1. 2018
Teacher Resource Pack
Supported by

2. Welcome to the GOE resource pack 2018
Visit our website at to download a Power Point version of this resource pack, designed to be used on your smart board and complete with live video and audio hyperlinks.
For each piece of music featured in the Great Orchestra Experiment you will find further information and follow up activities, linked to the National Curriculum for music at KS2 – see page 19 for full National Curriculum requirements.
The various activities can be done in any order and last from five minutes to a whole lesson
Look out for the clock which means an activity can be completed in less than 10 minutes!
Ensure the Power Point version is viewed as a slideshow to enable hyperlinks to work
If you have any queries about the activities in this pack or if we can help in any way,
please contact

3. Top Tips for creative work
Get inspired! Listen to the original piece of music
Get some ideas! Read the ‘creative brief’ in the blue box and try out some musical ideas
Develop ideas! Explore how you can use the interrelated dimensions of music to make your piece more interesting:
Create your own music inspired by one of the pieces featured in the concert
Video or record a performance of your work and submit your entry by 30th June
The winning entry will receive free entry for one class to the Great Orchestra Experiment 2019!
For more information and to register your interest
Creative Challenge activities are found in the blue boxes throughout this resource pack

4. Music timeline: ? with 1821 1926 1940s / 50s 1966 2005 1935 1950 1980
The future… ?
The Gnome
Der Freischutz
Amadinda
Sinfonietta
Baba Yetu
The Trojans
Sleeping Beast
There’s a boat..
Imperial March
William Tell
1842 / 2018
1935
1950
1980
2017

5. Instruments of the orchestra
The Robin Hood Youth Orchestra has some extra instruments, not often found in an orchestra:
Bass guitar and guitar
Saxophones
Baritones
A typewriter and bell!
French horns
timpani
trumpets
trombones
Brass
Woodwind
Percussion
Strings
tuba
percussion
Double bass
harp
piano
Click here to watch video clips to find out more and hear each instrument played.
1st violins
2nd violins
clarinets
bassoons
violas
cellos
oboes
flutes

6. Film music: john williams Imperial March
John Williams has composed the music for over 75 films, including most of the Star Wars films
He has won five Oscars, 18 Grammys, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and five BAFTA Awards for his music
John Williams has written the music for lots of famous films. Can you name the films below?
Recording music for film:
Film music is very carefully composed to match the action and mood of the film
When the music is recorded for a film, the conductor watches the film on a big screen as the orchestra plays, to make sure that the music matches the action exactly
Click here to watch John Williams conducting music from Star Wars in a recording session
Click here to see Steven Spielberg and John Williams talk about the music in Jaws

7. Film music: John Williams Imperial March
Listening hints:
Instruments? (timbre / texture)
Tempo? (speed)
Dynamics? (volume)
Sound quality? (timbre)
Mood?
Remix! Lots of musicians have created their own version of Imperial March, called an ‘arrangement’ or ‘remix’.
Composed in 1980 for the film The Empire Strikes Back
Imperial March has featured in lots of the Star Wars films and is also known as Darth Vader’s Theme
Other Star Wars characters have their own theme – click here to listen
Listen to different versions of Imperial March:
Original Dubstep Jazz
Listen to and compare two versions of Imperial March.
What is the same?
What is different?
Which do you prefer?
National Curriculum links:
Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians

8. Opera: Carl Maria von WEBER Der Freischutz Overture
Weber lived from 1786 – 1826
He was German
Weber is known for his operas based on folklore / traditional stories
Der Freischutz (The Marksman) tells the story of a man who has sold his soul to the devil for some magic bullets. He wants the bullets to win a shooting competition to allow him to marry his sweetheart.
National Curriculum links:
Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music
Appreciate and understand music from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Develop an understanding of the history of music

9. Opera: Carl Maria von WEBER Der Freischutz Overture
Creative Challenge: compose music to tell a story.
Choose a story that you know, or write your own!
Select some key characters and / or places in the story
Create some musical ideas (or ‘motifs’) to represent each character or place, using your instrument or voice
How will you make each motif match the character / place? Will it be fast and exciting / slow and calm?
Perform your musical story by putting your motifs in order
An opera tells a story through music and song
In Der Freischutz (The Marksman), different characters or places in the story have their own musical theme – these themes help to tell the story through music.
The music matches the character or place, e.g. forest scenes have idyllic peaceful music & the music for Max is strong and heroic
Click to see the famous Wolf’s Glenn scene from Der Freischutz –
What mood does the music create at the beginning?
How? What is it about the music that creates the mood?

10. Film music: John Barry Born Free
Role of the Conductor
The Conductor's role is to hold the music of the orchestra together and bring the ideas of the composer or creator to life. Most of their work takes place before they ever meet up with an orchestra – studying, exploring and analysing the music, seeking to understand the composer's vision.
While the orchestra played you conducted. Here’s the special pattern of 4 that we use in conducting:
National Curriculum links:
Listen with attention to detail
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions
Interrelated dimensions of music (metre)
Click to hear Born Free
Can you conduct in time with the music?

11. Christopher Tin Baba Yetu
Creative Challenge: Using singing to help us remember!
There is a long tradition of using singing and rhymes to help us remember things. You may have learnt the Alphabet Song to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Think of some information you want to be able to remember, e.g. times tables, historical facts or how to spell some tricky words
Turn the information into a rhyme or song (use a well known tune, or create your own!)
We sang Baba Yetu, the theme from the computer game Civilisation IV. It was composed in 2005 The lyrics are in Swahili, a language spoken in South East African countries such as Kenya Baba Yetu is a prayer set to music – prayers and other texts have been sung for centuries, to help us to remember the words and, before microphones were invented, to help us hear the words. Listen to the song here:
National Curriculum links:
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts
Appreciate and understand music from different traditions and from great composers and musicians

12. Janacek: Sinfonietta We heard an ostinato (repeating pattern):
Listen to Sinfonietta here
We heard an ostinato (repeating pattern):
Leos Janacek lived from
He was inspired by traditional folk music to create an original modern musical style
Janacek is most famous for writing operas, including The Cunning Little Vixen where a lot of the characters are animals!
Click here to find out more about Janacek
Can you play this on your instrument?
Creative Challenge: compose with an ostinato
Start by creating an interesting rhythm - you might use running / walks or something else
Play your ostinato on one note, then try changing some of the notes to make a melody (tune)
Can you add some extra musical ideas to make a longer piece of music? You might vary dynamics, tempo, add an extra part etc.
National Curriculum links:
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts
Appreciate and understand music from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Use and understand staff and other musical notations
Develop an understanding of the history of music

13. Paddington Creative Challenge: a new version of a song
We sang the song below
We changed the lyrics (words) of the original song to make it about Nottingham
Can you write your own lyrics to fit with the tune? Your song could be about your school or where you live.
Alternatively, write lyrics for a different well known tune
Top tip: Do your words fit well with the tune?
Large-scale Caribbean migration to England happened following the Second World War in
The Empire Windrush boat carried almost 500 passengers from Jamaica, including Lord Kitchener, a calypso singer from Trinidad.
By chance, a local newsreel company filmed him singing "London is the place for me" as he got off the ship. This brought the calypso musical style to the UK.
The song was used for the 2014 film Paddington, about another immigrant to the UK. Listen here:
Nottingham is the place to be Nottingham this lovely city You can go to France or America, India, Asia, Australia, But come back To this great city ***(wait)*** Nottingham that's the place to be
National Curriculum links:
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes
Develop an understanding of the history of music
Savito
London is the Place for Me

14. Gershwin: There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York
George Gershwin lived from 1989 – 1937
He was one of America’s most successful composers, with many hit shows on Broadway
Gershwin’s music blended classical and jazz styles
George often worked with his brother Ira to write musicals and popular songs
This music is from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess
When the opera was first written it was a box office flop, but has gone on to be the greatest American opera of all time
What is an opera? Music & theatre coming together, featuring solo songs – often called arias, chorus – lots of singers together, orchestra, scenery, lighting & special effects, sometimes dance
Click for a video clip from the opera

15. Swing vocal groove
Use voices to perform a swing groove based on Gershwin’s ‘There’s a Boat…’
Click the number at the start of each line to listen to each track separately and practise
Try two lines together, then add the third and fourth parts – repeat lots of times to keep your groove going
NC links:
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts…with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
Use and understand staff and other musical notations
Develop an understanding of the history of music 1 2 3 4

16. Sleeping Beast /Wedding March
Creative Challenge! Opposing groups
Compose a piece of music using two opposing groups of instruments / voices.
Decide how the 2 groups will interact – will they argue, chase each other, have a conversation etc?
The famous Wedding March was composed by Mendelsohn in 1842
It was written for a play, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but is now often heard at the end of a wedding ceremony
We heard music specially composed for our concert and we played our instruments to wake up the Sleeping Beast (the organ!) until we could hear the Wedding March
We heard the famous Binns organ at the Albert Hall played by John Keys
National Curriculum links:
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts
Appreciate and understand music from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Develop an understanding of the history of music
To find out more about the organ click here for a short video:

17. The Typewriter Composer Leroy Anderson lived from 1908-1975
Creative Challenge! Everyday sounds
Compose a piece of music using an everyday object mixed with musical sounds.
Make sure you choose an object that makes a good SOUND and combine with musical sounds with your instrument or voice
You might want to use music technology such as Garageband (Apple devices) or Audacity for PC to record or ‘sample’ your sounds and explore sound effects and mixing techniques
Composer Leroy Anderson lived from
He was American
Leroy Anderson wrote popular ‘light’ music including the famous ‘Sleigh Ride’
The Typewriter is interesting because it uses an every day object in the orchestra!
Listen here:
The Typewriter Sleigh Ride
National Curriculum links:
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music
Appreciate and understand music from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Listen with attention to detail

18. Beauty & the Beast Overture
Creative Challenge! Composing with dynamics
Compose a piece of music using dynamics as a starting point
How can you use dynamics to change the mood? You might build excitement, make the music calm or surprising?
Composed by Alan Menken (born 1949)
He composed music for Aladdin, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontis and the Little Mermaid
He has won 8 Academy Awards, 7 Golden Globes, 11 Grammys and a Tony award!
In Beauty and the Beast, changes of dynamics (volume) allow the same tune to create different moods. Click to listen - from 1:45 notice how the music gets louder to build excitement
In music we say ‘dynamics’ to mean volume. We have some special words: Forte (for-tay): loud Piano (pea–ah-no): soft Crescendo (cre-shen-dough): getting louder Diminuendo : getting softer
Download a decibel meter app onto a phone or tablet
measure the difference in decibels between your loudest & softest clapping, playing or singing.
Can you measure how loud other sounds are around school?
National Curriculum links:
Listen with attention to detail
Improvise and compose music using the inter-related dimensions of music

19. How this resource can help you to meet the requirements of the national curriculum for music at ks2:
National Curriculum area:
See page:
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
8, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18
Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
7, 8, 10, 17, 18
Use and understand staff and other musical notations
12, 15
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
7, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17
Develop an understanding of the history of music.
8, 12, 13, 15, 16
Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory. Pupils should be taught to:

20. Artsmark is an award for schools who demonstrate their commitment to putting arts and cultural provision at the heart of their school.
Attending the Great Orchestra Experiment and completing follow up activities in school can contribute towards your school gaining Artsmark status.
For more information about Artsmark visit
Arts Award is a range of qualifications that support and inspire young people to grow their arts and leadership talents: it's creative, valuable and accessible.
To find out how attendance at the Great Orchestra Experiment and participation in follow up activities can contribute towards your pupils gaining an Arts Award qualification, please contact
Further information can be found on the Arts Award website

21. Nottingham Music Hub is part of Nottingham’s Cultural Education Partnership, who champion the rights of every child and young person to create and experience culture in the world around them. ChalleNGe brings schools, arts and cultural organisations, the local authority, FE, HE and local businesses together to support All children and young people in Nottingham to produce and experience culture imaginatively and confidently in their homes, schools and communities. City schools can nominate staff to be their Creative Cultural Champions. They receive training, news of Nottingham’s creative cultural education activities, invites to previews and creative education events and much more. Creative Cultural Champions support their school to regularly access creative cultural activity in the city. Help with Artsmark, Arts Award or any arts, culture or creative heritage project is what we are here for! For more information visit or contact
If you enjoyed the storytelling in the Great Orchestra Experiment, click here to find out more about Hoodwinked and Robin’s Tales – Where stories take flight. Schools from across Nottingham will join in with the excitement of Hoodwinked through the Robin’s Tales arts and literacy education programme, which brings the Robin Hood legend to life and re-imagines the tales for a new audience.
Robin’s Tales offers schools the chance to decorate their very own BookBench as part of this amazing learning programme.  The BookBenches sit on the Hoodwinked trail alongside the Robins and at the end of the trail will return to schools as a permanent reminder of the Hoodwinked summer of inspiration.
Why not design a BookBench based on one of the stories we discovered in our concert?

22. How to get young people more involved!
Many of the young people you saw playing in the Great Orchestra Experiment started out learning in a whole class ensemble just like your pupils! They attend Nottingham Music School on Saturday mornings at the Nottingham Academy in Bakersfield.
There are many different groups and orchestras throughout the week. From our brilliant beginner Area Bands to our more advanced Robin Hood Youth Orchestra family of ensembles, from rock and pop to samba and world music - we have something for everyone!
The next step for most Year 4 children is to join area band: click the link on the right watch a short video and find out more
For more information on all of our ensembles, take a look at our website and speak to your Nottingham Music Service teacher

23. Summer Sing, June 20, 2018 – booking opens soon!
Thank you and goodbye!
We hope you enjoyed your experience at The Great Orchestra Experiment.
Please any feedback or questions to
For more information about Nottingham Music Service events, or Nottingham Music School, please visit our website
If you would like a digital version of this pack with active hyperlinks please visit our website:
sic-resources
Upcoming Events!
Summer Sing, June 20, 2018 – booking opens soon!
Music Camp, September 10 – 15, 2018