Hungarian Dance No. 5 (Brahms) | Free Music Lesson Plan (Musical Form)

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Ask your students, "Who knows this song? Raise your hand if you think you recognize it." Play a recording or piano arrangement of Brahms' Lullaby.

Step 2
Ask the students, "What is it?" and "Who wrote it?"

Step 3
Tell the students, "The piece I just played was written by German composer Johannes Brahms." Show them a picture of the composer.

Step 4
Share a few fun facts about Johannes Brahms. Here are two favorites you shouldn't miss:

In 1889, Thomas Edison visited Brahms in Vienna and invited him to perform for an experimental recording. Brahms played an abbreviated version of Hungarian Dance No. 1 on the piano. This performance is one of the earliest recordings ever made by a major composer!

Brahms was so focused on his composing that he sometimes neglected his appearance. He often forgot to attach his suspenders and would have to hold his pants up while conducting to keep them from falling down!

Step 5
Tell the students, "Today we'll be learning about musical form while listening to Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5. Musical form has to do with the way a piece of music is put together."

Let's listen to Hungarian Dance No. 5. "Each time a new section begins, I’ll assign a letter to it: A, B, C, or D. If you hear a part you’ve heard before, raise your hand."

Step 6
Start the recording.

Form:
A A B B C D A B Codetta

Step 7
Tell the students, "Now that we know the form, we're going to add baseball moves to each section of the music!"

Step 8
Have the students stand up, spread out around the room, and face you.

Step 9
Tell the students, "The A section is the warm-up. You can copy my routine or do your own!" Students can jog in place, stretch, or do jumping jacks.

Step 10
Play the A section and have them warm up.

Step 11
"During the B section you’ll be at bat."

Step 12
Play the B section. Start the recording. Students will swing the bat 3 times during each statement of this theme. Twice before the slow passage (swing on the syncopated note) and once after the slow passage (swing on the loud note immediately following the slow passage).

Step 13
"The next section is the C section. During this section of the music you will run the bases."

Step 14
Play the C section and have the students run around the room in a clockwise motion.

Step 15
"The next section is the D section. During this section of the music you will perform an instant replay of the game."

Step 16
Start the recording. Hold bat at ready position during the slow passage and then swing on the loud note immediately following the slow passage. Drop the bat and run the bases on the fast passage. Repeat.

Step 17
Perform the movements for the reprise of the A and B sections. Play a snippet of each and ask the students to identify the section and the movement before starting.

Step 18
Tell the students, "The work ends with a codetta. In Italian, 'coda' means 'tail.' It refers to music at the tail-end of a piece. A codetta is just a short coda."

Step 19
Tell the students, "When we hear the three-note codetta at the very end, we’ll jump up and throw our baseball hats in the air!"

Step 20
Start recording. Jump up and throw our baseball hats in the air.

Step 21
Quiz students on historical or fun facts about Johannes Brahms.

Step 22
Lead the students through a guided practice of the entire piece.

Step 23
Briefly review the composer facts one last time to help them stick.

Step 24
Check for understanding by having the students perform all the movements to Hungarian Dance No. 5 on their own.