Relaxation Video
Music SOL II.19 The student will identify and analyze cultures, styles, composers, and historical periods from materials being studied.
Introduction:
Congratulations! You have been put in charge of choosing music for a new series of videos that help people relax at the end of a long day at work. Customers will buy our videos because of the high quality music you will choose. You could be up for a big promotion if you can impress the President and CEO, Mr. Patterson! Present your video as a powerpoint slideshow and explain to Mr. Patterson, as well as his board of directors, what composer you chose and why you thought the music worked well with the video.
The Task:
Your job is to take a ready-made slideshow of photos and add appropriate music. Also add historical information on a musical period and biographical information on a composer you have chosen for the musical source. Slideshow choices include “Volcanoes”, “Funny Photos”, “Glaciers”, “Sunsets”, and “Flowers”. The music should “complement” the photos. It is ultimately your decision but you must explain your music choice to the CEO. You may choose one composer’s piece from these three periods of music: Baroque, Classical, and Romantic. Choose your music and then add it to your powerpoint as the background music. During your powerpoint presentation, give a brief description of the period of music you chose, as well as a brief biography on the composer you chose. Finally, give the title of the piece you chose and explain how you think it complements the photos.
The Process:
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First session: Review the series of photographs you must use from the resources section, including "Flowers", "Volcanoes", "Funny Photos", and "Medieval". Also read about the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods and composers (see resources) and narrow down which period and composer you would like to use with your slideshow.
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Second session: Listen to samples of music from the composer you chose and decide which best fits your slideshow based on tempo, style, and dynamics. This is your last chance to change your mind on the slideshow choice if necessary. Download and save the mp3 to your computer (see resources).
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Third/Fourth session: Download the raw powerpoint slideshow (.ppt) and add the mp3 of the music (see resources). Add slides to your powerpoint regarding the period of music, composer, and the piece of music you chose. You must cover the following:
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1st added Slide- Ten sentences describing the musical period you chose.
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2nd added Slide- Ten sentences- biography of the composer you chose.
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3rd added Slide- 8 sentences of WHY you chose the music that you chose.
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4th added Slide- a cover of your completed “movie”. Essentially this is an advertisement of your project.
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Your total presentation should total 4-5 minutes.
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Fifth session: Make your presentation and get your promotion!
Resources:
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Your slideshow choices are:
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Flowers:
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Volcanoes:
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Funny Photos:
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Medieval
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All about the Baroque (http://www.classicalarchives.com/period/4.html), Classical (http://www.classicalarchives.com/period/5.html) , and Romantic (http://www.classicalarchives.com/period/6.html) musical periods
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Biographies of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic composers (http://method-behind-the-music.com/history/composers/)
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MP3’s for all composers in alphabetical order (http://www.classiccat.net/composers.php)
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Raw Powerpoint files for your slideshow
Evaluation:
You will be evaluated on the following criteria:
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Music Choice
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Content on Musical Period
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Content on Composer
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Justification for Music Choice
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Presentation
Conclusion:
Great job! Did you see how challenging it can be to choose appropriate music to fit a particular set of pictures? You used various resources online to make a project that also told a story about a period of music, a composer, and a piece of work by that composer. The photos should have given you a starting point by setting a mood. Then you were able to put together a rewarding project that helped you learn more about the history of musical period, a composer’s biography, as well as learning to give a powerpoint presentation with confidence! Who knows, you just might get a great job at an advertising agency with your new skills!