Plucky Strings and Peppy Percussion Strings and Percussion    

Lesson 32: Snare Drum - Boléro

by Maurice Ravel

Performer: Philadelphia Orchestra

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 a snare drum, a staple of bands, orchestras, and marching bands. To make music, percussionists strike the snare drum with drumsticks. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Boléro,' by Maurice Ravel, features the constant beat of a snare drum. The lesson painting, 'The Spirit of '76,' by Archibald Willard, shows a man and a boy playing snare drums on a civil war battlefield. The American flag waves among clouds of smoke. Soldiers remove their hats in a show of respect for the flag, including one who is badly wounded.

Vocabulary

Snare Drum: A small drum in the form of a short cylinder with a membrane at each end, the upper one being struck with hard sticks and the lower one fitted with snares. It originated in military use.
Drumstick: A stick, typically with a shaped or padded head, used for beating a drum.

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

4. Xylophone

Enrichment

Activity 1: Study the Parts of a Snare Drum (Including Drumsticks)

• Study the parts on the labeled picture of the snare drum.

Activity 2: See Snare Drums in Action

Study the images of snare drums in various settings.

• Snare Drums in a Parade

• Snare Drum as Part of a Drum Set in a Rock Concert

• Snare Drum in the Navy Band

Activity 3: Can You Find It?

Study the lesson painting, 'The Spirit of '76,' by Archibald Willard, and find the following:

• Two Snare Drums
• Four Drumsticks
• Boy Playing Snare
• Man Playing Snare
• Man Playing Fife
• Three Men Waving Hats
• American Flag
• Rifles
• Broken Cannon
• Coats
• Vest

Activity 4: Look at and Listen to Other Percussion Instruments

Watch the video of additional percussion instruments below.

The video includes the triangle, the tambourine, the cowbell, and the maracas.

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 snare drum.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the snare drum?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the snare drum include the shell, the head, and the rim.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do percussionists make music with the snare drum?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Percussionists strike the membrane or the rim of the snare drum with drumsticks to make music.

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 snare drum.
4. What are the major parts of the snare drum? Major parts of the snare drum include the shell, the head, and the rim.
5. How do percussionists make music with the snare drum? Percussionists strike the membrane or the rim of the snare drum with drumsticks to make music.

References

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

'Snare Drum.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.