Unit Plan Project

Lukas Stanley
MUS 3440-105 Instrumental Methods I
Fall 2014

Petite Tango, by C.B. Kriechbaum

Danny Boy, arr. Harry Alshin
Little Symphony, by Carold Nuez
Contents
Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
Basic Information .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Program......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Formal Analyses .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Glossary of Terms........................................................................................................................................ 13
Main Concepts/Skills and Strategies ........................................................................................................... 14
Objectives for Students............................................................................................................................... 20
List of Similar Works ................................................................................................................................... 22
Resources .................................................................................................................................................... 23
Basic Information

Petite Tango

Composer: C.B. Kriechbaum

Publisher: Alfred Highland/Etling
Grade: 2

Style: Tango / Dance

Keys: C major
Meters: 4/4
Tempo: Quarter note = 116
Performance time: ~2:00
Instrumentation: String orchestra; optional claves, bongos and piano

Range Concerns: There are no range concerns with this piece. The violins parts do not utilize
the E string range at all, and the low strings only have brief moments of potential use of their
highest string, although they could and should be played with fourth finger on the next lowest
string for stylistic accuracy.

Score: Full Score

Unusual Requirements: The only unusual requirements about this piece is the addition of
auxiliary percussion and piano parts, which most grade 2 string orchestras would not have as part
of their normal ensemble. This would likely require members of the ensemble that had good
rhythm to take these parts, students to be brought in from a band class, or the parts to be omitted.
However, the clave part in particular is of enough stylistic importance that it should be included
if possible.
Danny Boy

Composer: Traditional Irish Air

Arranger: Harry Alshin
Publisher: Alfred Highland/Etling
Grade: 2

Style: Air
Keys: D Major
Meters: 4/4
Tempo: Quarter note = 54
Performance time: 3:00
Instrumentation: String orchestra

Range Concerns: All parts are playable in first position except a brief passage in which the first
violins are divisi and doubled in octaves. The top part requires third position for less than two
measures.

Score: Full Score

Unusual Requirements: There arent any unusual requirements for this piece. It is a very
straightforward string arrangement.
Little Symphony

Composer: Carold Nuez

Publisher: Neil A. Kjos Music Company
Grade: 1.5

Style: Classical
Keys: G major/e minor, C major
Meters: 4/4
Tempo: Quarter note = 112
Performance time: ~2:20
Instrumentation: String orchestra, optional piano

Range Concerns: There are no range concerns with this piece. All parts are approachable from
first position, and usually gravitate towards the mid to low registers of the instruments.

Score: Full Score

Unusual Requirements: There are no unusual requirements for this piece. It is a straightforward
piece for string orchestra.
Program

Penacook Lake Middle School

7th Grade Strings

November 1, 2015
7:00 PM, Penacook High School Auditorium
Program

Petite Tango. C.B. Kriechbaum

Danny Boy. arr. Harry Alshin

Little Symphony.... Carold Nuez

Program Notes
Petite Tango
Casimer B. Kriechbaum, Jr. (1923-1991)

Petite Tango was written in 1975, expanding upon a then small repertoire of
original, contemporary music for young string orchestras. This piece gives students
a crash course in the cross-cultural nature of music, drawing heavily from Spanish
Cultures and even including auxiliary instrumentation like the claves and bongos.

Danny Boy
Arr. Harry Alshin (1909-1995)

This Irish classic has been pleasing audiences for many, many years, as it
dates all the way back to 1855. Here, Alshin beautifully sets the traditional melody
for the string orchestra, capturing the lyrical abilities of these instruments.

Little Symphony
Carold Nuez (1929-2015)

Little Symphony is evocative of music from the Classical Era, which lasted
from the mid-18th century and into the 19th century. This era focused heavily on
form and balance, and brought to the world such composers as Mozart and
Beethoven. In this composition, Nuez utilizes similar elements as a way to
introduce young string players to the beauty of music from this era, within a more
contemporary context.
Seventh Grade Orchestra Members

1st Violins Cellos

Adrian Allen Mark Anderson

Jason Doyle Wayne Brady*
Mike Figueroa Teresa Flores
Rochelle Gardner Samantha Hickie
Tony Hoffman Sadie Quinn
Robyn Montgomery** Becca Sanford
Leland Nunez Claude Wood
Mark Rowe
Damian Su Basses
Tommie Warren
Scott Washington Scott Daniels*
Thomas Wheeler Valerie Silva
Tristan Wolfe
2nd Violins

Andrea Baker
Nick Cain
Henry Campbell * Section Principal
**Concertmaster
Lorene Fletcher
Mack Fox*
Aaron Gray
Marie Johnson
Mollie McGinnis
Nyla Sykes
Roland Turner

Violas
Sam Collins
Adrienne Pope
Carolyn Simmons
Elias Stone
Lucas Tanner
Liang Xau*
Stanley 10

Formal Analyses

Petite Tango

Sections and descriptions

Introduction (mm. 1-4): Establishes the habanera rhythmic pattern and tonal center of C major.

A (mm. 5-28):
A: Primary melodic content introduced in violins, accompaniment in violas. Tonal plan is
I, V, I over 8 measures.
B: Elongation of melody and stylistic contrast (legato). Tonal Plan is I, V, I over 8
measures.
A: Return of original melodic content. Tonal plan is V, I over 4 measures (second half
only of A)

B (mm. 29-44): New, legato melodic material in the viola and cello parts, accompaniment
shifted to violins (and continuing in the bass line).

A (mm. 45-54): Return of primary melodic content in measure 45. Elongation of the habanera
rhythm in measure 51. The last measure is a brief coda because it deviates from the consistent
rhythm of the piece to punctuate the ending.
Stanley 11

Danny Boy
This piece follows a lyrical verse format typical of folk music, as it is a traditional Irish Air, also
called by the name Londonderry Air.

Sections and descriptions

Introduction (mm. 1-2): Establishes tonal center in D major with a brief fragment of melodic
content.

Verse 1 (mm. 3-10): The celli play the first half of the melody in the middle of their range, and
the first violins play the second half of the melody in the low to middle part of their range.
Accompaniment parts provide mostly harmonic content, with occasional contrapuntal moments.

Verse 2 (mm. 11-18): Melody in the first violins in the middle register. Increased contrapuntal
motion in the accompaniment parts.

Interlude (mm. 19-22): The violins continue up in register, playing a continuously moving
eighth note line which includes melodic fragments of the melody, although the melody is not
explicitly stated. The accompaniment returns to textures similar to the opening with sustained
harmonies.

Verse 3 (mm. 23-36): The celli lead of the melody again in the same way it was stated in verse
1. During this verse the piece builds to a strong climactic moment during which both violin parts
and the violas are playing melodic content. Then the phrase is extended with a couple of
deceptive cadences and new chromaticism added for color. Then there is a brief moment of unity
where a piece of the melody is played in unisons and octaves with no harmonic accompaniment
before a luscious final cadence.
Stanley 12

Little Symphony

This piece draws inspiration stylistically and formally from classical music. Its form closely
mirrors the sonata form which was developed during that period and which often was used as a
template for the first and last movements of symphonies.

Sections and descriptions

Introduction
Theme 1 (mm. 1-16)
This section presents a light G-major theme in the first violin part accompanied by a
bouncing staccato accompaniment in the other parts.

Theme 2 (mm. 17-29)

This section utilizes a very prominent moving eight-note line as the melody. It begins in
the relative minor, E minor, and briefly modulates to B minor.

Transition (mm. 30-31)

These two measures use a chromatic descending tone from C# down to C-natural to
modulate into C major, which is the first notated key change.

Development (mm. 32-47): This development takes materials from the accompaniment in the
first theme and melodic ideas from the second theme and puts them together in a kind of
variation for the development section. I dont think this is a very good section musically because
there is a lot of dead time as notes are held out, too little harmonic motion, and a lack of variation
in cadence points. The melody is first presented in violas and celli, passed to the violins, and then
played all together.

Retransition (mm. 48-57): Melodic fragments are used to harmonically modulate back to G
major.

Recapitulation (mm. 58-65): The first theme is presented one more time and cadences with a
perfect authentic cadence.
Stanley 13

Glossary of Terms

Terms are listed in the order in which they appear in the score.

Petite Tango

Moderato: a moderate tempo

Pizz.: Plucked
Arco: Bowed

Danny Boy

Expressively: with expression

div.: divisi one player per stand plays one of the two notes
Slowly: slowly

Little Symphony

Moderato: a moderate tempo

Legato: a smooth, connected bow stroke
sim.: simile. To be performed in the same manner
decres.: decrescendo. Get softer.
sempre legato: always smooth and connected
cresc.: crescendo. Get louder.
Stanley 14

Main Concepts/Skills and Strategies

Petite Tango

Concept 1: Music as accompaniment to dance.

While it could be argued that understanding music as integral to dance traditions is not vital to
performing music, I would argue that a thorough understanding of the dance-like elements of
this piece will give a more authentic and meaningful performance.

Teaching Strategies

1. Teach the students about the tango as a dance form so they understand the social function
this genre of music would normally fulfill. A couple ways to go about this would be to
watch videos of people doing the tango, and then perhaps putting on a recording of Petite
Tango and engaging the class in a social dance. It would be fun and provide the class
with time to listen to a quality performance of the piece (probably several times). In
addition, it would connect them to both the visceral and temporal elements of the music
and help with time-keeping, particularly in the habanera rhythm pattern in the cello line,
although appearing in some form throughout the ensemble during the piece.

2. Historical teaching. Tango isnt the only dance that music is used for. A written or
research assignment could easily go along with this project, in which the students have to
do a brief essay where they pick a type of dance music and do research on the musical
characteristics specific to that kind of dance. This could include typical meters, where the
stressed beats are in each measure, instrumentations, social contexts, normal performance
venues, etc. This will also help the students gain a broader understanding of music
outside just a traditional orchestral setting, should they choose genres which exist
primarily in that realm.

Concept 2: Melody vs. Accompaniment

This is a piece that relies heavily on the juxtaposition of melody and accompaniment. There are
really no instances of counterpoint.

Teaching Strategies

1. Teach listening as a musical skill. At any given time, a section or a couple sections in the
orchestra have the melody. Everyone else has accompaniment patterns. Iterate often that
those students playing accompaniment are important, but that the melody needs to be
Stanley 15

heard the most. Mention that each person must be able to hear and identify the melody at
any given time.

2. Exaggerate dynamics between sections as an exercise. Have the accompaniment play as

quietly as possible and those with melody play as loudly as possible so that everyone is
positive what role they are playing at any given time. This kind of dynamic awareness
will also provide precedent to teach good musical shaping and phrasing.

Concept 3: Time keeping

While doing a social dance exercise will certainly help with autonomously keeping time within
the ensemble, there are other ways to improve on this skill with this piece.

Teaching strategies

1. One of the unique elements of this piece is the inclusion of the auxiliary percussion.
There are parts for claves and bongos, and a middle school orchestra is very unlikely to
have percussionists as a normal part of a string ensemble. This would be a good
opportunity to give students a chance (perhaps even rotate through everyone during the
rehearsal cycle) to play those instruments. This will give them experience keeping time,
developing internal pulse and the skills they need to be self-aware about if they are
speeding up or slowing down.

2. Along with the first part of this concept, this would be a good piece to let the ensemble
run without a conductor sometimes. Because of the consistent rhythm, this will force the
students to rely more on listening than on watching, which is important because this piece
keeps a steady tempo and should be very approachable from a chamber-music
perspective.
Stanley 16

Danny Boy

Concept 1: Phrasing

This is a traditional Irish Air, which is most commonly heard sung as Danny Boy. The long
phrases are a difficult thing for a young ensemble to achieve, and while not technically
challenging, playing this piece with expression will be.

Teaching Strategies

1. Listening. This is an important and often overlooked element in orchestral musicians. In

order to get the style of the piece engraved into the minds of the students I would play
several recordings of different renditions of Danny Boy and Londonderry Air from the
internet. Because it is such a memorable and often repeated melody it will easily stick,
and hopefully ideas about phrasing will manifest itself in their playing.

2. Singing. I believe that the best orchestral musicians are the most multifaceted ones that
are comfortable working in different media. Since this is a tune that is often heard sung, I
would have the students sing the lyrics to Danny Boy along with accompaniment from
piano or an instrumental track. I would focus on where to breath, and then relate that to
bowings and how it relates to phrasing when playing string instruments.

Concept 2: Vibrato

If this piece is being performed by a seventh grade orchestra, as is the case in this hypothetical
program, it is likely a time in which vibrato is just starting to be taught and developed. Because
of the slow, lyrical nature of this piece, it provides a perfect place to start implementing vibrato
to warm up the lines.

Teaching Strategies

1. Teach vibrato independent of actual music. Begin by having the students slowly
glissando up and down on top of their strings (on whatever finger is most comfortable at
first) at a consistent pace. Very gradually, shrink the distance of the glissando, and add
pressure from the finger until the distance is so small that it is less than a semitone, and
the finger is totally depressed against the fingerboard. This is a basic tool on building up
a good vibrato motion and form. Start macroscopically where proper (or improper)
posture can be easily observed and shrink it down.
Stanley 17

2. Apply vibrato to the music. As the students become more comfortable with vibrato, start
to apply it to long notes in the music to warm them up and give them more shape. As
time goes on, it will become more natural in a piece like this to vibrato every note, but
because of the nature of learning vibrato some students might take longer than this one
concert cycle to become really comfortable with this.

Concept 3: Time keeping

Although this was also used as a main concept in Petite Tango, because of the difference in
tempo and style of Danny Boy, it will lend itself to different elements of keeping time.

Teaching strategies

1. Subdividing. This is one of the most challenging things for even experienced string
players, because for some reason we tend to completely stop counting the moment we
play a long note. Because there are so many long notes in this piece, it will be imperative
to keep reminding students to keep subdividing all the time. Using a metronome could
help to externalize subdivisions, but it would also detract from the flowing nature of the
music. It would be better to encourage the students to be listening to where the eighth
notes are at if they are not the ones playing them, and to keep a consistent 1&2&3&4&
pulse in their minds.

2. Let students conduct. Giving students the baton for a while would not only challenge and
test their time keeping skills, but also give them accountability and ownership of the
music. The downside is that for everyone to conduct might be time-consuming. As an
experiment though, it might be worth it to see if there is noticeable overall improvement,
or even more investment from the students after such an exercise.
Stanley 18

Little Symphony

Concept 1: Form

When students are first learning music, the formal elements about how it is arranged are usually
not recognized, but they become subconsciously assimilated through years of playing. I think it is
good to teach students to speak intelligently about the form of the music so they have a better
understanding of it and are more invested in it.

Teaching Strategies

1. Have the class collectively identify the form of the piece. They can look together for
when materials are introduced, repeated, etc. and understand what makes up the piece.
This would best be done as a small group exercise in which each group had a copy of the
score in front of them. Then the results of each group could be compared and a consensus
could be reached.

2. Traditional lecture. Teach the class about form. This piece has a lot of ties to classical
music that they will be exposed to more and more as they play more difficult music. I
wouldnt be afraid to introduce them to abstract concepts such as basic sonata form. From
there, a whole lesson on different forms could emerge, teaching about things such as
rondo form, binary form, etc. Taking a class period to have such a lesson might also be a
good relief from playing for a day towards the middle or second half of a rehearsal cycle.

Concept 2: Bow Strokes

Different bow strokes produce different articulations and give music character shape, and can
identify different formal elements. It is vital for students at this age to begin developing a variety
of bow strokes, although first it is important that their basic posture and technique are also set.
A bad bow-hand will likely yield unsuccessful attempts at producing the correct sound and lead
to frustration. Because of the Classical influences of this piece, a light brush stroke is common
and is what I would teach in correlation to this program.

Teaching Strategies

1. Isolate the bow stroke from the music. The accompaniment in Little Symphony is a
repeated eighth-note bounce off the string. This can be taught by having the ensemble all
bounce together on a common open string (D is probably best). Pedagogical knowledge
on how the stroke works will be important, but playing the stroke as a group and refining
Stanley 19

it through verbal advice (i.e. slightly more horizontal motion, less vertical motion, like a
paint-brush, etc.) will be fairly effective.

2. Apply the bow stroke to the music. Find passages where each section has this bow stroke
and practice it on those notes. Close attention will have to be paid to keeping consistent
tempo and stylistic uniformity within sections and across the orchestra. This would also
be a good thing to have some sort of playing test on, to encourage the students to practice
the correct stroke and become more proficient at it quickly, as it is a vital part of playing
this piece correctly.

Sight Reading

While good sight reading protocol could be taught from any of these pieces the first time they are
read, this one has some particular challenges that make it a good candidate for slowing down
and taking some extra time with this process.

Teaching Strategies

1. Have the students look through the piece without playing. One important thing to note in
Little Symphony is the use of chromaticism and notated modulation. The students should
be able to identify these things on their own and know how to then apply them during the
first reading. Because of the simple harmonic language in a majority of grade one music,
which these students were likely playing prior to their seventh grade year, this could very
well be the first time they are playing a piece that actually modulates to another key area.
This is a good opportunity to teach about that and logistically how it works should this be
the case.

2. Rhythmic isolation. Have the class sight-sing just the rhythm on a neutral syllable so that
they have a sense of what is happening around them in that regard. These kind of
strategies will also begin to prepare them for a Festival situation where they cannot play
notes until the actual reading, but this kind of preparation is allowed.
Stanley 20

Objectives for Students

Week 1

1. Sight read through each piece.

2. The students demonstrate appropriate and effective sight reading protocol.
3. By the end of the week: each student can demonstrate a basic vibrato, or the strategies
used in developing vibrato.

Week 2

1. The students demonstrate an increasing ability to play the three pieces. They continually
get more notes and rhythms correct.
2. The students demonstrate an ability to keep a consistent tempo through a dancing
exercise in conjunction with Petite Tango, and through playing the percussion parts in the
same piece.
3. The students can all accurately demonstrate a brush stroke independently, and in
rhythmic unison within their section.

Week 3

1. The students demonstrate an increasing ability to play the three pieces. They continually
get more notes and rhythms correct.
2. The students can play each of the three pieces from start to finish without having to stop.
3. The students demonstrate an accurate understanding of melody vs. accompaniment in all
three pieces by playing with sensitivity during accompaniment sections and playing with
confidence during melodic sections.
4. By the end of the week: The students demonstrate a beginning understanding of phrasing
and musical direction, particularly in Danny Boy, but also in relation to the other two
pieces.

Week 4

1. The students demonstrate an increasing ability to play the three pieces. They continually
get more notes and rhythms correct.
2. Not only can the individual students play their parts accurately, but there is evidence of
awareness within the ensemble in that sections can play the music together and correct
themselves when they get off.
Stanley 21

3. The students can demonstrate their knowledge about musical form through in-class score
study and lecture-discussion regarding Little Symphony. For homework, these concepts
are applied to Petite Tango to test learning.

Week 5

1. The students can perform all the notes and rhythms at performance standard.
2. The students are applying a beginning understanding of vibrato to the music by using it,
with little to no encouragement, during rehearsal.

Week 6

1. The students can demonstrate playing all three pieces with stylistic accuracy, correct
phrasing, and appropriate technique.
2. Each student has demonstrated understanding of the connections between dance and
music by turning in a written assignment about a genre of music and its associated dance
style.
Stanley 22

List of Similar Works

Petite Tango

Other compositions by Casimer Kriechbaum

1. La Boca Grande

By other composers:
1. Georges Bizet, Carmen
2. Ernesto Lecuona, Andalucia Suite (Littrell, 127)

Danny Boy

Other arrangements by Harry Alshin:

1. Carnival of the Animals Saint-Saens
2. Figaro Figaro Rossini
3. Scenes from Carmen Bizet
4. Six Bartok Miniatures - Bartok

By other composers:
1. Danny Boy performed by James Galway.
2. Percy Grainger, Irish Tune from County Derry.
3. Irish Night at the Pops, Arthur Fiedler and Boston Pops
4. Londonderry Air, any instrumental recording (Littrell, 102)

Little Symphony

Other compositions by Carold Nuez:

1. M to the Third Power
2. Bluegrass Country
3. The Texians

By other composers:
Music composed during the classical period (Littrell, 69).
1. Mozart
2. Haydn
Stanley 23

Resources

Littrell, David Ault, Laura Reed. Racin, and Michael Allen. Teaching Music through
Performance in Orchestra. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2001. Print.

Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. Danny Boy. Cond. Leon Gregorian. GIA
Music, 2003. CD.

Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. Little Symphony. Cond. Leon Gregorian. GIA
Music, 2003. CD.

Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. Petite Tango. Cond. Leon Gregorian. GIA
Music, 2003. CD.