Teacher’s Guide

 

 

The Sword of Kings

(The Legend of Excalibur)

By Robert W. Smith

 

Published by C.L. Barnhouse Company

 

Music Grade: ½

School Grade: 6

 

 

 

 

Instructional Goals:

1.     The students will perform articulations accurately and with the correct separation.

National Standard: 2, 5

2.     The students will study and understand the historical matter behind the piece.

National Standards: 8, 9

3.     The students will use the knowledge of form to perform repeated sections consistently.

National Standards: 2, 5, 7

4.     The students will be able to notate perfect fifths.

National Standards: 5

5.     The students will be able to identify the melodic line and perform it on their own instrument.

National Standards: 2, 5

6.     The students will compare The Sword of Kings to other art forms.

National Standards: 6, 7, 8

 

 

 

 

Melodic: The melody is in good balance with itself. The fanfare and battle are strongly accented with much dynamic interest yet the note values throughout the piece are never smaller than an eighth note. Both the Fanfare (section A) and the Battle (section C) have the melodic line using stepwise motion. The trumpets and upper winds pass the melody to one another in these sections. The fanfare occurs three times; first in measure 1, next in measure 27 and lastly in measure 65. The Battle begins in measure 55.

The courtly dance in begins in both measures 19 and 47. This section offers a contrasting sound that is quieter and has the flute, oboe and trumpets sharing the melody. The beginning and the end of this section (measures 19, 24, 47 and 52) utilizes leaps of a fourth and fifth while the middle is almost all stepwise motion. The melody in this section is simple with numerous opportunities to teach phrasing with the rising and falling line. For this section, the harmony gives the piece interest.

The activity for the student is to have them identify their own part as well as the melody. They may play or sing each line to determine the answer. They must then demonstrate their playing abilities by playing each part including the percussion. This activity will help them to being to listen across the ensemble and pay attention to where the melody is going.

 

Melodic section from student guide

 

Here is part of the Courtly dance where the names of the instruments have been taken away. Using what you know about transposition, rhythms and what you have heard in rehearsal complete the following:

 

Task

·      Put a SQUARE around the part that you play even if it is in a different key.

·      Put a CIRCLE around the melody line.

·     

 

 

 

 

 

·      Winds: play each line following the different key signatures. Play the last line on a concert B-flat

·      Percussion: play each line on a bell set and the last line on a B-flat.

 

 

Rubric

 

	0	1	2
Written Part	There was nothing circled or squared or both were incorrect.	One correct item was circled or squared.	Both items were correctly marked.
Notes	Some of the notes were played correctly	Most of the notes were played correctly	Few notes were missed.
Articulation	No articulations were played	Some articulations were played	All articulations were performed
Rhythm	Most of the rhythms were played incorrectly or out of time	Many of the rhythms were correctly	Most of the rhythms were played correctly and in time.

 

 

Harmonic: The harmonies in this piece explore both B-flat major and G minor. Many of the harmonies focus on perfect fifths in both keys as music from the medieval period often did. For example, during the Courtly Dance in measure 19 the harmony parts have concert G with concert D. Cadences also follow later structures of omitting the fifth and using a major or minor third such as the last chord of the piece. The overall percussive sounds of the harmonies as well as the harmonies themselves reflect what we know of music from the suggested time period of King Arthur.

            The harmony activity is a quick written assessment on perfect fifths. The student is told how many half steps are in a perfect fifth and then they are given a row of notes on a staff. The student must write in the perfect fifth above that note. A hint has been given that accidentals may have to be used in order to make it a perfect fifth. This works with their notating skills as well as beginning theory.

 

Harmonic section from student guide

 

The harmony in this piece uses perfect fifths and thirds throughout the entire piece.

A perfect fifth is the interval between two notes that contains seven half steps

 

Task

 

·      For this activity, draw in the perfect fifth above the bottom note. Two have been done for you. You may have to use accidentals to create a perfect fifth.

 

 

 

Grading

There are 12 points possible for this activity. Each correct answer is worth 2 points.

 

 

 

Rhythmic: The rhythms in The Sword of Kings are simple and do not exceed the use of eighth notes. The articulations in the piece are what make the percussive harmonies interesting and each section different.

In the Fanfares and the Battle, accents on strong and weak beats as well as staccato eighth notes give the rhythms a twist and the students a challenge such as in measures 2 and 55. The accents are especially interesting to hear in measures such as 13. The upper winds along with tenor saxophone and mallets have the accent on beat three while the low voices and trumpets have the accents on beat four. So, the accents happen at different times in different timbres.

In the Courtly Dance section (measure 19), the rhythms are legato in the upper voices while the saxophones and low voices have accented and staccato notes to add a “medieval” percussive sound. This section contains only half and quarter notes so the accents play a major part in adding interest to the rhythmic flavor of the piece.

            In the student guide, there are two examples of different rhythms. These can be used as warm ups in class or can be put into scale form for scale practice as in the practice guide. This is to teach those that do not have these specific parts to listen for something different in the group as well as practice counting and articulations.

 

Rhythmic section from student guide

 

Many of the rhythms in the piece are ones that you know and know well. The articulations, ties and slurs in the piece make some of the rhythms more difficult.

 

This line starting at measure 19 shows ties over the bar line to give the feel of a half note where one cannot go.

 

 

This line has a slur on beat 3 with an accent while the other notes are staccato. This selection starts at measure 39.

 

 

 

 

 

Formal: The form of the piece is a song form. It is ABABCA. The A section is a fanfare utilizing the brass for a majestic sound. It occurs three times in measures 1, 27 and65. The B section at measure 19 is already labeled “Courtly Dance.” This section is a little more connected than the A section and should be performed legato being careful of the phrasing. The B section does come back at measure 47 adding more instrumentation, but not changing the melodic structure. The C section is the “Intense Battle that is taken from part of the fanfare and occurs at measure 55.

            The students will mark their parts as to where each section begins. A graphic representation has been given so the students know how many sections there are as well as how many times they occur and in what order. They will listen to a recording and use the letters A, B, and C to mark the sections. The students will then write a description about what makes each section different. This is a simplified version of a formal analysis. Students are listening to a good recording and have a listening goal.

 

Form section from student guide

 

This piece has three different sections that come back at different times. Some of the sections are marked in your parts as “Courtly Dance” and “Intense Battle” but they are not marked every time they return.

 

These pictures show the order in which the sections appear.

 

 

 

 

 

Task

·      Find and mark each section in your music by listening to a recording.

·      Describe in written, complete sentences what makes the different sections different.

 

Rubric

 

	0	1	2
Part marked	No sections are marked	Some sections are marked	All sections are marked
Complete sentences	Sentences are incomplete and at times do not make sense	Some sentences are incomplete.	All sentences are complete and well written.
Differences	Differences were not discussed	Differences were written, but one or more sections were skipped	Differences were written about each section.

 

 

 

Historical: The story of King Arthur and the sword Excalibur takes place during medieval times around the fifteenth century. This piece displays the sounds of triumph, nobility, battle and dance using musical ideas from the time. The half note and two quarter notes that are used in the harmonies of the Courtly Dance or “B” section display a common percussive rhythm used in the period as well as harmonies of perfect fifths and thirds used throughout.

            The activity for the students in this area is a Webquest. King Arthur wants to have a banquet and the students are in charge of putting some of the components together. Each student must make a list of common instruments of the Middle Ages and a description of what they look like and how one would play those instruments. They must also create a menu of popular foods as well as a guest list of famous people to invite to the banquet. The students are provided with the websites in which all the information can be found. You may want to assign only one item at a time and have them do three small projects instead of one large project.

 

Cultural analyses: King Arthur has been debated about for centuries. Some claim that he was a real man and did live long ago while others claim that he is but a legend and a story. Some say that there were too many King Arthurs around the world to truly know who the stories were about. The tale that this piece was written about was just that, a tale. This piece is about the British King Arthur that became king by pulling the sword Excalibur from a stone and the adventures that the sword led Arthur through.

            As an interdisciplinary activity, the students will look at a picture of a tapestry done of King Arthur and Excalibur. They are to compare characters, patterns and numbers in the tapestry to things they hear in The Sword of Kings and to what they have learned through the other activities. Art, math and music are combined into this activity.

 

Interdisciplinary connections:

 

Art: In this tapestry there are many elements that can be connected to The Sword of Kings. They can be as simple as a pattern in the tapestry to the characters.

 

 

 

 

 

Task

·      Type a one page essay, double spaced about what connections can be made between the tapestry and the piece. Be careful to use proper grammar and correct spelling.

·      Compare at least three different aspects.

 

Rubric

 

	0	1	2	3
Page lenghth	Less than ¼ of a page	Between ¼ and ½ a page	Between ½ and ¾ of a page	A full one page
Three aspects	The student did not compare the art to the piece	Only one comparison was made	Two comparisons were made	Three or more comparisons were made
Grammar	Incorrect grammar and spelling occurs in most sentences	Incorrect grammar and spelling occurs in about half the sentences	There were only a few grammar and spelling errors	There were no or almost no grammar or spelling errors.

 

 

Practice Guide:

 

Some of The Sword of Kings is in G minor. Here is a rhythmic selections put into scalar motion to improve your articulations and slurs in G minor concert.

 

 

 

This selection puts the same idea into a straight forward B-flat scale.

 

 

The melody line has quarter notes tied over the bar line. Practice this scale to become more comfortable with ties over the bar line.

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary:

 

Intense- having or showing great strength, strong feeling, or tension

Crescendo- To smoothly increase in volume

Decrescendo- To smoothly decrease in volume

Courtly- polite, refined, or elegant

Boldly- necessitating courage and daring

Staccato- A style of playing notes in a detached and separated manner

Molto rall. (rallentando) - slow down by quite a bit

Accented- A stress or special emphasis on a beat

Legato- A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition in a smooth, graceful, connected style