Listen to Music that Tells a Story ~ Sorcerer's Apprentice Lesson (with a Maestro Classics Giveaway)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 5:00AM
One of our favorite ways to easily enjoy music is to learn about stories in music.
I remember wondering where composers could get an idea for a piece of music. It wasn't until I was older that I realized they could be inspired by great stories.
One of the very best examples of this is The Sorcerer's Apprentice, by Paul Dukas (based on the original poem by Goethe).
*This post contains affiliate links.
This type of a lesson doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't even require any writing.
Students all ages enjoy this story, and will remember it for quite some time.
Introduce the Story/Poem: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
We actually have two versions of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I love to collect rare children's books, and found this one in the vendor hall at The Great Homeschool Convention in March. (I do see it's available on Amazon, too - this is my favorite version.)
We have another version that we picked up at a used book sale - I also like this telling of The Sorcerer's Apprentice very much, and think it's better for younger children.
You can also share Goethe's original poem, which has been translated from German into English.
After reading the story and discussing it a bit, I tell children that a composer named Paul Dukas (1865-1935) wrote a piece of music to go along with this story. We then listen to the music and try to "hear the story" in the music.
And of course, we must watch the portion of Walt Disney's Fantasia based on the Sorcerer's Apprentice:
As you listen to the music, pause it whenever you feel the music has really reflected the story in an interesting way. I love how the music is dark and spooky in the beginning - Walt Disney's animation even reflects this, too.
As the piece progressed there is a march like rhythm as the pieces of the broomstick are coming to life. The tempo of the piece continues to go faster and faster as things get more out of control for the poor apprentice.
The end of the piece finishes much like it began, calm and mysterious - with a loud ending (the sorcerer spanking Mickey with the broom).
I think you'll find your children will be quite amused with this piece!
Other ideas for teaching include:
- Draw or paint a picture while you are listening to the music
- Write as many ways you can think of that the music sounds like the story
- List all of the instruments you hear
- If you have a piano or other instrument can you make up your own story and then "tell it" on that instrument?
This type of listening activity fuels creativity and can greatly inspire our children.
One of my favorite music education companies is Maestro Classics. They specialize in stories in music.
Each Maestro Classics CD is a story in music, complete with award winning music, narration, and activities. It's as simple as putting the CD in your player and listening. There is NO WORK required from the parent!
They just so happen to have a CD or The Sorcerer's Apprentice which I am delighted to give away to one lucky reader today!From their website:
"The lazy apprentice, confident that he can use his master’s spell to do his chores, chants the magic spell and takes a nap. As the water swirls around the workshop getting ever higher, the apprentice awakens, only to discover that he does not know the spell to stop the brooms! A thrilling narration accompanies Paul Dukas’ dramatic musical score.
A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Dukas, information on pitched percussion instruments, sheet music, a kitchen percussion play-along, games and more. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet."
Follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter the giveaway.
*This giveaway is open to US and International Residents! An International Winner will receive the .mp3 recording of the story as well as a .pdf download of the activity booklet.
Other posts in this series:
Day 1: Teaching Music Appreciation in Your Homeschool
This post is part of a Summer Hopscotch from the iHomeschool Network. Visit other bloggers to read about more topics that can help you on your homeschool journey!
Reader Comments (55)
What a great giveaway! We love in cooperating classical music in our day. Helps us to stay focused and calm.
My son loves music and sadly I do not teach him enough about it!
Always plan on adding music education. I actually have a lot of resources in my house but the days just seem to get filled with other activities. It was way easier when I was only homeschooling one child. Now I'm trying to do three.
I do not really teach music appreciation in the home. We've just never worked it in.
I grew up playing music, and it is a great passion of mine. I have taught music appreciation to my son, and would like to continue to do so for him and my daughter. It's so wonderful when a piece comes on the radio, and my son says, "Ooh! Mozart!" or "That's Beethoven!" Music is woven into the fabric of our lives, and makes such an impact on our development as human beings.
Unfortunately music appreciation is one of the subjects which doesn't get done very often. Most of what my children know about music and composers has come through their piano studies.
I don't teach it in any formal way, but music is definitely being appreciated in our home daily :)
I love the drama of the Sorcerer's Apprentice! Right up there with Tchaikovsky's music. Most excellent work in training up a child with understanding of music.
i do teach music appreciation in our homeschool but i would like to do more. My son loves the maestro classics and im hoping to get the full collection eventually.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is one of our favorite parts of Fantasia. My older kids, in their 20's, still get excited about it when they hear the music.
Thank you so much for this series. This is my first year teaching music appreciation and I'm really excited to put all of your great ideas to use!
What a great CD and booklet! I would love to win this for my children. Thank you!
We are trying to work it in - seeking guidance and found your blog!
How fun! I had never heard of these CDs!
We like to listen to good music but I have not been consistent in teaching music appreciation.
Not as much as I'd like to!
--Gena
Great post Mary. And thanks for letting us international readers a chance to enter. We often have to miss out on all the fun.
We love your music lessons! We've used quite a few; John Williams was a favorite!
Yes I do, using products from two great ladies: SQUILT from you, of course, and Harmony Fine Arts from Barb!
What a great give away! My only exposure to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is through Fantasia!
I wish we did more music appreciation:( I think it is such a good think to teach, but it is hard for me to make it a priority. Luckily, my daughter is starting Piano lessons and hopefully this will make overall music appreciation more of an occurrence. Thanks for this giveaway! Love your blog!
How fun! My daughter loves music (although she's not that fond of practicing her piano ;) ). This would be a fun addition to our school work. Thanks for the chance to win!
We did a unit on "Casey at the Bat" {Maestro Classics + lapbook and a stack of books} this year, and we're using your SQUILT next year. I'm really looking forward to doing more this summer and next year.
I really want to make a more conscious effort to teach Music Appreciation this next year- that is why i have already ordered your SQUILT book! Woot! Woot!
Yes, I've recently begun teaching music. I would love to add a maestro classic to our collection. Thanks!