Lockdown Listening #1 - Beethoven Symphony No. 6
Hello again! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything on my website. It’s not really because I don’t have much to say - rather the opposite. There’s too much to talk about, so many possibilities, it’s hard to know where to start and which things to pick to write about on here.
So, I thought I’d start with something a bit different which might also be useful during these (and I hasten to use this overused word) unprecedented times. Originally, this blog featured a new piece every week and talked about some of the interesting points it raised. Now, because we are all stuck at home and schools are closed, and I’ve become a music teacher since then (!) I thought I could switch this around a bit. If you have or are a person who is off school and looking for something to do in your life, this series will hopefully be useful to you, and perhaps something you can do as part of your home studies. Or you might not be studying at all but just want to be inspired by great music, and look at some questions to help you think about it, if you want to do the questions at all!
The idea is that I will suggest a new piece each week and ask 5 questions about it in 3 groups for different age ranges, usually with one of the questions being a longer task. If you feel you can do your age range’s questions quite easily, feel free to look at the next group along too for an extra challenge - the ranges will only be a rough guide anyway.
This week’s piece is Beethoven’s 6 symphony, sometimes called the Pastoral Symphony. If you don’t know what pastoral could mean, maybe do a little bit of research or try and work it out based on the questions below. I’ll also include a link to the piece so that you can listen to it. Feel free to listen in chunks, some pieces can be quite long, and pieces such as symphonies are often divided up into different sections, called movements.
This week’s piece:
Ages 6-10
Listen to the piece - do you think it could be telling a story as music? What could be happening in the story? Write some ideas down.
See if you can find some examples of animal noises written into the music - how are they played, and what animals could they be?
See if you can find the stormy section of the music. How does Beethoven, the composer, make the music sound stormy? Think about how he chooses instruments, the way they are played, and how the notes sound when played together. How is this different from when the music feels calmer?
Pick your favourite moment and draw a picture that represents the music.
In the video, what do you think the job of the conductor is? Look at what he does and how the performers play to give you some clues.
Ages 11-14
Throughout the symphony, Beethoven reuses ideas in different ways. Especially in the final (fifth) movement, he takes one idea and does a lot with it. Write down some of the ways he develops a single idea. Think about instrumentation, tempo, tonality, dynamics and structure.
Accompaniment can often be as important as the main melody. Find an interesting moment in the music and write down a few ideas about how Beethoven uses accompaniment to add to the overall musical experience. Which musical techniques does he use, and how does his choice of instrument add to this?
Listen to your favourite section of the music again and try to follow just one instrumental part throughout (for example, you might try to follow the violin part only). Then try again a few times, choosing different instruments.
In the fourth movement (the storm section), which instrumental techniques do you think might be written on the players’ music? (e.g. possibly tremolo, sul pont for strings etc).
In the video, is the orchestra sitting in the format you were expecting? In what ways does it differ from the usual set-up, and why do you think they have chosen to sit in this way?
Age 15+
Try and listen to another recording of this piece and compare it - how do different conductors alter their interpretation of the piece? Do you agree with one conductor/orchestra’s interpretation more than the other? Why?
This music is representative of something outside of music. To what extent do you agree that all music does this? Should all music do this? What other ways could there be of writing music?
‘Beethoven is as effective at portraying the natural world in his music as a painter of landscapes would be with paint and canvas.’ To what extent do you agree with this? Think about points for and against.
What elements of the symphony could suggest that Beethoven was important in developing ideas now associated with the Romantic era of music?
Compose a short piece of music for your instrument (if you don’t play one, pick your favourite instrument or the one you know most about!) that is ‘pastoral’.
If you would like to discuss any answers with me, feel free to post in the comments or drop me an email at contactbenjaminpjackson@gmail.com or use the contact form on this website if you want to be less public about it. See you next week for another piece!