Introduction

What is the difference between an acoustic instrument and a synthesizer? How has electronics changed music? Let’s find out!

First, we need to go back over 100 years and travel to New York City. The year is 1892. Even then, New York was a busy metropolis with many tall buildings.

This photo was taken in about 1900. It shows a poor part of the city.

This is Times Square in 2009.

These two photographs of New York were taken over 100 years apart. What is different? What is similar?

At that time a Czech composer called Antonín Dvořák had just moved to New York to become the director of an important new music school.

One of Dvořák pieces is our first.

Describing Music

In the BBC video, we saw some children talk about listening to “Largo”. It is this kind of reflection on music that we are looking for.

These are some of the words a previous Y4 class at Norton used when they heard “Largo”. Perhaps some of yours are there?

How Electricty Changed Music

Let’s come forward nearly 100 years from Dvořák’s time in New York. We will listen to two different performances of the same song.

While you listen, jot down:

• How the music makes you feel.
• Was is acoustic or sythesised?

Performance 1

Performance 2

Make Your Own Electronic Sounds

Experiment in Chrome Music Lab