Music Lessons for Vivaldi’s Winter

 

January and February are difficult months for lesson planning in the elementary music classroom. Students are just returning from break, and inspiration and energy are not at their highest. That’s when I love to pull out a few of my favorite winter-themed music lessons. This particular lesson focuses on Vivaldi, one of our winter composers of the month and his music. Take a look at how I combine Vivaldi’s Winter from The Four Seasons with a well-known Disney song.

 

 

Vivaldi, The Composer

 

First, I start with a composer lesson on Antonio Vivaldi. I love teaching this lesson in January after all the holiday songs are put away, and winter is in full swing. It also really works well that my school’s composer of the month for January is Vivaldi.

 

I start the lesson with a brief biography, discussing facts and significant events in the life of Antonio Vivaldi. Sometimes I read a book on the composer’s life and childhood. There are several great books available, and if you can’t find one, I like to just “ham it up.” Nothing gets your kids’ attention so much as when you are 200% enthusiastic and excited about the topic!

 

To introduce Vivaldi’s birthplace, family, childhood, education, and musical career, students can look at my composer bulletin board. It makes it easy to recall these important facts and events in Vivaldi’s life throughout the lesson. I also use a PowerPoint presentation to present his biography and The Four Seasons, which you can find here.

 

 

Vivaldi’s Winter and The Four Seasons

Next, I transition to The Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos that Vivaldi wrote when he was 45 years old. I tell students that it is a special piece where he tells us all about winter, spring, summer, and fall. I explain what a concerto is and that he decided to write one for each season. Also, we discuss how he broke up each of those seasons into 3 smaller sections. That makes 12 little pieces of a whole – just like the 12 months in a year. He even used a poem to go with what his music is trying to say.

 

This is a great video that includes all 4 seasons with each of the 3 parts and their poems: 

  

Ideas for Teaching The Four Seasons 

If you have time, you could even bring up the topic of seasons, science, and weather. I include each of the poems for the four seasons right in the PowerPoint along with the music, making it perfect for a substitute lesson. Also, using worksheets for The Four Seasons can be a great way for students to take notes, draw pictures, or record their thoughts along the way. 

 

If you have an opportunity to team up with some of the other teachers in your school, this can be a great collaborative project. In art class, students can draw or paint what they think the music sounds like. In English class, students can create short simple poems or haikus about their favorite season. A brief science or weather discussion can also help when listening to The Four Seasons.

 

Vivaldi’s Winter

Next, we look at the poems for each of the seasons, and I focus most of my time on winter. I love reading the poems to the kids and pointing out key words that students will be able to hear in the music. If you have time, go through and circle all the sound words in one color – like murmur, chatter, lightning, and cracks. Then, circle the emotional or descriptive words in another color – like happy, fierce, joy, and battle. This activity really got my students thinking.

 

I recently taught this lesson on Google Meet, during a virtual day due to snow. I asked them to look outside and think of words to describe the beautiful snowy scene that they saw. Then, we went to action words to describe what kinds of things they can do in the winter. Finally, I asked them for emotional words for it. For example, students gave me three words: glistening – slippery – fun.

 

After listening at least once and making some observations, I then add movement or simplified choreography to the first 1-2 minutes of each part. As we listen to each of the seasons, I ask students to mirror me performing the motions. This will later help them recall each of the themes and sound words. I also love using listening glyphs along with Vivaldi’s Winter to get students thinking about dynamics, tempo, instruments, form etc.

 

 

Frozen’s “Let It Go”

After we have spent enough time listening to Winter, I ask them about a winter movie they may have recently seen or heard – Frozen! Everybody knows it and the famous song, “Let It Go.” I like to tell my students that Antonio Vivaldi wasn’t alive to hear or watch this song and movie, but I think he would have enjoyed it since it is also about winter and ice.

 

If you have time, you could show them the short song clip of “Let It Go.”

 

Piano Guys: Vivaldi’s Winter and “Let It Go”

Then, I introduce The Piano Guys’ arrangement of Vivaldi’s Winter and the song “Let It Go,” and the room goes crazy with excitement!

 

At first, my young students are oohing and aahing at it, but then I help them focus their listening ear and mind. They start to hear the themes from Vivaldi’s Winter and show the matching motion for it. I encourage them to show a “W,” or 3 fingers on one hand if they hear Winter. If they hear the song “Let It Go,” with their other hand, hold up an “L,” or pointer finger and thumb.

 

The magic happens in watching the concentrated faces of your students when they are actively listening and thinking about the music. Hopefully, they will be able to hear both pieces going on all at once! The Piano Guys artistically and beautifully blend these into a masterpiece. The charm and beauty of the video is another thrill to add to the experience as well. However, I do wait to show the video until after students first listen and make observations. Otherwise, they sometimes focus too much on the visual aspect and miss out on the listening.

 

 

I absolutely love this lesson because it ties in the old classics with something new and modern. Using modern, popular songs in your classroom is totally fine, and when you add them to a work almost 300 years old, all the better.

If you use this with your students, I’d love to hear how it goes! You can find me on Instagram @bethsmusicclassroom. Send me a DM or email me at bethsmusicclassroom@gmail.com.

You can find more ideas for winter music activities here!