Teacher Guide:

By

Charles Carter

Bourne Publications, Inc.

Grade III

Goals of the Unit:

The overall goals for this unit are to create an understanding of how knowledge of history can affect the performance of a piece. Also knowledge of theory, rhythmic and harmonic skills will be enhanced with the given activities.

* Students will identify important historical facts about time period in which this piece was composed as well as the historical facts about the composer.

* Students will correctly perform given rhythms in the piece.

* Students will arrange their own variation of the melody.

* Students will create their own letter or journal entry.

* Students will analyze given chord progressions in the piece.

* Each activity given can be adapted to accommodate any student needs. You may be more elaborate or concise with directions as necessary.*

Standards

*In this particular unit, all of the content standards are met and there are often times when the activities incorporate more than one content standard.

Activity 1: History of Charles Carter and Overture for Winds.

-Standards 8,9

Activity 2: Rhythms

-Standards 2,3,4,5

Activity 3: Melody

-Standards 1,5,6,7

Activity 4: Harmony

-Standards 5,6

Activity 5: Form

-Standards 5,6

Unit Study: Below is a unit study on Charles Carter’s Overture for Winds. This may help in teaching the history of the piece as well as the form, structure and other technical aspects of the piece.

“Overture for Winds”

Charles Carter

Composer: Charles Edward Carter was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He was born on July 10, 1026. He spent his young life in Worthington, Ohio, and attended The Ohio State University. Following his attendance at Ohio State, he later attended the Eastman School and finally Florida State University. Some of his jobs included, the low brass instructor and music arranger for the Ohio State Marching Band and Theory and Composition professor at Florida State University. He is most known for his published wind band literature. He composed Overture for Winds, Chorale and Variations, and Symphonic Overture to name a few.

Composition: This composition is a bright and cheerful tune that consists of a standard ABA format. The opening fanfare is exciting and rhythmic and is followed by a slower and more lyrical “ballad” section. The closing statement of this piece is a restatement of the opening idea. This work is approximately five and a half minutes long.

Historical Prospective: Writing an overture was a very popular thing at this time for wind band composers. Composers such as C. Catel, H. Jadin and Mendelssohn were known for their writings of overtures. This is still a standard style that exists today and is very widely used.

Technical Considerations: The keys that this piece contains are centered around Eb Major, C minor and Bb Major. The tempo at the beginning of the piece is marked allegro con moto with the quarter note equaling 152 beats per minute. The piece has a recurring theme of upbeat entrances in all sections of the piece.

Stylistic Considerations: Being rhythmically precise is very important in this particular piece of music; especially while Theme A is being performed. The middle, more lyrical section may be performed with more rubato and with more emotion. Balance is not really an issue with the melody always being represented with a strong underlying accompaniment.

Musical Elements: The harmony is predominantly triadic and the melodies are very melodic if you will. With most all of the entrances coming on the upbeats, it may cause some players a bit of difficulty.

Form and Structure:

Measure Section

1 Section A

1 Theme a

9 Theme a

17 Theme b

39 Theme a

50 Transition (Euphonium Solo)

52 Section B

53 Theme c

64 Theme c

79 Development of a

100 Transition- 4-stage sequence with crescendo allargando

116 Section A

116 Theme a

124 Theme a

132 Theme b

156 Theme a

164 Coda

Suggested Listening: Charles Carter, Symphonic Overture

Elliot Del Borgo, Overture for Winds

Felix Mendelssohn, Overture for Winds Op.24

W.A. Mozart, Overture to the Marriage of Figaro

Additional References and Resources:

Dvorak, Thomas. Best Music for Young Band. Brooklyn, NY: Manhattan Beach Music, 1986.

Rehrig, William. The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. Westerville, OH: Integrity Press, 1991.

Smith, Norman and Albert Stoutamire. Band Music Notes. Lake Charles, LA: Program Note Press, 1989.

Charles Edward Carter was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He was born on July 10, 1026. He spent his young life in Worthington, Ohio, and attended The Ohio State University. Following his attendance at Ohio State, he later attended the Eastman School and finally Florida State University. Some of his jobs included, the low brass instructor and music arranger for the Ohio State Marching Band and Theory and Composition professor at Florida State University. He is most known for his published wind band literature. He composed Overture for Winds, Chorale and Variations, and Symphonic Overture to name a few.

This composition is a bright and cheerful tune that consists of a standard ABA format. The opening fanfare is exciting and rhythmic and is followed by a slower and more lyrical “ballad” section. The closing statement of this piece is a restatement of the opening idea. This work is approximately five and a half minutes long.

Writing an overture was a very popular thing at this time for wind band composers. Composers such as C. Catel, H. Jadin and Mendelssohn were known for their writings of overtures. This is still a standard style that exists today and is very widely used.

Activity 1: The History of Charles Carter and overture for winds

As you could probably guess, in order to successfully and thoroughly learn a piece of music, it is important to learn the history of the piece. It is important to learn the history of the composer as well as the time period in which the piece was composed.

Learning Goals:

· Students will learn the history of Charles Carter and about the time period in which Overture for Winds was composed.

· Students will depict their understanding of the history in their writing.

Assignment:

1. Using the web, discover as much information as you can about Charles Carter and of the time period in which Overture for Winds was composed.

2. After researching your information, you have the choice to:

· Create a journal entry

· Discover another piece of this time period similar to Overture for Winds and write a half-page paper about the similarities and differences.

3. If you decide to create a journal entry, travel back in time and imagine yourself as a member of society in 1959. What is life like? How does music influence society? How does music affect you?

4. Be as creative as you can!

Your work will be graded based on the rubric below.

Activity 1: Rubric for Writing Assignment

CATEGORY	4 - Above Standard	3 - Meets Standard	2 - Approaching  Standard	1 - Below Standard
Identifies music as being associated with a time or culture	After instruction, student can identify the time/culture associated with 5 or more pieces of music without assistance.	After instruction, student can identify the time/culture associated with 3-4 pieces of music with little or no assistance.	After instruction, student can identify the time/culture associated with 1-2 pieces of music with little or no assistance.	Cannot identify music by time/culture without significant assistance.
Analyzes how music fits time/culture	Accurately describes several dominant elements of music associated with a particular time period or culture and can relate them to other elements in that time or culture.	Accurately describes a couple of dominant elements of music associated with a particular time period or culture and can relate them to other elements in that time or culture.	Accurately describes 1-2 dominant elements of music associated with a particular time period or culture.	Has difficulty describing any dominant elements of music associated with a particular time period or culture.
Grammar and Spelling	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

In the piece, Overture for Winds, Charles Carter explores some very interesting rhythmic ideas throughout the piece. Throughout the piece, he likes to begin phrases on the offbeat. He does this in both the A section as well as the B section.

Activity 2: Rhythm

As you all know, rhythm is one of the most important aspects to a piece of music. Learning rhythms and playing them correctly is vital to a successful performance of a piece. There are times in Overture for Winds that rhythms can be tricky.

Learning Goals:

• Students will accurately demonstrate rhythms in this piece.
• Students will perform the rhythms correctly on their instruments.
• Students will arrange a new rhythm for the melody in this piece.

Assignment:

1.Write in the counts under the given rhythms below.

2. Perform the rhythm on a single pitch.

3. Using the rhythm already given to you, create a melody similar to the one above that may also work in the piece.

Assessment:

5 Points- Placing the correct counts under the rhythm above.

5 Points- Performing the rhythm correctly on instruments.

5 Points- Arranging a melodic line that both fits with the counts as well as the piece itself.

15 Points total possible.

In the piece, Overture for Winds, Charles Carter has not only composed exciting and different rhythms; he has created beautiful melodic lines throughout the piece.

Activity 3: Melody

The melody in Overture for Winds, by Charles Carter is very unique. The melody in this piece is an original melody composed by Charles Carter himself.

Learning Goals:

• Students will listen to W.A. Mozart’s, Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and attempt to identify any melodic lines or ideas that are comparable to Charles Carter’s, Overture for Winds.
• Students will each discuss one idea or common theme from these two pieces with the class.
• Students will refine their listening skills.

Assignment:

1. Listen carefully to W.A. Mozart’s, Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and think about how this piece is similar to Overture for Winds. Be ready to discuss one thing you hear to the class. Participation in this activity is required for full credit.
2. Following the discussion, create a journal entry comparing and contrasting the two pieces. Be sure to talk about specific melodic lines in each piece.

Assessment: You will be graded based on the rubric below.

Activity 3: Rubric for Melody Assignment

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Neatness	The final draft of the story is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It is free of erasures and crossed-out words. It looks like the author took great pride in it.	The final draft of the story is readable, neat and attractive. It may have one or two erasures, but they are not distracting. It looks like the author took some pride in it.	The final draft of the story is readable and some of the pages are attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.	The final draft is not neat or attractive. It looks like the student just wanted to get it done and didn't care what it looked like.
Spelling and Punctuation	There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout.	There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.	There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.	The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.

The keys that this piece contains are centered around Eb Major, C minor and Bb Major. The melodic structure is very simple in this piece but it is still very important to understand it in order to learn all of the important aspects of this piece.

Activity 4: Harmony

In this piece, Charles Carter uses simple harmonic ideas throughout the piece. In order to better understand a piece of music, it is important to understand the harmonic structure along with all of the other elements stated above.

Learning Goals:

• Students will use their knowledge in theory to complete the assignment
• Students will gain a better understanding of the simple harmonic structure of the piece.

Assignment:

1. Analyze the following passage by putting roman numerals under each measure.

2. Create the proper cords to go along with the chord progression.

F: I IV V7 I

Assessment:

10 Points- Correctly placing the roman numerals under the selected measures

10 Points- Correctly completing the chord progression

10 Points- Participation and manuscript neatness

Overture for Winds, by Charles Carter is a piece of music that has become a standard in band repertoire. This piece follows traditional ABA form. Below is a graphic representation of the form of the piece. This may offer a better understanding of the piece.

Activity 5: Form

Learning Goals:

• Students will understand the form and structure of Overture for Winds.
• Students will listen to a similar piece of music and create their own form analysis.

Assignment

1. Listen to Overture for Winds and follow the form analysis that I have given to you. There are some shapes that I have left out and your assignment is to fill in those shapes.
2. Listen to Charles Carter’s, Symphonic Overture and complete your own form analysis for the A Section of the piece.

Assessment:

5 Points- Accurately replacing the missing shapes.

5 Points- Completing the form analysis for the A Section of Symphonic Overture

5 Points- Participation

15/10 Points Possible. This activity provides an opportunity for extra credit.

Glossary of Terms

Allegro Con Moto: cheerful, lively

Crescendo (cresc.): growing, becoming louder

Ritardando (rit.): becoming slower

Rallantando (rall.): becoming slower

A Tempo: Return to the previous tempo

Allargando (allarg.): Slowing of tempo, usually with increasing volume; most frequently occurs toward the end of a piece.

Final Examination:

Matching: Below are the vocabulary words that are contained in this unit. Match the correct word with the correct definition. (12 Points)

1. ___f____Allegro con Moto a. slowing of tempo, usually with increasing volume; most frequently occurs at the end of the piece.

2. ___e____Crescendo b. becoming slower

3. ___b____Ritardando c. becoming slower

4. ___c____Rallantando d. return to the previous tempo

5. ___d____A Tempo e. growing, becoming louder

6. ___a____Allargando f. cheerful, lively

Fill in the Blank: Use your knowledge as well as your student packet to complete the problems below. (15 Points)

1. Always practice with a _______________. (Metronome)

2. ________the rhythms before you play them on your instruments. (Clap)

3. Overture for Winds was composed by ___________. (Charles Carter)

4. Overture for Winds is in _____ form. (ABA)

5. Name one other piece by Charles Carter: __________. (Symphonic Overture)

Journal Entry: On the back of this test, I would like for you to complete your final journal entry. (23 Points)

Take what you have learned from this unit and complete two paragraphs about what you have learned, what you would like to know and ways that this unit could be improved.