Student Guide

To Tame the Perilous Skies

By

David Holsinger

 

TRN Music Publishing Company

Grade 6

 

 

Created By

Amy Heikes

 

 

Student Guide
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Learning Goals

  • Research the Tactical Air Command
  • Develop part independence
  • Exhibit knowledge of counting rhythms
  • Perform rhythms on a drum or single pitch on an instrument
  • Develop an understanding of the melody involved in the piece
  • Relate the melody to a picture
  • Understand the relationship of harmony in the piece
  • Identify the 5 sections of the piece
  • Identify characteristics of each of the 5 sections of the piece

 

 

About the composer…

 

David R. Holsinger was born in Hardin, Missouri.  He received his degrees from Central Methodist College, Central Missouri State University, and the University of Kansas.  Holsinger has won the American Band Ambassador’s Ostwald Composition Prize twice and was the composer-in-residence at Shady Grove Church in Grand Prairie, Texas for 16 years.  Holsinger now lives in Cleveland, Tennessee and is the Director of the Lee University Wind Ensemble.  Some of Holsinger’s other compositions include On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss and Cityscape.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Historical/Stylistic Background

 

To Tame the Perilous Skies is a programmatic piece about a collision between two forces in combat.  The rest of the piece is up to the interpretation of the audience regarding the plot.  The 564th Tactical Air Command Band commissioned this piece and the band played its premier performance of the piece in late 1990.

 

In the spring of 1990, as the news media paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the air battle for Britain, the composer envisioned this work as a tribute to the modern fighter pilot.  Little did Holsinger realize the visionary nature of the work, when at the time of its premiere, United Nations forces were assembling in the Persian Gulf, and only a few months later the world watched as modern technological air power ‘tamed the perilous skies’ over Iraq and Kuwait.  In retrospect then, let this work be dedicated not only to the exceptional men and women of the Tactical Air Command, but to the spirit of the modern military aviator, taming perilous skies that all men might live free of tyranny and oppression. (From the Score)  

 

 

Learning Goals:

  • Research the Tactical Air Command

 

Task

  • Write a report about military aviators – specifically their duties in the air

o       1 page

o       Word-processed

o       12 pt. Times New Roman

o       Free of spelling and grammatical errors

 

Sites to visit:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforceenlistedjobs/a/afjob1c4x1.htm

http://www.airforce.com/careers/job.php?catg_id=2&sub_catg_id=3&af_job_id=297

 

Rubric for grading:

 

 

0

1

2

Basic Requirements

(Length, font)

The student did not fulfill the basic requirements of the report

The student did not fulfill part of the requirements of the report.

The student fulfilled all of the requirements of the report.

Spelling and Grammar

The student had more than 5 spelling and grammatical errors.

The student had 5 or less spelling and grammatical errors.

The student had no spelling or grammatical errors

Content

The report did not pertain to the assigned topic.

The report strayed from the assigned topic.

The report related to the assigned topic.

 

 

 

Warm-Up Exercises

 

 At home…

Dynamics are vital in this piece.  Practice the following example, paying close attention to the dynamics.  Remember to keep a controlled sound, never sacrificing tone quality or pitch for dynamics.  The example is in concert pitch.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


To practice articulation, play the scale below.  Pay attention to the accented and slurred notes.  The example is in concert pitch.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


There are many complicated rhythms in this piece.  Practice the following example to help in grasping the rhythmic ideas.  The example is in concert pitch.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


In rehearsal…

This piece contains a lot of part independence between the instruments in the ensemble and within the instrument families.  The exercise below (in concert key) is a warm-up exercise, which practices this part independence.  Each instrument family is assigned a number.  Group 1 begins the exercise and when each instrument family sees their number, they play the exercise from the beginning on that beat.  For example, group 3 would enter on beat 4 of the 1st measure, playing the concert B-flat scale.  Once the group has finished the scale, they continue to hold out a concert B-flat until all groups have finished playing the scale.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 


Instrument Groups:

1-     Clarinets

2-     Trumpets/Cornets

3-     Percussion

4-     Flutes/piccolo

5-     Saxophones

6-     Trombone/Baritone

7-     Oboe/Bassoon

8-     Tubas

9-     French Horns

 

 

Rhythm

There are challenging rhythms throughout this piece.  Often times there are difficult sixteenth and triplet passages in the upper woodwinds.  The following is an excerpt from the flute part in measure 71.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


There are simple rhythms, but it becomes a challenge because different instruments are playing a different rhythm at the same time.  The example below is from measure 69.

 

 

Rhythm 2
 

Rhythm 3
 

Rhythm 5
 

Rhythm 6
 

Rhythm 7
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Learning Goals:

  • Develop part independence
  • Exhibit knowledge of counting rhythms
  • Perform rhythms on a drum or single pitch on your instrument

 

Task:

  • Write in the counting for the rhythms below and draw a vertical line to clarify each pulse.

 

a.
 
 


      

         

 

 

 

b.
 
 


                                         

 

 

c.
 
 

 


                                                    

 

 

 

 

  • Count/sing and clap each of the rhythms.
  • Play each of the rhythms on a concert B-flat or for percussion, on the snare drum.
  • In groups of 3, play the rhythms on a concert B-flat, each person playing a different line.
  • Rotate the parts so that every person plays each line one time.

 

Rubric for Grading:

 

 

0

1

2

3

4

 

Rhythm sheet

The student did not write any counting or vertical lines on the rhythms.

The student wrote only vertical lines or counting.

The student wrote vertical lines and counting on only 1 or 2 of the examples.

The student wrote the incorrect vertical lines and counting on the examples.

The student wrote the correct vertical lines and counting on all 3 of the examples.

Playing test

The student did not play the examples.

The student had 5 or more mistakes on the examples.

The student had 3-4 mistakes on the examples.

The student had 1-2 mistakes on the examples.

The student played all three of the examples correctly.

Group playing

The student did not play the examples with the group.

The student had 5 or more mistakes when playing with the rest of the group.

The student had 3-4 mistakes when playing with the rest of the group.

The student had 1-2 mistakes when playing with the rest of the group.

The student played all three of the examples correctly with the rest of the group.

 

 

 

Melody

Much like the rhythm, the melody of this piece varies greatly from instrument to instrument.  During most of the piece, different instruments are playing different melodies at the same time.  The lines vary greatly within the piece.  Below is an example of the beginning.  Notice the soft dynamic, simple rhythms, and smooth note changes.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Learning Goals

  • Develop an understanding of the melody involved in the piece.
  • Relate the melody to a picture.

 

Task

  • Look at the example above and listen to a recording of the piece.

o       What do you notice about the different lines?

  • Find a picture from http://office.microsoft.com that relates to the melodic lines of the piece.
  • Write a paragraph as to why you chose the picture.

 

For Example…
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In this piece, the melodic lines are intertwined with each other, while the accompaniment is interspersed with small rhythmic ideas.  The top of this picture looks like the melodic lines that are intertwined with each other, while the bottom of the picture looks like the accompaniment, which is sporadic and interspersed.

 

Rubric for Grading

 

 

0

1

2

Picture

No picture is provided

The picture is not appropriate for the piece.

An appropriate picture is provided

Rationale

No rationale is provided

The rationale for choosing the picture is not appropriate

The rationale for choosing the picture is appropriate

 

 

 

Harmony

Much like the rhythm and melody, different instruments are playing different harmonies at the same time in the majority of the piece.  The piece starts out with a tonal center of B-flat, but soon changes to various harmonies.  The picture below is a diagram of the harmonic content of the piece.  The lines at the end of the drawing represent all of the different tonal centers that the different instruments are playing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Learning Goals

  • Understand the relationship of harmony in the piece.

 

Task

  • Compose a harmony that does not have a specific pattern to it.
    • Required length is 8 measures.
    • The harmony must start in the key of B-flat, then move to a key of your choice
    • The rhythm must be whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, or eighth notes.
    • You must be able to play your harmony!
  • Every person in the ensemble will play his or her harmony at the same time.

 

Rubric for Grading

 

0

1

2

3

4

Harmony

(Length, key, rhythm)

Student did not complete a harmony.

Student did not fulfill any of the requirements.

Student did not fulfill 2 of the requirements.

Student did not fulfill 1 of the requirements.

Student fulfilled all of the requirements.

 

 

Form Analysis

 

There are 5 sections in this piece, each with different characteristics.  The picture below represents the form in that it starts out with a small number of instruments at the beginning of the piece, and by the end, the full band is playing.  In addition, within the sections, the beginning begins with a small number of instruments and by the end of the section, a larger amount of instruments are playing.

 

 

 

 

Learning Goals

  • Identify the 5 sections of the piece.
  • Identify characteristics of each of the sections.

 

Task

  • Listen to a recording of the piece.
    • Follow along with your music.
  • In your music, label the 5 sections.
  • On a separate piece of paper, write down the characteristics of each section.

 

Rubric for Grading

 

0

1

2

3

Music

The student did not label the sections in his or her music.

The student labeled 3 or less of the sections in his or her music.

The student labeled 4 of the sections in his or her music.

The student labeled all sections of the piece in his or her music.

Characteristics

The student did not record the characteristics of each section.

The student recorded the characteristics of 3 or less of the sections.

The student recorded the characteristics of 4 of the sections.

The student recorded the characteristics of all of the sections.

 

 

Glossary

Brittle- Having hardness and rigidity but little tensile strength; breaking readily with a comparatively smooth fracture, as glass.

 

Div. (Divisi)- Divided within the part

 

Gliss. (Glissando)- Performed with a gliding effect by sliding one or more fingers rapidly over the keys, or sliding a trombone slide.

 

Loco- At the written pitch.

 

Polyphony- Music with two or more independent melodic parts sounded together.

 

Program Music- Music intended to convey an impression of a definite series of images, scenes, or events.

 

Sfz- A notation written above a note, indicating that it is to be played with a strong initial attack. 

 

Sfz/mf- A notation written above a note, indicating that it is to be played with a strong initial attack, then at a mezzo forte.

 

Simile- The same.

 

Snarley- To growl viciously while baring the teeth.

 

Somewhat Strident- Having a shrill, irritating quality or character

 

Stagger breathing- Breathing in a different spot than the people sitting next to you.

 

Subito- Suddenly; abruptly.