Lesson Plan For Brahms in l890's Vienna:: Learning About Chamber Music
Lesson Plan For Brahms in l890's Vienna:: Learning About Chamber Music
Lesson Plan For Brahms in l890's Vienna:: Learning About Chamber Music
Introduction: Brahms in l890’s Vienna is an online educational experience featuring the Brahms
Clarinet Trio in A minor Opus 114 and setting the music in a story about him, and his city,
Vienna, Austria. Music listening guides and music games will explore the elements of music and
additional information and resources can be found by clicking on “Café Central.” At the end of
the story, kids can enjoy three related experiences in Prater Park!
Brahms in l890’s Vienna is teacher ready! Cross-curricular activities are offered as well as a
complete list of learning objectives and concepts tied to state and national standards in music
education.
Content Focus:
Music
Visual Arts
History/Architecture
The music underscores a story which involves the composer, the grandson of the famous pianist
Clara Schumann, and the other instrumentalists who played with the composer at the premiere of
the Clarinet Trio, the clarinetist, Richard Mühlfeld and the cellist, Robert Hausmann. The story
will carry the visitor to four destinations where there will be activities which will teach about
history and a music learning game which will teach music elements. This learning experience will
guide the visitor in listening to classical music as well as present concepts such as identifying
visually and aurally the shape and sound of the cello, clarinet, and piano, the music elements of
beat, rhythm, tempo, melody, phrase, and music composition (melodic building blocks and music
layering). As the visitor listens to the music and follows the story, other music concepts will be
presented as listening guides, helping visitors hear color, mood, energy, fabric, and musical flow.
In addition to this introduction to Chamber Music and learning about the composer Johannes
Brahms and the culture of l890’s Vienna, visitors will receive an introduction to the art of Gustav
Klimt, and the history of the famous Ringstrasse (or Ring Boulevard) and its monumental
buildings.
About Chamber Music: Chamber music is a form of classical music written for a small group
of musicians and is performed in a small room, often a private home or other smaller “hall” with
an intimate atmosphere. A wide variety of music ensembles are to be found in the chamber music
repertoire, including a trio, or three players as is featured in Brahms Clarinet Trio in A minor
which includes a piano, a cello, and a clarinet. Composers typically use this form of composition
to express personal thoughts of an intimate nature, often dedicating their chamber works to
friends or loved ones. The music is a wonderful conversation between various musical “voices”
represented by the instruments chosen by the composer, and is often performed by friends who
enjoy making music together.
About the composer Johannes Brahms: Johannes Brahms began his musical education at the
age of seven when he studied piano. As soon as he played well enough, he helped his family by
performing on the piano in restaurants and theaters. At l9, he made his first concert tour as a
pianist and had also been composing music as a teenager. When he was 20 he was introduced to
the famous composer Robert Schumann who became his mentor. Composing steadily, he began
to have success, writing for the most famous violinist of the times, Joseph Joachim and works for
Schumann’s wife, the famous pianist Clara. By l890 he had achieved great fame, and enjoyed a
significant place in Vienna’s musical life. He has been called one of the three great “Bs” of
German composers, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
The Art of Vienna l890s: In Vienna during the l890s, traditional painting styles were starting to
be replaced by a more revolutionary and “modern” use of color, form, and composition. At the
Ringstrasse Architecture of Vienna: In l857, the Emperor Franz Joseph began construction of
the Ringstrasse (or Ring Boulevard) which was designed to circle the center of the city. The
magnificent road was built after the demolition of the old city walls. The Emperor wanted to
incorporate the suburbs into the center of the city and circle them in a ring, a large boulevard
which was planned leaving space for trees and monumental governmental buildings and those of
a concert hall, opera house, museums, and improvements on the University of Vienna. These
buildings were designed and built during the same time but their architectural styles were
different, some were in the classical Greek style, some in the Gothic style, and some in the styles
of the Italian and French Renaissance. This mix of architectural styles is often referred to as
Ringstrassestil, or Ring Boulevard Style. The Boulevard was large enough for the processions of
the royal family and pleasant enough for the citizens of Vienna who enjoyed walking on the
lovely street.
Process:
Depending on the number of computers available in the classroom, divide the class into groups
accordingly. Each student should be able to get a turn at the computer, listening to the music on the home
page as well as playing the music games, listening to the music and following the story.
Evaluation of a student’s learning can be assessed by giving students the Quiz before their exploration of
the Chamber Music education module and having them fill out the Quiz again at the end of the learning
experience and comparing the answers. Additionally, a teacher might choose to have students fill out the
Quiz as they find the answers during the exploration of the module (generally the answers can be
discovered in the Listening-and-Learning material found in each destination room). Teachers might want
to review the Listening-and-Learning materials after all the students have explored the module.
If the classroom has only one computer, divide the class up into three groups, one at the computer, one
group working with the art print out, and the last group working with the history/architecture print out.
Students can put up their art and history/architecture pages for other students to see.
Learning Concepts: Listening and Learning about Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A minor
Melodies (tunes) are made up of musical tones called pitches
Pitches sound high, low, medium
Melody is created when pitches are heard in a linear fashion
Musical phrase is a part of musical form
Musical phrases are similar to sentences in language arts
Music elements include rhythm and tempo
Instruments have their own sound and shape
Composers use the layering of musical “voices” of instruments and build their compositions with
musical “blocks” or phrases.
Non-elemental characteristics of music include motion, flow, texture or fabric, energy, color and
mood
Learning Objectives: Listening and Learning about Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A minor
To introduce the role of the composer in creating music
To understand that melody has shape formed by pitch
To understand that pitches are notes that move to create melody
To recognize motion and flow in music
To recognize texture and energy in music
To recognize color and mood in music
Grade One: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify Common instruments visually and aurally in a
variety of setttings ; Aesthetic Valuing 4.2 Describe how ideas or moods are communicated
through music
Grade Two: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify ascending/descending melody and even/uneven
rhythm patterns in selected pieces of music ; Aesthetic Valuing 4.3 Identify how music elements
communicate ideas or moods
Grade Three: Artistic Perception 1.5 Describe the way in which sound is produced on various
instruments 1.3 Identify melody, rhythm, harmony, and timbre in selected pieces of music
when presented aurally Aesthetic Valuing 4.3 Describe how specific musical elements
communicate particular ideas or moods in music
Grade One: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify common instruments visually and aurally in a
variety of settings; Aesthetic Valuing 4.2 Describe how ideas or moods are communicated
through music
Grade Two: Artistic Perception 1.5 Identify visually and aurally individual wind, string, bass,
and percussion instruments used in a variety of music; Aesthetic Valuing 4.3 Describe how
specific musical elements communicate particular ideas or moods in music
Grade Three: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify melody, rhythm, harmony, and timbre in selected
pieces of music when presented aurally, 1.4 Identify visually and aurally the four families of
orchestral instruments; Aesthetic Valuing 4.3 Describe how specific musical elements
communicate particular ideas or moods in music
Grade Four: Artistic Perception 1.4 Describe music according to its elements, using the
terminology of music
Grade One: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify common instruments visually and aurally in a
variety of settings; Aesthetic Valuing 4.2 Describe how ideas or moods are communicated
through music
Grade Two: Artistic Perception 1.5 Identify visually and aurally individual wind, string, bass and
percussion instruments used in a variety of music; 1.3 Identify ascending/melody and
even/uneven rhythm patterns in selected pieces of music; Aesthetic Valuing 4.3 Identify how
musical elements communicate moods or ideas
Grade Three: Artistic Perception 1.3 Identify melody, rhythm, harmony and timbre in selected
pieces of music when presented aurally; 1.5 describe the way in which sound is produced on
#8 Understanding relationships between music, other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
Visual Arts:
Standard 3.0 Grade 2,3,4 Students analyze the roles and development of visual arts in past and present
cultures throughout the world, noting human diversity as it relates to the visual arts and artists
Visual Arts:
Standard 5.0 Grade 4 Construct diagrams, maps, graphs, timelines, and illustrations to communicate
ideas or tell a story about a historical event
History/Architecture:
Students use map skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available
through a map’s symbolic representation