Listening Lesson: 'Vltava'

Download Lesson PDF

Pixabay

Listening Lessons High School Middle School Sub Friendly

Register for Free

Already have a ClassNotes account?

Please Log In

Don't have a YourClassical account?

Reset Password

Age Range: Elementary, Middle School; Grades K-8

Learning Objective: Students will use their imagination to take a virtual river cruise on the beautiful Moldau River.

Overall Description: Listening Lessons guide students through one piece or movement of music, using listening maps and suggested activities to cultivate deep listening skills.

Total Video Time: 11:59

Total Lesson Time: Approximately 25 minutes

Download This Free Lesson Plan

Download This Free Listening Map

INTRODUCE the piece Vltava

Say to students, “The composer Bedřich Smetana wrote a piece of music inspired by this river, located in the Czech Republic.”
Listen to Vltava, also called The Moldau, by Bedřich Smetana. The pictures in the video are of the Moldau River. Notice how the music changes with the scenery.

LISTEN to Vltava with a map

Ask students, “Did you notice the composer used different combinations of instruments, timbres (or sounds), and techniques? Hearing new combinations of sounds is a little like rounding the river bend in a boat and seeing the scenery change as we cruise down the river.”
Listen again, this time using the listening map. Follow the timing in the left column together with the description in the right column to think carefully about how the composer painted the river scenery with sound.
Invite students to reflect, “What was your favorite part of the river cruise?”

Related Lesson Plans

Listening Lesson: Jessie Montgomery and Musical Influence

Composer Jessie Montgomery was influenced by listening to a lot of records as a child. Look back historically on various devices used to capture music from the record player to the smart phone, and learn about some of the composer’s influences.

Listening Lesson: 'Golden Butterflies'

Explore the timbres of the violin, cello, and piano in this listening lesson.

Listening Lesson: 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine'

Practice finding the STEADY BEAT in this listening lesson for Elementary ages.

Listening Lesson: 'Mother Goose Suite'

Listen and respond to one story from this collection.

Listening Lesson: 'Cat's Fugue'

Cat videos, cat memes, and composers and cats! Notice how melodic contour can represent the path of a cat’s feet, moving up and down a keyboard in Domenico Scarlatti's ‘Cat Fugue.’

Listening Lesson: 'Mothership'

Listen and respond to string instruments and soloists how improvise, in this lesson featuring Mason Bates’ Mothership.

Listening Lesson: 'The Swineherd Suite'

Music and stories are often connected. The timbre of different instruments can represent different characters. Use a listening map to notice and describe the timbre of various instruments in a musical story called The Swineherd Suite.

Listening Lesson: 'Walking the Dog'

Composer George Gershwin wrote a piece called Walking the Dog. Internalize steady beat by walking along to this musical promenade.

Listening Lesson: 'One-Dog Canoe'

Dan Nass composed "One-Dog Canoe" based on the book by Mary Casanova. Utilize the included coloring activity while listening to the narrated story.

Listening Lesson: 'In Memoriam'

Music and art can help process feelings surrounding difficult issues. In 2020, Sphinx Virtuosi recorded Herbert’s piece, In Memoriam in remembrance of George Floyd, Stephen Lawrence and many other victims.