Plucky Strings and Peppy Percussion Strings and Percussion    

Lesson 36: Cymbals - Front Section March

by Edwin Eugene Bagley

Performer: U.S. Air Force Band

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Recite the composer and composition names.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the instrument category.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

This lesson features a percussion instrument called the cymbal. To make music, percussionists either strike two cymbals together or they hit a cymbal with a stick or mallet. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Front Section March,' by Edwin Eugene Bagley, features the clash of the cymbals. As you enjoy the music, identify the sounds of the cymbal. Listen to a cymbal roll in Activity 4 for reference. The lesson painting, 'Fanfare - Serenade,' by Stanisław Lentz, shows three men playing music. The closest musician holds a golden cymbal, ready to strike it against the cymbal mounted on the bass drum.

Vocabulary

Cymbal: A musical instrument consisting of a slightly concave round brass plate that is either struck against another one or struck with a stick to make a ringing or clashing sound.
March: A piece of music composed to accompany marching or with a rhythmic character suggestive of marching.

Category

Music lessons over the next two years group musical instruments into five major categories: strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

Percussion instruments include instruments played by striking with the hand or with a handheld or pedal-operated stick or beater, or by shaking, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and rattles.

Examine the images of percussion instruments below.

1. Drum

2. Gong

3. Tambourine

Enrichment

Activity 1: Study the Parts of a Cymbal

• Study the parts on the labeled picture of the cymbal.

Activity 2: Can You Find It?

Study the lesson painting, 'Fanfare - Serenade,' by Stanisław Lentz, and find the following:

• Cymbal Held in Hand
• Cymbal Mounted to the Bass Drum
• Mallet
• Bass Drum
• Moustache
• Bow Tie
• Drum Head
• Drum Rim

Activity 3: Parade to the Music

• As you listen to the composition, march to the music and form your own parade.
• Use a set of metal pan lids as cymbals. Clash them in time to the music.

Activity 4: Hear a Cymbal Roll

Listen to the sound of mallets striking a cymbal in a fast roll.

Review

Question 1

What are the five major groups of instruments listed in the lesson?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The five major groups of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instrument group does this lesson feature?

2 / 5

Answer 2

This lesson features the percussion group.

2 / 5

Question 3

Which percussion instrument does this lesson feature?

3 / 5

Answer 3

This lesson features the cymbal.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the cymbal?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the cymbal include the hole, the bell, and the bow.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do percussionists make music with cymbals?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Percussionists strike cymbals together or hit a cymbal with a stick or mallet.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What are the five major groups of instruments listed in the lesson? The five major groups of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Which instrument group does this lesson feature? This lesson features the percussion group.
3. Which percussion instrument does this lesson feature? This lesson features the cymbal.
4. What are the major parts of the cymbal? Major parts of the cymbal include the hole, the bell, and the bow.
5. How do percussionists make music with cymbals? Percussionists strike cymbals together or hit a cymbal with a stick or mallet.

References

'Percussion instrument.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Cymbal.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.