Composers Monthly Newsletter Form – Fill Out and Use This PDF

A Letter

From The

Composer

Dear Student,

Welcome to the first issue of ComposersÕ Monthly! I am honored to be the first Composer of the Month.

If you enjoy music even one- half as much as I did when I was your age, you must truly enjoy listening to and making music. Maybe you even invent some music from time to time. If you try it you may be surprised at how much fun it can be.

I loved to have fun when I was a boy, and I tried to put my sense of humor into my music. There are interesting stories behind my Surprise Symphony, Toy Symphony and Farewell Symphony. For an extra musical project, you might want to do some research and find out just what was funny about those works.

I enjoy composing all kinds of music. I hope you enjoy reading this issue of ComposersÕ Monthly and that you enjoy your musical studies, too!

Sincerely yours,

Who Was Haydn?

id you ever dream of playing the big D bass drum in a parade? Well, that is

exactly what Franz (frahnz) Joseph Haydn (HY-dn) did, and when he was much younger than you are right now! At 6 years of age he was such a naturally talented musician that his cousin and music teacher called on him to fill in for the absent drummer in a big parade. He was great! Throughout his life Joseph, as he was called, enjoyed drum playing so much that he wrote the ÒDrum Roll SymphonyÓ featuring drums Ð very unusual for a symphony.

Joseph HaydnÕs talent was first noticed when he was only three years old. His family played and sang music often, and they began to notice that little Joseph sang melodies correctly after hearing them only a little. He even sang before he could speak well! Do you know any 3-year-olds like that?

Joseph continued making music his whole life. From his marching in the parade playing the drum he went on to sing in a professional boysÕ choir in Vienna, Austria. (He was born in Austria near Vienna.) He learned to write symphonies as a young man and made some great improvements in the traditional form of the symphony.

Other composers followed Mr. HaydnÕs ideas and he is now called the ÒFather of the Symphony.Ó He became friends with Mozart, and they shared and discussed ideas together. He was BeethovenÕs teacher! Maybe your

ASK the COMPOSER

Student: Mr. Haydn, which musical instrument did you learn to play first?

ÓNotation “Notes”

G

A g-clef or treble clef marks the ÒGÓ line.

HOW WELL DID YOU READ?

Mr. Haydn: It is so long ago that I hardly remember, but when I was 4 years old I took a stick and used it as a bow across my arm, pretending my arm was the violin. I was imitating someone I had seen playing a violin.

Student: Mr. Haydn, did you compose music for singers or only for instruments?

Mr. Haydn: I composed a great many pieces for singers. There are songs in English, songs in German and several large works called oratorios for chorus and solo singers. The Creation is probably my best-known oratorio.

(Who Was Haydn, continued)

teacher will someday be called a famous musician. Or maybe you will!

Haydn was never a rich person. In fact, as he grew up he was very poor and relied on friends for food and a place to live. Finally he found a very important job with the royal family named Esterhazy (ES-ter-hah-zee).

He was in charge of writing all of the music heard in their palace, and they liked a lot of it! He had 25 orchestra members and 12 singers to perform his music. He taught them the music and conducted the performances. Mr. Haydn stayed in this position for many years until he was a very old man, and the people loved him so much that they called him ÒPapa Haydn.Ó He was once sent a gift of a chocolate cake, and, as if that werenÕt good enough, it was filled with gold pieces! It was from the King of Spain.

Mr. Haydn had such a happy life making music that he said of his poor days ÒWhen I sat at my wretched worm-eaten piano I did not envy even a King!Ó

EXTRA RESEARCH QUESTION

5.Why do these symphonies have these nicknames?:

“Surprise Symphony”

A MUSICAL WORDGAME

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct answers. Use the boxed letters to answer the bonus question.

4.The style of playing a string instrument by plucking:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

5. A musical work for chorus, orchestra and soloists:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

6.Orchestral instrument also known as kettledrum:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __

BONUS QUESTION: Who is next monthÕs composer? (He was a friend of Haydn.)

__ __ __ __ ____

M A B C R E L D S

S W O R D

S C R A M B L E D

W O R D S

. . . in this block of letters.

C V A E E G N O S M N H W O B K U F T Y R P O S N I A S D L M D C R O A E C A L A P V V U L I L H E O G H I W S O P R I C H I O O O F A R E W E L L N L R P M U R D V I T Y A D A A Y O Y N O T A B S P R O R C H E S T R A A M T E S I R P R U S

Write the UNUSED letters from the letter block in the numbered blanks below. Enter the letters in order, beginning at the top left of the letter block.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Use the numbered letters to complete this sentence:

A C R O S S

3

10

After you answer this question, listen to the Andante (Second) movement of Mr. HaydnÕs Symphony No. 101.

Can you hear the ÒclocksÓ ticking?

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