<h3>A Short Ride in a Fast Machine (timbre, rhythm, structure)</h3><p> A Short Ride in a Fast Machine, by John Adams, has to be one of the most exciting pieces of music about going places so it's a must-listen choice for this topic. It has interesting cross-rhythms making it a complex piece of music for dancing to. It lends itself to creative rather than formal movement, with the children moving expressively rather than aiming to keep in time. At certain points in the music, such as where it changes character midway, it would be fantastic to have a signal to come together in groups to make still images of a car, a plane or a helicopter. These would need to have been practised beforehand.</p>                                                                                                                                    <h4>Our Own Short Ride in a Fast Machine!</h4><p>Ask the children to create their own music, also called A short Ride in a Fast Machine. The instrument that begins the John Adams music, and plays for much of the piece, is a wood block, which is actually an instrument often found in schools. </p>                                                                                                                                                

<p>In the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece for orchestra from a longer suite of music by the Norwegian composer, Grieg. The music may be called Ã¢â‚¬ËœincidentalÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ music or Ã¢â‚¬ËœprogrammeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ music (like a soundtrack from a film) because it goes with the play, Peer Gynt by Ibsen. Peer Gynt, the central character, goes on a long, eventful journey! You can download a pdf of the story at the start of this unit. (It's a simplified version - in the complete play, Peer Gynt comes across as a bit of an idiot who goes on to make his fortune by dodgy dealing - you know the type!)</p><h4>Listening</h4><p>First tell the story and then ask the children to listen to the music and think about: </p><ul><li>which part of story the music might be describing</li><li>how Peer Gynt was feeling at the time</li></ul><p>If space allows, listening while lying down like a starfish helps children to follow their own thoughts without the distraction of seeing others. Encourage the children to share their thoughts about the music, helping them to use the words in context: pitch (very low pitch) dynamics (quiet, becoming gradually louder) and tempo (slow, becoming gradually faster). Ask how it might express the story and also show Peer GyntÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s feelings.</p><h4>Show and Tell</h4><p>It would be brilliant if you could persuade a local teacher, musician parent, orchestra, or someone from your Music Service to bring in a horn, cello, double bass or bassoon - so much better than showing pictures!</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" data-src="/internal/----/_sml/trolls.jpg" alt="Trolls">    </div>                                                                <h4>Movement and Drama (pulse)</h4><p>Next, the children could make up movement and drama to the music. Choose a (brave!) child to be Peer Gynt, a child to be the King of the Trolls, and the rest of the children are the trolls that give chase. Remember that Peer Gynt escapes and doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get eaten! The way the instruments play sounds like tiptoeing at first - the cellos and double basses play <em>pizzicato</em>, meaning that the strings are plucked instead of played using a bow. </p>                                                                <h4>Creative Work (timbre, structure, dynamics, tempo)</h4><p>In groups, the children make up music that shows how Peer Gynt might have been feeling in a part of the story, for example when he was chased by the trolls or when he returned home after years away. The Feelings task in the <a href="https://music-playtime.com/member/topics/going-places/key-stage-1/creative-music">Creative Music</a> section of this unit is a good preparatory activity. Listen and give feedback as the children work on their music to help them to <em>structure</em> it and to use instruments that produce a useful <em>timbre</em> (sound) for their feeling. When they have finished making up their music, they perform it for the other children, who try to guess which part of the peer Gynt story their music was about, and say how they decided. Remember to record each group's music for your own evidence and for the children to enjoy listening to it.</p>                                                                <h4>Make Hall of the Mountain King Sand Pictures (art link)</h4><p>If the children were intrigued by the video sand picture, they could make their own sand pictures. You need different coloured sands, paper and glue - simply spread glue and sprinkle the sand to make the picture!</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" data-src="/internal/----/_sml/sand.png" alt="Sand">    </div>

Sand animation - Edvard Grieg, in the Hall of the Mountain King - Video

<h3>A Short Ride in a Fast Machine (timbre, rhythm, structure)</h3><p> A Short Ride in a Fast Machine, by John Adams, has to be one of the most exciting pieces of music about going places so it's a must-listen choice for this topic. It has interesting cross-rhythms making it a complex piece of music for dancing to. It lends itself to creative rather than formal movement, with the children moving expressively rather than aiming to keep in time. At certain points in the music, such as where it changes character midway, it would be fantastic to have a signal to come together in groups to make still images of a car, a plane or a helicopter. These would need to have been practised beforehand.</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Short_Ride_Naxos2.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                <h4>Our Own Short Ride in a Fast Machine!</h4><p>Ask the children to create their own music, also called A short Ride in a Fast Machine. The instrument that begins the John Adams music, and plays for much of the piece, is a wood block, which is actually an instrument often found in schools. </p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/tim-carey-QhK_agWFAsE-unsplash.jpg" alt="Tim Carey Qh K Ag Wfas E Unsplash">    </div>                                                                <h3>Traffic Lights Music (pitch, structure, technology link)</h3><p>First invest in a Sphero Specdrums ring! They are not hugely expensive from Amazon or Argos. Here is what you need to know:</p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ywrYoqRYx_g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <p>This is necessarily small group work unless you have a big budget for music! Using the pad is one way that the children could create music using traffic light colours with the ring. However, it's even more exciting for them to paint their own traffic lights pictures and then use the ring to 'play' the colours in the picture. Make sure you get to play with it first!</p>

Going Places Level: Key Stage 1 - Creative music

Year 1

Year 2

Music

A short ride in a fast machine (timbre, rhythm, structure) - Song

Music Playtime has been created by a Key Stage 1 and Early Years Music education specialist. The schemes are built in recognition of the fact that most primary teachers are not music specialists. Access the knowledge and the ideas you need to feel confident teaching music.