Teachers Network
V. West Side Story
Aim: What is a musical?

SWBAT:

Questions: The teacher will play different musical samples, classic and modern, instrumental and vocal, Western and Oriental, Hispanic and African.  The teacher will discuss the different musical styles that relate to the history of a people and the culture of a country. Ex: merengue is the music of Dominican Republic independence; jazz is the music of African Americans; salsa is  Brasil's national music.

The teacher will discuss innovation and tradition in music. The following timeline will be provided (can be improved and modified):


1600's                 1800's             1900's              1920's              1950's              1970's              1990's

instrumental     waltz

opera              bolero          romantic                                                    rhythm & blues
                                                                                                                        rock         hard rock             metallica
                                                     jazz                                          rock'n roll          pop         rap
religious                     negro spirituals         soul                                                         disco          merengue rap
                                                                         balada
                                          country
popular


Students will feel free to add more styles to the chart. Extra credit is provided if students return the chart the next day colored, enriched, with photos and artwork.  The teacher will play musical samples from major musical styles. Students will be asked to write and express their comments in class. Remember the movie assignment. A similar observation chart is provided. Students will write while they listen to the music:

Element                                                                                    Observation/Description
Soloist
Instrumental background
Chorus
Instruments
Drums/Acoustics
Musical style
Lyrics
Message/Feelings experienced

As a class project, students will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation of their favorite music. They will bring their own CD or tape and write a short script that is to be presented in class while playing the music. The following guideline is provided:

1. Write information on the singer (group)
2. What style of music is this? Do you know other singers (groups) performing a similar music?
3. What country is this music from?
4. Instruments used
5. Lyrics. Read a sample
6. What is the message this music conveys?
7. When is the best time to listen to this music?
8. How do you feel when you listen to this music?
9. Can you dance to this music? Describe the moves or perform a choreographic moment.
10. To what type of artistic production could you see this music being applied? (opera, action or romantic movie, dance, documentary movie, cartoon, TV news, etc.).

Aim: What is an opera?

The teacher will present information on opera development and production by playing  different operas on the CD and showing video tapes with famous opera productions.
Students' reaction will be obvious against opera. The teacher will say that people need to understand opera if they need to understand other types of music.

Questions:
1. Why do people like operas? Show pictures of the Metropolitan Opera.
2. What are the differences between an opera and a musical?
3. What are the differences between opera and theatre?
4. What are the qualities needed to become an opera singer?

You may want to elicit students' responses to conceptualize the meaning of: opera, musical, theater, movie.

The teacher will then present the plot of West Side Story. The lyrics are on the internet, so most of them will be downloaded, multiplied, and distributed to the students.
Question: What are the differences between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story?
Use the following chart:
 
 
 
Romeo and Juliet West Side Story
Plot 
Characters:
Romeo
Juliet
Others 
Setting 
Costumes
Music 
Lyrics (language) 
Message 

Show some scenes from the movie (Maria, Coming to America). The students will gather information on the following elements: message, music, choreography, actors' performance, language, etc.
This information will then presented to the class or gathered in a report.

Resources:
About the musical, go to: http://alphabase.com/westside/home.html
Biography of Leonard Bernstein:
http://sonyclassical.com/artists/bernstein/
http://users.globalnet.co.uk/~mcgoni/
Stephen Sondheim: http://sondheim.com/
Again, one of the best pages on West Side Story,  the one that has plenty of links and easy to read lyrics, is another Geocity page:
http://geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/7768/home.html