Trepek (Russian Dance) ~ Nutcracker

Traditional Russian / Ukranian
Dance & Costumes

**1 Russian Dance / Trepek Tri-Fold Mini
**2 Russian Dancing Notebook Page

If you would like to create a lapbook or notebook about the Trepek after reading about this exciting ethnic dance, you may use one or both of the above worksheets. (Found at the link above.)

What a great opportunity to extend a music lesson ~ incorporate geography, culture, and history! Music education is so important to every other curricula area; here is one example how social studies and music compliment each other. (For more about music education's
importance, see Music is FUNdaMENTAL.)

Research about the country of Russia - Where is Russia?
Find on a map. What continent is it on? What is the climate there?
How do people dress? What is the landscape like? Etcetera.
Russia Information from Info Please
Russian Activities from Enchanted Learning
Russia for Elementary Grades has numerous links.
Class Brain has Russia information about maps,
economy, flag, geography, government, links, and posters.
Russia from Wikipedia

**3 Russia Notebook Page - write facts or a paragraph about Russia.
**4 Russia "Brochure" Mini Book - travel brochure full of info or pictures.

Research about the composer, Tchaikovsky.
Hey Kids, Meet Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky!

**5 Tchaikovsky Notebook Page
**6 Tchaikovsky Creative Writing
**7 Tchaikovsky Mini Book
**8 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Blank Cards
**9 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Card Pocket

Lapbook Resources from Homeschool Share
From "Rechenka's Eggs" Unit Study ~ Thank you Ami and Helena! :)
Where in the World is Russia? Mini Book & Map
Flag of Russia Mini Book
Let's Tour Russia Shutterfold Book
Russia's Landscapes Accordion Book

From The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: A Russian Tale.
~ Thank you Cindy and Wende!
Russia Report and Pocket
Notebook pages for the study of Russian Czars

From Another Celebrated Dancing Bear. ~ Thank you Leslie and Ami!
Russia is known for ballet, Tchaikovsky, nesting dolls, onion domes - 'wheel'
Russian Landmarks Pictures/Info
Other Russia related mini books

Also at Homeschool Share:
Country Lapbook for any country.
Nutcracker Unit
If you put Russia in the search box, it will lead you to many
other literature units containing bits about the country.

If you have not done so already, you may want to research the life of Tchaikovsky or the Romantic Period of music. At the beginning of this lesson I have listed notebook pages and mini books for a lapbook. There are more worksheets and information about Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) and the Nutcracker in general at the main Nutcracker Unit Introduction Page of the unit if you have not already been to that page.

Listed above:
**5 Tchaikovsky Notebook Page
**6 Tchaikovsky Creative Writing
**7 Tchaikovsky Mini Book
**8 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Blank Cards
**9 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Card Pocket

The Romantic Style Period of Music
I'm not trying to be all "mushy and yucky" as my children would say, although I am an emotional, hopeless romantic, but there is a style of music referred to as the "Romantic Period". Music, like all other forms of art in paintings, architecture, literature, changes over time. Historians have tried to classify these changes into historic time periods to help us better study and understand them.

Some people like to call all music before rock and roll, "classical music", but, the music they are referring to is actually divided up into "style periods" according to certain musical qualities, instruments, nationalities, and time period. There are multiple sub-divisions, but the main style periods of notated music (ones that we have in written form - many exist before this time in multiple cultures, but not as many written records are found) are as follows.

Medieval or Renaissance: - 1400's - 1500's
Baroque: 1600's - 1750
Classical: 1750 - early 1800's
Romantic: 1800's
Modern or 20th Century: 1900's - current

I have purposely kept the dates very generic, although many people list the periods with more specific dates. Art forms do not change all at once, but gradually with time. You will find that many characteristics overlap each other, or have changed at different speeds in different places. Timelines may be found that show two composers living during the same time period that have used different styles. Even composers themselves are found to display characteristics of more than one style.

Research about the music of the Romantic Era at Connexions, Essentials of Music, or Wikipedia. The second website lists details clearly about the period along with access to the other periods as well.

**10 Romantic Music Mini Book
**11 Romantic Music Notebook Page

Play Some Cool Games!
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra website for kids has great information and games about this topic that children will enjoy. The Time Machine Game and Beethovan's Baseball are ones I have heard them rave about! Although I'm sad to say that Mr. Tchaikovsky is not one of the composers you may choose on your baseball team.

New York Philharmonic's Kidzone has a fun, easy to use Composer's Gallery. While there, point your conductor's baton at "name" to find Tchaikovsky, or "style" to find composers by style period.

++ If you want to learn about the Classical Period of music, you may want to try the Mozart Lapbook Unit Study that I wrote, or a Mozart Composer Study by Jimmie. ++

What tone colors (different sounds of the instruments) did you hear when listening to the Russian Dance? All families are heard, with the string and woodwind families probably most dominant. Pick out certains instruments and try to hum just their parts.

To find out more about orchestras and the instrument families in them, please check out the following for
complete lapbook unit studies of each of them.

Orchestra Unit
Brass Family Unit
Percussion Family Unit
String Family Unit
Woodwind Family Unit

While listening to the Russian Dance from the Nutcracker, ask students to tap a steady beat to the music and listen to the tempo or speed of the piece. Do you think the tempo is allegro, largo, andante, or vivace? Study tempo terms and write them on the vocabulary notebook pages or flashcards.

Dictionary.com Definitions
**8 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Blank Cards
**9 Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Card Pocket
**12 Tempo Accordion Book (If you started the tempo book in one of the previous lessons, just add new ones.)

tempo ~ noun
1. Music. relative rapidity or rate of movement, usually indicated by such terms as adagio, allegro, etc., or by reference to the metronome.
2. Music The speed at which music is or ought to be played, often indicated on written compositions by a descriptive or metronomic direction to the performer.
3. characteristic rate, rhythm, or pattern of work or activity: the tempo of city life.

largo ~ adjective or adverb / noun
1. In a very slow tempo, usually considered to be slower than adagio, and with great dignity. Used chiefly as a direction.
2. A largo passage or movement.

andante ~ adjective or adverb / noun
1. In a moderately slow tempo, usually considered to be slower than allegretto but faster than adagio.
2. An andante passage or movement.
~ Italian from present participle of andare, to walk

allegro ~ adjective or adverb / noun
1. In a quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegretto but slower than presto. Used chiefly as a direction.
2. An allegro passage or movement.
~ Italian, from Latin alacer, lively.

vivace ~ adjective or adverb
In a lively or vivacious manner.

What is musical form? It's the way a piece of music is put together. Music is usually in sections. Each section has different characteristics from each other.

For example, a song may have verses and a refrain (repeating part) that take turns in the song. The verse would be called section A and the refrain section B. Perhaps there are 3 verses that are followed with the refrain. The form would be ABABAB. If the refrain repeated an extra time at the end, the form would be ABABABB. It there were a third section, it would be called C. A three section piece with each section played once would be ABC.

I have to giggle when I hear the song "Abacab" by the rock band, Genesis. I wondered for a long time what the word "Abacab" meant until after hearing an interview where Mr. Collins explained that it wasn't a word, it was simply the musical form of the song! Sections ABACAB!

**13 Musical Form Mini Book - fill in with example and definitions.
**14 Musical Form Cards

Something fun and creative to try!
Pick an easy common song with more that one section like Jingle Bells or We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Sing through the complete song in regular order. With the form cards, place the letters in the order of the song you pick. Put the sections in a different order with unique repeats and sing it in the new way. Can you create a third section? Try several varieties to explore form.

Listen to the Russian Dance in order to determine the order of the sections and the song's form. Listen to other musical pieces and try to figure out their form. You may use the form cards to help you. The form of the Russian Dance is AABA.

Jingle Bells
Section A
Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh,
'Or the fields we go, laughing all the way.
Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright,
What fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight.

Section B
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.
Jingle bell, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Section A
We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Section B
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin,
Good tidings for Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Section A
We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Find and discuss musical symbols from the sheet music for Trepek, or simple version for younger children. Definitions may be found from the Music Theory Glossary or Dictionary.com.

Define the following and write them and any other new vocabulary you learned to your
**8-9 Nutcracker Music Vocabulary Cards.

Dynamics ~ forte (f) ~ piano (p) ~ mezzo forte (mf) ~ fortissimo (ff) ~ crescendo (cres. or <) ~ sforzando (sf) ~ molto ~ vivace ~ arco ~ pizzicato ~ accent ~ staccato ~ key signature ~ time signature ~ meter

It always fascinates me to hear how various people can interpret the same piece of music in so many ways. I love to hear the creativity and individuality of each musical artist!

On this page are listed several interpretations of the Russian Dance.
~ Classical Music: Traditional Ballet Orchestra Version
~ Classical Version: Disney Animation
~ Marching Band: Drum & Bugel Version
~ Percussion Ensemble
~ Rock Music: Trans-Siberian Orchestra (on Sugarplum Page)

As a way to understand music better, compare and contrast two or more versions of the piece. Discuss the similarities and differences in speed (tempo), instrumentation (tone color), length, loudness (dynamics), and other qualities. If you want, you may document your discoveries by using one of the venn graphs or notebook pages to list or write an essay.

** 15 Venn Graphs for comparing and contrasting

Lesson Ideas for "Analyzing, Arranging, & Composing Music" may be found on the Sugarplum Fairy page.