BREAK OF REALITY

Introduction

What’s Inside

Dear Educator, As you make plans for your students to attend an upcoming presentation of the Arts for Youth program at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center, we invite you to prepare your students by using this guide to assure that from beginning to end-- their experience is both memorable and educationally enriching. The material in this guide is for you, the teacher, and will assist you in preparing your students before the day of the event, and extend the educational value beyond the walls of the theatre when the show is over. We provide activity and/or discussion ideas, and other resources that will help to prepare your students to better understand and enjoy what they are about to see, and to help them connect what they see on stage to their studies. We also encourage you to discuss important aspects of the artistic experience, including audience and theatre etiquette. We hope that your students find their imagination comes alive as lights shine, curtains open, and applause rings through the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. As importantly, we hope that this Curriculum Guide helps you to bring the arts alive in your classroom! Thank you for joining with us to make a difference in the lives of our Antelope Valley youth. Bobbi Keay Arts for Youth Program Specialist Lancaster Performing Arts Center, City of Lancaster

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 PRE-PERFORMANCE Overview of the California Content Standards for Public Schools .................................................................... 3 Theatre Etiquette .............................................................................................................................................. 4 About the Show……………………........................................................................................................................... 5 What’s Important to Know?.............................................................................................................................. 6 POST-PERFORMANCE Activities .......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Resources ......................................................................................................................................................... 11

PRE-PERFORMANCE

Overview of the California Content Standards for Public Schools

Applicable California Content Standards Samples

Our Arts for Youth program is aligned with the California content standards for K-12 education.

Curriculum Connections: Visual & Performing Arts: Music, History, Music History, Math, and Creativity.

Visual and Performing Arts: Music____________________________________________________________

Grade K-12: 3.0 Understanding the historical contributions and cultural dimensions of music.

3.1 Role of Music, Identify the sources of musical genres of the United States, trace the evolution of those

genres, and cite well-known musicians associated with them.

• Grade 6-12: 4.0 Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of

musicians in a cultural context according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.

• Grade 3: 4.3 Describe how specific musical elements communicate particular ideas or moods in music.

• Grade 5: 3.4 Describe the influence of various cultures and historical events on musical forms and styles.

• Grade 6: 3.5 Classify, by style and genre, a number of exemplary musical works and explain the

characteristics that make each work exemplary. 5.1 Describe how knowledge of music connects to learning in

other subject areas.

• Grade 8: 3.3 Diversity of Music - Describe the differences between styles in traditional folk genres within the

United States. 4.3 Explain how and why people use and respond to specific music from different musical

cultures found in the United States. 4.4 Compare the means used to create images or evoke feelings and

emotions in musical works from two different musical cultures found in the United States.

History___________________________________________________________________________________

• Grade 11: 11.8 Discuss forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion

(e.g., jazz and other forms of popular music).

National Standards of Music Education_________________________________________________________

• Listening to, analyzing, and describing music; Evaluating music and music performances.

LESSON PLAN IDEA #1: Research and assume the identity of a key musician in the history of Classical Music for

a monologue prepared for the class.

LESSON PLAN IDEA #2: Discuss the four instrument families (brass, string, percussion, and wind) and identify

instruments from each by sight and sound.

LESSON PLAN IDEA #3: Discuss Audience Etiquette from the Study Guide provided, emphasize what was learned, at LPAC; review and provide feedback regarding student audience behavior upon return to school. Write a summary of appropriate audience behavior.

LESSON PLAN IDEA #4: Students research and report on music traditions and cultures in America.

Content standards adopted by the California State Board of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/

Theatre Etiquette

• Please arrive on time.

Plan for possible travel and parking delays; arrive a minimum of 30 minutes prior to show time.

• Students: Leave recording devices of any kind at home or in your backpack at school.

Video or audio recording and photography, including camera phones, are often prohibited by law and may

disrupt the performance. They are not permitted and are considered very rude to the performers and to

those around you.

• Teachers: Turn off or silence all personal electronics.

Beeps, clicks, tones, buzzes and light pollution emanated by personal electronics such as watches, Bluetooth

devices, cell phones, etc. interrupt the performance and spoil the theatre experience.

•Observe the instructions of the ushers.

The ushers are present to offer assistance, ensure rules are observed and provide guidance in the case of an

emergency. Please show them consideration. You will be asked to exit to the right of the theatre at the end

of the performance.

•Be Respectful.

While entering and exiting the theatre: Please enter quietly. Once seated: Do not talk. Keep your feet on the

ground and put your hands in your lap or fold your arms.

•Abstain from eating or drinking inside the theatre.

Crackling wrappers and beverage containers in the auditorium are unwelcome. Food, candy, gum and drinks

should never be brought inside the theatre.

•Avoid talking, waving and shouting during the performance.

Laughing and applauding are encouraged at appropriate times. Shouting to actors/friends is disrespectful to

others. Save personal conversation for after the show. If you must speak, please whisper very quietly.

•Please avoid exiting the auditorium during the performance.

Teachers, please arrive early enough to escort students to the restroom prior to the start of the show.

If you must leave during the show, please wait for an appropriate break in the performance.

•Do not get onto the stage or place items on the edge of the stage.

To ensure the safety and security of performers and audiences, this behavior is strictly prohibited unless

expressly permitted by a performer or staff member.

•Dispose of garbage in proper receptacles.

Help preserve a pleasant environment by depositing all debris in appropriate receptacles.

•Extend common courtesy and respect to your fellow audience members.

Civility creates a comfortable and welcoming theatre experience for all.

•Bring very small children only to age-appropriate performances.

Small children easily become restless at programs intended for older children, and may cause distractions.

About the Show

Break of Reality

“…plays with genuine technique, but rocks out like they mean it.” -Time Out New York

“…excitement, originality, and an undeniable intensity that louder, heavier bands only dream of. Break of

Reality is going to win a Grammy someday. Bank on it.” -Rochester City Newspaper.

Break of Reality formed in 2003 at the Eastman School of Music and features three cellists and a percussionist

who combine their strict classical training with the driving beats and power chords of the urban, rock, and

heavy metal genres. While most people associate the cello with string quartets, orchestras, and classical

music, Break of Reality has shattered this stereotype and given the cello its own voice and its own genre:

“heavy cello thunder”.

In today’s society, music has become a commercial commodity, sometimes far removed from artistry or

emotion. Music lovers are searching for music that nourishes the soul, inspires passion, and provokes

thought. Break of Reality feeds this hunger with pure instrumental music. Listeners are not told what to think

or feel through lyrics or labels, but can instead think for themselves and create their own meaning for the

music. Break of Reality’s unlikely combination of instruments and styles unites different generations and

different cultures into one universal audience. At their shows, the lines between both people and music are

blurred. Is it classical? Is it rock? Should we clap? Can I dance? Do we listen quietly in a chair or can I stand up

and scream?

By the end of every performance, listeners discover that there are no expectations, there are no rules, and

the answer to all of these questions is “yes”.

The group has written music for dance, film, and television, including an Emmy award-winning episode of AIR:

America’s Investigative Reports on PBS. Through their affiliation with Pandora Radio, Break of Reality’s music

has been streamed over six million times. The group has released two independent albums - The Sound

Between (2006) and Spectrum of the Sky (2009), which have sold over 40,000 copies worldwide.

Come up with questions about the band and their music! You will be given an opportunity to ask these

during the presentation. Not all questions will be able to be answered, but you can always write to the

musicians after the performance.

What’s Important to Know?

Instruments

The percussion family is the oldest, largest, and most diverse section of a band or orchestra. Its members include any instrument that is played by hitting, shaking, rubbing, or scraping. Some can play specific pitches (tuned percussion), while others do not (un-tuned percussion).

Instruments in the brass family are all made of metal tubing with a cup-shaped mouthpiece at one end and a wide opening (called the bell) at the other end. They are played by buzzing your lips against the mouthpiece to make the air inside the tube vibrate. As with the strings and woodwinds, how high or low a sound the instrument makes is related to its size; in a brass instrument, the longer the tubing, the lower the sound. The opening inside the tubing of a brass instrument is known as the bore. The size and shape of the bore also affects the way the instrument sounds.

Most members of the woodwind family were originally made of wood, but these days most often are made out of brass or another metal. Like brass instruments, the woodwinds produce their sound by making air vibrate inside a hollow tube. Instead of buzzing their lips against a mouthpiece, however, woodwind players blow air against or into an opening in the instrument. With most woodwinds, the player blows against a thin piece of wood called a reed. The flute and piccolo are a bit different; they don’t have a reed and the player blows against the edge of the opening rather than directly into it.

String instruments can be divided in three groups. Lutes - instruments in which the strings are supported by a neck and a bout ("gourd"), e.g. a violin, a saz. 1. Harps are instruments in which the strings are contained within a frame. 2. Zithers are instruments with the strings mounted on a body, such as a Guqin, a Cimbalom, an Autoharp, or a Piano. It is also possible to divide the instruments in groups focused on how the instrument is played. Types of playing techniques: The double bass is either plucked (Pizzicato) or bowed (Arco) depending on the genre and piece. All string instruments produce sound from one or more vibrating strings, transferred to the air by the body of the instrument (or by a pickup in the case of electronically amplified instruments). They are usually categorized by the technique used to make the strings vibrate (or by the primary technique, in the case of instruments where more than one may apply.) The three most common techniques are plucking, bowing and striking. Plucking is used as the sole method of playing on instruments such as the banjo, guitar, harp, lute, mandolin, and either by a finger or thumb, or by some type of plectrum. This category includes the keyboard instrument the harpsichord, which formerly used feather quills (now plastic plectra) to pluck the strings. Instruments normally played by bowing may also be plucked, a technique referred to by the Italian term pizzicato. Bowing (Italian: Arco) is a method used in some string instruments, including the Violin, Viola, Cello, and the double bass (of the violin family) and the old viol family. The bow consists of a stick with many hairs stretched between its ends. Bowing the instrument's string causes a stick-slip phenomenon to occur, which makes the string vibrate. The Hurdy Gurdy is bowed by a wheel. Rarely, the guitar can be played with a bow (rather than plucked) for unique effects. Striking, the third common method of sound production in stringed instruments is to strike the string.

The Cello is a four-stringed musical instrument of the violin family, pitched lower than the viola but higher than the double bass. Its range is more than four octaves upwards from C below the bass staff. It has four strings, is held between the knees, and has an extendible metal spike at the lower end, which acts as a support. The full name is violoncello.

What’s Important to Know?, continued

Cello

History of the Instrument

In the 1500’s, a 3-stringed instrument was made. About a century later it was called "violincello", which is

Italian for "small double bass". That is where we get the word "cello" from. Late in the 1600’s composers

began writing music for the cello. It played the bass in the early days of the string quartet, only occasionally

taking the melody. It became distinct in symphony orchestras and in chamber music in the 1700’s and 1800’s.

The cello was used for many years to strengthen the bass section of church choirs.

The cello is the second largest of the string section. It is the tenor or baritone of the string family. The notes

have a deep, warm tone. Of all the strings, the rich, singing sound of the cello make it sound the most like a

human voice. Some people believe it is the most expressive instrument in the orchestra. In string quartets the

cello usually plays the lowest notes.

As mentioned above, the cello is played with a bow or plucked (pizzicato). It is about 4 feet tall,

approximately 1-1/2 feet across, and weighs 22 pounds. The thicker and longer strings of the cello make it a

whole octave deeper than the viola.

Range of the Cello:

From middle C two octaves below, to E an octave above.

Listen to some clips of Break of Reality on their website and on YouTube! :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C9H6RJJJFc&feature=fvst

Ivan’s favorite BoR song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTqW_2FRXuo&feature=related

Torch’s favorite BoR song (the last 1:50): http://music.breakofreality.com/track/anodynia-iv-finale

Patrick’s favorite BoR song, a Tool cover: http://music.breakofreality.com/track/lateralus

Laura’s favorite BoR song: http://music.breakofreality.com/track/the-accidental-death-of-effie

What is yours?

Did you know?

A cello is 4 feet long

and a double bass is

6 feet long.

What’s Important to Know?, continued

Words to know

Musicians use a very special vocabulary when they are composing and performing music. You can also find some

words that a teacher may use in band, orchestra, chorus, or private music lessons.

Accelerando: growing gradually faster

Accent: stressed or marked; the note is a little louder than the notes around it

Allegro: lively, brisk, rapid

Andante: "walking" speed; indicates a moderately slow tempo

Compose: To create a musical piece / Composer: One that composes, especially a person that composes music

Crescendo: gradual increase in loudness

Diminuendo: gradual decrease in loudness

Forte (f): loud, strong

Fortissimo (ff): extremely loud

Interval: the distance between two notes

Lento: slowly

Mezzo-forte (mf): medium loud

Mezzo-piano (mp): medium soft

Moderato: medium tempo or speed

Pianissimo (pp): very softly

Piano (p): soft in sound

Ritardando: growing gradually slower

Rondo: a piece of music in which the "A" section alternates with the other sections

Tempo: the speed of the beat

Common terms used to discuss particular pieces

Notes: an abstraction that refers to a specific pitch and/or rhythm, or the written symbol

Melody: a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit

Chord (music) |chord: a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit

Chord progression: a succession of chords (simultaneity succession)

Harmony: the relationship between two or more pitches

Counterpoint: the simultaneity and organization of different melodies

Rhythm: the organization of the durational aspects of music.

Other terms

Chamber music: music performed by a small group (such as a string quartet) for small audiences

Repertoire: all the songs (or “pieces”) performed by a company.

Phrasing: the fitting of music notes to the rhythm and/or melody of the music.

Quartette: a composition for four voices or four instruments; a group of four singers or four instrumentalists.

Improvisation: playing music without having sheet music and with little advance preparation. Improvisation is used to

explore different ways of expressing ideas in sounds or experimenting with techniques.

What’s Important to Know?, continued

History of Classical Music

Composers throughout the ages have written in a wide variety of forms, and for an even wider range of musical

instruments and combinations. How did this mountain of musical material come into existence, and how does it

all interrelate? The following brief outline provides an introductory overview of musical history, from Gregorian

Chants to the present day, highlighting the major composers along the way.

Medieval (1150 - 1400): This is the first period where we can begin to be fairly certain as to how a great deal of

the music which has survived actually sounded.

Renaissance (1400 - 1600): The Renaissance (literally meaning "rebirth") was a time of great cultural awakening of

the arts, letters, and sciences throughout Europe. With the rise of humanism, freedoms were increased. Sacred

music began to break free of the church, and composers trained in the Netherlands mastered the art of what is

actually perceived as 'harmony' and 'polyphony' (the simultaneous movement of two or three interrelated parts)

in their settings of sacred music. Secular music thrived during this period, and instrumental and dance music was

performed in abundance, if not always written down.

Baroque (1600 - 1750): During the Baroque period, the foundations were laid for the following 300 or so years of

musical expression: the idea of the modern orchestra was born, along with opera (including the overture, prelude,

aria, recitative and chorus), the concerto, sonata, and modern cantata.

Classical (1750 - 1830): The Baroque era witnessed the creation of a number of musical genres which would

maintain a hold on composition for years to come; yet it was the Classical period which saw the introduction of a

form which has dominated instrumental composition to the present day: sonata form.

Early Romantic (1830 - 1860): As the Classical period reached its high point, it was becoming increasingly clear

(especially with the late works of Beethoven and Schubert) that the amount and intensity of expression

composers were seeking to achieve was beginning to go beyond that which a classically sized or designed

orchestra or piano could possibly cover.

Late Romantic (1860 - 1920): With the exceptions of Brahms and Bruckner, composers of this period shared a

general tendency towards allowing their natural inspiration free rein, often pacing their compositions more in

terms of their emotional content and dramatic continuity rather than organic structural growth.

Post 'Great War' Years (1920 - Present): Composers have pulled in various contradictory and opposing directions.

As world cultures have combined with other cultures, their native musical styles have often merged into new

styles. For example, the US-American bluegrass style contains elements from Anglo-Irish, Scottish, Irish, German

and some African-American instrumental and vocal traditions, and could only have been a product of the

twentieth century. This mixing of styles has been named World Music. It has covered diverse destinations from

Haiti to the Himalayas, and musical styles from arabesque to samba. Big successes have included Salsa, Paris Café

Music, Cajun & Zydeco, Highlife, African Rap, and Bellydance. Some producers see a clear connection between

world music and social change, and have established good relationships with many development and human

rights organizations.

POST-PERFORMANCE

Activities

Study Questions to consider

1. What instruments are used in BoR? If you could (or do) play any instrument which one would (or did) you choose, and why?

2. What is chamber music? What are instruments typically seen in a traditional strings band?

3. What genre of music does BoR play? Where would you expect to hear BoR perform?

4. How is BoR different from a rock band? How is BoR the same? And, from a Classical music group?

5. How can learning to read and play music benefit you in your everyday life? What types of skills must a person know in order to be successful in a band like Break of Reality?

6. Learn to compose your own music: http://www.wikihow.com/Compose-Music

7. Write to the band. Ask them questions about music, and their education.

8. Discuss “Extended Techniques”:

Extended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres.

Composers’ use of extended techniques is not specific to contemporary music. For instance, Hector Berlioz’s use of col legno (tapping the strings of a string instrument with a bow) in his Symphonie Fantastique is an extended technique, and it transcends compositional schools and styles. However, use of these techniques appeared less frequently in the common practice period (c. 1600–1900) than in modern classical music since about 1900. Extended techniques have also flourished in popular music, which is typically less constrained by notions of "proper" technique than is traditional orchestral music. Nearly all jazz performers make significant use of extended techniques of one sort or another, particularly in more recent styles like free jazz (no set harmonies or melodic patterns) or avant-garde jazz. Musicians in free improvisation have also made heavy use of extended techniques.

Most contemporary composers strive to explore the possibility of different instruments, cooperating with musicians in order to expand the "vocabulary" of given instruments. This certainly increases the diversity of instrumental colors for contemporary pieces. However, some extended techniques are exceedingly difficult to master, or require instruments in uncommonly good condition. Instruments are sometimes custom made to explore extended techniques.

Examples of extended techniques include bowing under the bridge of a string instrument or with two different bows; using key clicks on a wind instrument; blowing and over blowing into a wind instrument without a mouthpiece; and inserting an object on top of the strings of a piano.

Twentieth-century exponents of extended techniques include Henry Cowell (use of fists and arms on the keyboard; playing inside the piano), John Cage (prepared piano), and George Crumb. The Kronos Quartet, which has been among the most active ensembles in promoting contemporary American works for string quartet, frequently plays music which stretches the manner in which sound can be drawn out of instruments.

Study guide created by:

Lancaster Performing Arts Center Staff

Other Resources:

www.breakofreality.com

answers.com

wikihow.com/Compose-Music

library.thinkquest.org/5116/cello.htm

newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Music

encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Comp

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