and the
individual who writes the most convincing notes will have their notes included in the
concert program.
CMP UNIT PLAN: With Quiet Courage By Larry Daehn
Day 10
Knowledge Outcome
Students will recognize the chord progression in the main theme, and understand how
their instrument’s part fits in with the chord. (For those not playing in the first time
through the main theme, i.e. flutes and oboes, they will examine the theme played at the
end.)
Strategies
1. The students will learn the different chords associated with a Major scale: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi,
vii°.
2. The students will listen to a few pieces in which the bass line is very memorable, and
very important, i.e. Pachelbel’s Canon in D, The Temptations’ My Girl, The Lion Sleeps
Tonight, and a piece they probably all know how to play on a piano Heart and Soul.
3. The students will choose one of these songs, and figure out in the A section of each piece,
how the melody fits in with the bass line, and what chord is being played at which time.
Assessment
1. The students will write the chord progression that is present in the first theme (mm 1-8).
2. The students will compose a short melody, or a chorale based on that specific chord
progression.