A WebQuest to find Composers from the Classic Time Period

Introduction
Task
Process
Resources
Evaluation
Conclusion

Grade 6 General Music

Introduction:

You are a composer living in 1811. You have heard many different pieces of music from many different people throughout history. You want to be the best composer ever, so you decide you are going to listen to the works of the 2 best composers of your time period and copy their musical styles.
 

Task

After researching the information you need to find, create a “WORD” document with all of the information you need to answer the questions. Your answers must be written in complete sentences with correct spelling . You will also save 2 MIDI files for each composer. You will then present your document and MIDI files to the class. Make sure that your WORD document and MIDI files are ALL saved to a floppy disk.
 

Process

Each of you will work in groups of 3. You will be allowed 4 class periods to complete this quest. You may also work outside of class time to complete this project. Each of the following steps should be followed to complete your quest:

1. Name the 7 different time periods of music throughout history. Name the beginning year and ending year of each period.

2. What time period do you live in according to the Introduction?

3. How long is the time period you live in according to the Introduction?

4. There are many composers from this time period. After looking through the information, who are the 2 most famous composers from this time period? Include one picture of each of the 2 composers in your "WORD" document.

5. What is the date of birth and date of death for each of the composers?
(month/day/year)

6. Listen to several examples of their music. Name the titles of the 2 pieces of their music you like the best.

7. Save a “MIDI” file for each of your answers in #6 to your floppy disk. MIDI files use the extension .mid

Resources

The following list of sites will help you to complete your web quest.

Evaluation

Your final grade will be based on the following components:

1. Your constructive use of class time to accomplish the assigned tasks (individual grade)

2. Your WORD document and the accuracy of the information you collect. (group grade)

3. Your collection of “MIDI” files that you downloaded from the resource pages. (group grade)

Conclusion

Through this quest, you have learned the different musical time periods and learned a little about the musical style of 2 great composers from the classic time period. To go a step further with your new knowledge, think about how the musical styles of the 2 composers were different. Since you are living in 1811, what specific style traits would you use from each composer to become successful? What wouldn't you use? Why?
I hope you enjoyed listening to classical music and learning about 2 great composers. What other composers were famous in this time period?

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This WebQuest designed by Mr. James Lykins. I am a music teacher at

Northwestern Lehigh Middle School in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.

If you have any questions about this page, contact me here