Teacher's Plan

To most successfully teach Londonderry Air as a unit study, there is a logical order of instruction.  Teaching this piece comprehensively involves discussing elements strategically.  A suggested strategic order is:

a) cultural/historical elements, sight-reading
b) discussion of melodic line, rhythm
c) countermelody, harmony
d) analysis and discussion of the work's form

Each of these topics are for a single rehearsal.  However, it is possible to
expand on specific elements to continue for more than one rehearsal.  Appropriate warm-ups should be tailored to each lesson.  A detailed description of each lesson follows.  They may take more than one class period to complete.

Lesson 1: - Warm-Ups:  Play portions of the Bb concert scale with a call an answer method.  This introduces aural practice that was used in the folk traditions. Lesson:  Give background information about the piece so students understand its origins.  Tell the story about how the Irish folk melody was discovered.  Have students read about the transcription of the tune.  Discuss important aspects of folk music such as the aural tradition.  Finally, read and discuss the process of transcribing the tune as well as the accompanying lyrics, "Danny Boy".  After discussion, play through the piece without stopping for sight-reading practice.  Inform students that the next lesson will involve close examination of the melody and rhythms.

Lesson 2:  Warm-Ups:  Play the Bb and Eb concert scales (common keys used in the piece) and conduct in a rubato style several times.  This will introduce the students to the flowing melodic style of the piece. Lesson:  Discuss rubato and melody.  Begin by having students find a place in the piece where they think they have the melody.  Everyone plays together.  (This is possible because it is in the same key and it is beneficial because more of the band is playing.)  Ask one section to play following the rubato conducting.  Ask another section to play the melody with a variation in the rubato.  Discuss the flexibility and musicality of this technique.  Finally highlight the melody.  It is comprised of an antecedent and consequent phrase.  It appears 4 times completely during the piece.  Play through the piece with a heightened sense for rubato and a greater sensitivity of phrasing with the melodic line.  Inform students that the next lesson will examine the contrast of melody; the countermelody and harmony.

Lesson 3:  Warm-Ups:  Play through Chorale No. 1 from http://www.fjhmusic.com/band/b1051.htm.  This is an opportunity to discuss harmony and melodic line.  Lesson:  Ask students if they know who has the countermelody.  Then play the countermelody with the baritone (m. 41-56) and clarinets, flutes and oboes (m. 57-64).  Play this line alone and then combine it with the melody to hear these complementary parts.  Finally, highlight chordal harmonies.  These are often found in the bass voices.  The tonic I (Bb) and subdominant IV (Eb) are found in the basses (m. 9-12).  Also, harmonic development is audible at measure 41 in the horns and basses while they outline chords on every beat.  Play each of these parts alone so the ensemble can hear the colors of each chord.  Then add the melody and finally countermelody to fit each section together.  Emphasize that each part is important to the whole.  Each part is equally important.  Play through specific sections with countermelody and harmony and encourage students to listen to these parts.  Inform students that the next lesson will highlight the form and structure of the piece.

Lesson 4:  Warm-Ups:  Play through Chorale No. 1 again.  Discuss the form of the chorale.  It is AB.  There is an antecedent and consequent phrase.  Outline the shape of the chorale on the board and explain that form is very influential to the understanding and performance of a piece of music.  Lesson:  Give students a handout with the overall formal analysis.  Describe the shape of the piece according to melodic and dynamic development.  Dissect the piece according to its sections.  Play the introduction (m. 1-8), A (m. 9-40), A (m. 41-72), and ending (m. 73-74).  Within each A section, the theme is stated twice.  The first time it is highlighted by one or two groups of instruments in a soft/medium dynamic.  The second time the melody is played, it is played tutti building to a climax with a f  or ff dynamic level.  In the A statement, the key changes to Eb major, a fourth higher than Bb.  The climax in measure 65 is followed by a 6 bar release in thinner instrumentation and dynamics until finally the bells and vibes fade out above the bass voices on a tonic Eb Major chord for the ending.

Lesson 5:  Warm-ups:  Play through Eb and Bb Major scales using rubato.  Play the 1-3-5 notes of these chords paying close attention to harmonies to encourage balance and blend.  Lesson:  This day will be used to evaluate the studentsí understanding of Londonderry Air.  As a group, students will play the entire piece.  The director will record the performance and play the tape for students to evaluate.  Using the performance rubric, students will evaluate the quality of their performance.  Following the evaluation, in groups, students will discuss their evaluations in small groups.  Here they will form suggestions for improvement and in writing, submit their top 3 suggestions.  Furthermore, in small groups, students will complete a comprehensive unit guide containing elements discussed in class.  Students will complete lower and higher level questions concerning this pieceís rhythm, melody, harmony, historic/cultural background, and form.  They will complete this guide in groups and a spokesperson will contribute to the class discussion about conclusions.  This completes the review for the guide.  Students will submit their guides for a grade.  For the next rehearsal, the director will read through and plan to implement some of the studentsí suggestions for improvement.  As a final assessment, the class will rehearse to improve and then play through the piece a final time.  Students will again evaluate their performance to see if improvements were executed successfully to enhance the quality of performance.

Londonderry Air is a traditional Irish folk melody.  Before the tune was ever notated on paper, it was passed from musician to musician through an oral tradition.  This means that musicians would learn the tune just by listening.  They would play the melody by ear. There is a story concerning the process of notating this tune onto paper.

Jane Ross, an Irish woman with music writing knowledge was the first person to notate the tune.  She was in Limavady, in the County of Londonderry where she heard a blind fiddler, Jimmy McCurry play the piece.  Here is the story:

One day Jane Ross heard Jimmy playing a beautiful melody outside the Burns and Laird Shipping Office, which she had never heard before.  She came over to Jimmy and asked him to play the tune over and over again until she had taken down every note.  Jane thanked him and gave him a coin for his moving rendition of the tune.

Jane's transcription of the tune was given to a distinguished folk song collector, George Petrie.  Mr. Petrie gave the tune its title, Londonderry Air, and published it in 1855.

As Irish immigrants came to America during the Great Famine (1845-1849), they brought along their traditions and music.  A Colorado woman heard Irish gold-prospectors playing a beautiful tune.  She persuaded the miners to let her have a copy of the tune and sent it to her brother-in-law, a song lyric writer.  This lyricist, Fred Weatherly, from Somerset England had already written a song called "Danny Boy" in 1910.  He used the melody he received from America as the final touches to his song.  This is how Danny Boy and Londonderry Air came to be known as the same piece.
 
 

These are the lyrics to Danny Boy.  It is a love song.  The tune is very suitable to the lyrics because it is flowing and pleasant to listen to.  The tune's beauty helps communicate the emotion expressed in the lyrics.  This is why"Danny Boy" became so popular and is still well known today.

This tune has a distinct melody. Melody is a series of notes arranged to form a distinctive, recognizable unit.  In general, if the music ìsticks with youî and you can hum or sing it after you play, you are remembering the melody.  Throughout this piece, various instruments play the melody.  Clarinets begin with the melody after a four bar introduction.  Examine the melodic line.  It has two parts.  These are identifiable when you are listening.  The first part of the phrase is the antecedent, or the opening part that sounds somewhat incomplete.   Here is the antecedent phrase: (The last three notes are pick-up notes to the consequent phrase).

Ex. 1.

The second part of the phrase is the consequent, or the second half of the phrase that brings the melody to a point of repose and closure.  When playing the melody, pay attention to the your phrasing.  Group the notes into the antecedent and consequent parts so it makes sense and sounds complete.  Notice how the consequent phrase sounds complete:

Ex. 2

The melody repeats 4 times during this piece.  It is given to various instruments and treated with different textures.  In the flowing style of this piece, it is appropriate to play with rubato.  Rubato literally means ìrobbedî in Italian.  In musical notation, this term indicates that the performer may take, ìor steal,î great liberties with the tempo.  This gives the performance flexibility.  In other words, the notes can speed up or slow down to evoke emotion in the music.  Throughout Londonderry Air, it is appropriate to perform the tune in a rubato style.  When performing, watch the conductor closely for variations in tempo.

It is true that a melody can make a piece memorable.  However, in order to make a piece interesting, it must have countermelody or harmony.  Londonderry Air has both of these musical elements.  Countermelody is the accompanying part to a melody with distinct, but secondary elements.  The countermelody provides contrast and substance to the tune.  In measures 41- 56 the baritone plays a distinct countermelody.

Ex. 3

This line is very important because it creates depth and contrast in this section of the piece.  While playing, make sure you can hear this part.

Along with countermelody, another important musical element is harmony.  Defined, harmony is the sounds that provide the support and enrichment, or the accompaniment, for the melody.  Throughout this Harold Walters arrangement, the harmony is usually given to the bass voices.  Horns, trombones, baritones, and tubas usually play the harmony in this piece.  The harmonic structure of the piece involves outlining chords that create different colors to accompany the melody.  At the very beginning, the bass voices accompany the melody by playing tonic and subdominant chords.  This provides support and creates a foundation for the melody.

Ex. 4

It is important to remember that the melody, harmony, countermelody are individual musical elements, but they all contribute to the entire make-up of the piece.  When considering the "big picture," it is evident that the flow and development of music consists of separate elements.  However, each element alone cannot create a complete work.  That is, elements such as melody, countermelody, and harmony (along with many others) work together to create a complete musical work.

The form for a piece of music refers to the organization of sound by the composer.  This is the general shape of the composition as perceived by the listener.  While studying a piece, it is important to understand its formal analysis.  Because music communicates ideas, it is important to understand the shape and development of these ideas just as it is important to understand literary analysis in literature.  We examine the form of the piece to make sense of the "big picture."  Therefore, in performance, we are not just playing individual notes and rhythms.  Rather, we are putting these in context of a grand idea that the composer is trying to communicate.

The form of Londonderry Air is simple.  There are two parts to the piece where the melody is stated twice.  The first part, A, is stated in measures 9-40 while the second statement, A', begins at measure 41 and continues to the end of the piece.  The first statement A does not begin until measure 9 because it is preceded by a short introduction.  An introduction is usually in a slow tempo at the beginning of a work preparatory to the main body of the form.  In the introduction, the composer prepares the listener for the flowing, melodic style of the piece.  Then, at measure 9, the clarinets state the theme in a calm, serene presentation of the melody.  This is the first part of section A.  In measure 24, the high woodwinds and saxes join the melody to restate it a second time.  The second half of A builds with a full band to a climax at the fermata in measure 36.  The clarinets and saxes play the final part of the melody as a gesture of repose before Aí begins with pickups by the flutes, clarinets, and saxes into measure 41.  Here, we hear the same melody accompanied by the bass voices and the baritone countermelody.   The first half of Aí continues until pickups into 57 where the cornets and saxes are given the melody.  Similar to the second half of A, the second half of Aí is a full band build up to the climax at ff in measure 65.  The piece fades out with the clarinets, saxes, and flutes as the melody concludes.  The bells and vibes finally have the last moving notes in measure 71.  The low voices end on long tones and an Eb Major chord with a ìfade outî fermata for the ending.

Ex. 6

Intro, A 1st Time     2nd Time  A' 1st time 2nd Time, Ending
 

During a performance and while practicing, pay close attention to the formal development of the piece.  This will help communicate the ideas of the composer with the audience.
 

Name:_______________________
 

Answer the questions based on your knowledge of this piece and our class discussions.  You may use your handouts to help.

Origins of the Piece

1. Who gave Londonderry Air its title?  When?

2. Who transcribed the piece?
 

3. Before the music was written down, it was passed on through a  ____________  tradition.
4. True or false, this is a folk melody from Scotland.
5. How did this melody reach America?

6. What lyrics were given to this tune after it was sent to England?
7. What is rubato?
8. What is harmony?  What instruments play this in the piece?

9. What instrument(s) play a countermelody?
10. What section of instruments states the melody first?
11. Does this piece have an introduction and an ending?
12. How many times is the melody stated throughout the piece?
13. What is harmony and who usually plays it?

14. Do you like this piece?  Why or why not?
15. If you were to perform Londonderry Air in a concert, do you think the audience would like it?  Why
      or why not?

16.  Explain antecedent and consequent phrasing.
 

Today you will perform the piece we have been studying while demonstrating your understanding of form, melody, harmony, countermelody, and history in the performance.  After recording Londonderry Air, we will listen to the tape and you will judge your own performance.  Using the rubric provided, give the performance a rating.

Then discuss in a group:

      What did you like?
        What did not go so well?
        How could this performance improve?
        In this performance is it evident that we studied the piece in depth?  What is evidence?

Finally, provide 3 suggestions in writing about how this performance could be improved.  We will discuss your suggestions as a class and attempt to implement these suggestions for another performance.  Then we will evaluate your playing again and assess our improvement.

Play musically and listen carefully!
 

You may use this space to take notes or record your suggestions.
 
 

Name: _____________________ Teacher: __________________
Date : ___________________ Title of Work: ___________________

Ü Criteria Points     1 2 3 4 Ü

Execution of rhythm and rubato  Little to no noticeable observation of rubato style. Rhythmic aspect detracts from musicality. Some noticeable observation of rubato style. Rhythmic aspect does not help or hinder musicality. Average observation of rubato style. Rhythmic aspect enhances the musicality. Exceeds expectations in observing rubato style. Rhythmic aspect greatly enhances the musicality. ____

Melodic line Melody is not audible. Because of this, the piece is not musical. Melody is audible but lacks vitality. Because of this, the piece is not musical. Melody is audible and expressive. Because of this, the piece has musicality. Melody is very audible and expressive. Because of this, the piece is full of emotion and musicality. ____

Countermelody/Harmony Countermelody and harmony are inaudible. No musicality. Countermelody and harmony are somewhat audible. Little musicality. Countermelody and harmony are audible. Musicality enhances the piece. Countermelody and harmony are audible and complementary to melody. Very emotional and musical. ____

Form Little attention given to cadences, phrasing, and climaxes. Structure of the piece is not evident. Some attention given to cadences, phrasing, and climaxes. Structure of the piece is somewhat evident. Adequate attention is given to cadences, phrasing, and climaxes. Structure of the piece is evident and logical. Above average attention to phrasing, cadences, and climaxes. Structure of the piece is evident and a "musical picture" is created. ____