Western Classical Tradition 1650-1910 – Lesson 2

Teaching Ideas

Learning Objective: To define and demonstrate some popular musical features of the Baroque period.
(Targeting Assessment Objective 3)
Success Criteria: • To define the types of voices used in oratorios.
• To describe the difference between oratorio and opera.
• To perform the various types of ornamentation commonly used in Baroque music.
• To research Baroque music features.
Context: This is the second of a series of lessons about Area of Study 1 – Western Classical Tradition 1650-
1910, aimed at helping pupils prepare for the AQA GCSE Music ‘Understanding Music’ component.

Starter
Starter: Low-High
Ask if pupils can put the four types of singing voices into the correct order from lowest to highest.

Main Activities
Opera and Oratorio (Slide 4)
Explain about the main differences between opera and oratorio.

The Baroque Orchestra (Slide 5)

Explain about the instrumentation that was commonly used in the Baroque period. If time permits, you could show the following
video and ask for feedback from students about the differences they observe between the Baroque instruments and playing style
and a modern orchestra.

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Ornamentation
Explain about the different types of ornamentation used in the Baroque. Play these on the piano to demonstrate if you are able.
If not, this video contains examples of a few styles.

Performing Ornaments
Hand out the Performing Ornaments activity sheet. Pupils to explore performing ornaments on the piano/keyboard/their own instrument.

Research Task and Research Task Answers

Pupils to use the internet and any other relevant resources to research music from the Baroque period, writing their answers on
the Baroque Music Research Activity Sheet. Alternatively, you may wish pupils to undertake the Baroque Music Reading
Comprehension alongside the Baroque Music Differentiated Activity Sheets.

Plenary
Ornamentation Recap
Hand out mini-whiteboards, markers and erasers (or plain paper can be used as an alternative). Pupils to draw the ornament
symbol and name for the ornament whose definition is displayed.

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