Student’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

 

Rhythmic Concepts:

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Melodic

 

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 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.

 

 

 

 

Form

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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