Upper ES / Music. Change, Judgment, Magic, Music, Nature

Transcription

1 The Sorcerer s Apprentice, from Disney s Fantasia 1 Upper ES / Music Change, Judgment, Magic, Music, Nature Have participants listen to the entire composition with their eyes closed and then list words (at least one from each student) that describe the music that they ve heard. List the words on the board for further reference. Have students listen to the music again without the video and then work in groups of two or three to imagine the sort of pictures that they might draw to illustrate the music. Then have the groups do sketches based on their small group discussions. 1 The seminar text is the Disney short film titled The Sorcerer s Apprentice and the music that accompanies it: a symphonic poem by the French composer Paul Dukas, written in

2 Share the following as appropriate: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (German: Der Zauberlehrling) is a poem by Goethe written in The poem is a ballad in fourteen stanzas. The animated, dialogue-free 1940 Disney film Fantasia popularized the story from Goethe's poem, and the Paul Dukas symphonic poem based on it, in one of eight animated shorts based on classical music. In the piece, which retains the title "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mickey Mouse plays the apprentice, and the story follows Goethe's original closely, except that the sorcerer ("Yen Sid", or Disney backwards) is stern and angry with his apprentice when he saves him. Fantasia popularized Goethe's story to a worldwide audience. Discuss with the students any music vocabulary that you want them to be familiar with: either because you intend to use those words in your questions or because they will be useful in writing about this piece post-seminar. Consult the music and related arts curriculum for terminology that is related to this seminar. Now have students sit in the seminar circle and show the entire Disney video to the class with the music. 2

3 What is the most intense moment in the video? (round-robin response) What is the music like at that point in the story? (spontaneous discussion) How would you describe the music that is associated with the Sorcerer? What does the music tell you about his character? How does the music show the feelings of the characters? OR What is the music like when the Apprentice is happy /when the Apprentice is scared? OR Based on the music, how do you know there is a mood change? Based on the music, how are the Sorcerer and Apprentice alike? How are they different? How does the Sorcerer respond to his Apprentice s adventures when he returns? Based on the music, how do you know? There are no words in this version of The Sorcerer s Apprentice even though the original story was a poem. How does music take the place of language? Some people say music is a kind of language: what do they mean? 3

4 Have students go back to their original pre-seminar groups and do a second draft of their drawings that were intended to illustrate the music. Tell them that they can do a more detailed version of their first drafts, or start with a totally new idea. How would you portray the musical composition, The Sorcerer s Apprentice? After watching and discussing Disney s Sorcerer s Apprentice, write a paragraph in which you describe how you would portray the music. Draw the picture and write your paragraph to accompany the portrait (LDC Task#: 6 ) Invite students to talk in their drawing groups for up to five minutes to share thoughts about what the writing task is asking and how they might respond by writing a description of their drawings. 4

5 Discuss with students the characteristics of a full, detailed paragraph and then have them list the details from their drawings that they plan to include in their descriptive paragraphs. Have students write six to eight full sentences including a first, topic sentence that describes their drawings in detail. Have participants work in pairs to read their first drafts aloud to each other with emphasis on reader as creator and editor. Listener says back one point heard clearly and asks one question for clarification. Switch roles. Give time for full revisions resulting in a second draft. Once the second draft is complete, have participants work in the same pairs (as in the revision stage) and this time take turns reading each other s second drafts slowly and silently, marking any spelling or grammar errors they find. Take this opportunity to clarify/reteach any specific grammar strategies you have identified as a need. Give time for full revisions resulting in a third and final draft. Post the drawings in a corner of the classroom along with the accompanying written descriptions. Play the musical version of The Sorcerer s Apprentice for class visitors when they examine the drawings and writings. Wendy Ikoku and Lynn Keith Providence Spring Elementary School 5

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