📖

Creating Baroque-Style Ornaments

Music History: The Baroque Period

Day 55of 180
Week 11of 36
30Minutes
← Day 54Day 55 of 180Day 56 →
🖨️ Download Worksheet (PDF)
🎯 What You'll Learn

Learning Objectives

1

Understand what musical ornaments are in Baroque music

2

Practice creating simple trills and mordents on a familiar melody

3

Appreciate the artistic complexity of Baroque musical expression

📖 Scripture Connection

Psalm 150:3-5

“Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the psaltery and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and pipes!”

— Psalm 150:3-5 (WEB)

Demonstrates the biblical celebration of musical creativity and ornamentation

📦 Materials Needed

  • Piano or keyboard (optional)
  • Recorder or other simple instrument
  • Pencil and music staff paper
  • BibleMouse Grade 4 Music Resource Guide
📚 Step-by-Step

Lesson Plan

1Opening (3 min)

Recall yesterday's lesson about Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' and how Baroque music uses beautiful musical decorations

💭 Review Question: What made the Baroque music we listened to yesterday sound special?
2Teaching (10 min)

Introduce musical ornaments as the 'fancy decorations' of Baroque music

📌 Key Talking Points:
  • Trills are quick alternations between two notes
  • Mordents are quick 'pinches' of neighboring notes
  • Ornaments make music more expressive and beautiful
💬 Discussion Questions:
  • How are musical ornaments like decorations on a cake?
  • Why might musicians add extra notes to a melody?
3Activity: Baroque Ornament Adventure (12 min)
creative practice

Add simple ornaments to a familiar melody like 'Amazing Grace'

📝 Instructions:
  1. Choose a simple melody you know
  2. Practice adding a trill to one or two notes
  3. Try a mordent on another note
  4. Experiment with how the ornaments change the music
🔄 Variations:

Simpler: Use just one type of ornament

Challenge: Create a complex ornament pattern

4Closing (3 min)

Reflect on how ornaments make music more interesting

📝 Review Questions:
  • What did you learn about Baroque musical decorations?
  • How did adding ornaments change the melody?

Coming up: Tomorrow we'll explore musical dynamics and how volume can change music's emotion

👨‍👩‍👧 For Parents

Teaching Notes

📚 Background:

Baroque musicians saw music as a language of emotion, using ornaments to express feelings

💡 Teaching Tips:
  • Be patient - ornaments take practice
  • Encourage creativity and experimentation
  • Use the BibleMouse Resource Guide for additional visual aids
🤔 Common Struggles:

Children might find precise ornament placement challenging

👀 Signs of Understanding:

Enthusiasm about musical creativity and willingness to experiment

🚀 Want More?

Extension Activities

  • Listen to a Baroque piece and count the ornaments
  • Draw a visual representation of different musical ornaments

Ready for Tomorrow?

Great job completing today's lesson!

Continue to Day 56 →Back to Music