Scribd
Upload
1K views2 pages

Lesson Plan - Dynamics

This lesson plan teaches students about musical dynamics through listening activities. Students will listen to examples demonstrating different dynamics (pp, p, mf, f, ff) and describe the differences. They will then listen to and mark up a musical score based on what they hear, and compare their markings to the actual score. This allows students to critically think about how dynamics affect their perception of the music and its mood. Extensions include discussing crescendos and decrescendos, having students create animations about dynamics, and creating an animation that tells the story of a piece based on its dynamics.

Uploaded by

Unibelle Joy Lachica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
1K views2 pages

Lesson Plan - Dynamics

This lesson plan teaches students about musical dynamics through listening activities. Students will listen to examples demonstrating different dynamics (pp, p, mf, f, ff) and describe the differences. They will then listen to and mark up a musical score based on what they hear, and compare their markings to the actual score. This allows students to critically think about how dynamics affect their perception of the music and its mood. Extensions include discussing crescendos and decrescendos, having students create animations about dynamics, and creating an animation that tells the story of a piece based on its dynamics.

Uploaded by

Unibelle Joy Lachica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 2

Lesson Plan: Teaching Dynamics

By: Anne McTighe


Primary Subject: Dynamics in music
Grade Levels: 5th-12th

Objective: Students should be able to recognize dynamics (pp, p, mf, f, ff) in musical examples.
They should be able to describe the differences between the dynamics. They should be able to
recognize how dynamics affect the mood of the music.

Prior Knowledge:
 Students should be able to listen to music and think critically about it
 Students should be familiar with notation and following a score
 No understanding of dynamics is necessary

Required Materials:
 CD player or other media player
 Recordings of performances that demonstrate the varying dynamics (such as Haydn’s
Surprise Symphony see “Resources” tab for score)

Lead-in:
1. Explain the definition of dynamics. Use the animation provided on this website under
“Sample Animations” if you wish.
2. Play examples for the students. These examples should "catch their attention," so make
sure to choose examples that they will enjoy and that have clear distinctions in dynamics.

Activity – Listening Critically:


 After listening to your examples from the lead-in and having the students think about
dynamics, give the students a blank score (with no dynamics).
 Play the piece, and ask them to mark and divide the piece into different dynamic sections
based on what they hear. Make sure you pick a piece where there are clear dynamic
distinctions.
 After doing this, have the students look at the composer’s actual dynamic markings on a
score you provide.
 Discuss any differences and why they may have perceived the dynamic distinctions
differently. Make sure this is an aural and visual process. Play the piece! (Maybe even try
listening to a different recording. See how this changes their perception).
 Have the students think about how dynamics affects the music. Go back to the music and
play specific sections of the music to demonstrate the varying dynamic levels.
 After the students have finished this part of the activity have the students discuss how
these dynamics impact the mood of the music and why they think the composer used
these dynamics in these specific sections.

Extensions:
 Talk about other ideas related to dynamics such as crescendos and decrescendos
(ex. Bolero).
 Have your students create animations that describe or highlight the differences
between the dynamics.
 Move on to an activity like creating an animation that tells the story of a particular
piece (see lesson plan in “Lesson Plans” tab).

You might also like