Impact on Student Learning Project:

Music and Meaning

Unit Objectives:

● Students will learn about the composer John Mackey.

● Students will develop musical tools to help convey the meaning of a piece of
music through analysis, interpretation, and performance.
● Students will gain insights on what Mackey’ composition “This Cruel Moon” is
written about.
● Students will learn musical terms such as “tension and release”, “dissonance”,
and “text painting” and their important roles in conveying meaning in music.
● Students will analyze the piece of music in sections and connect these sections
to various plot points in “The Odyssey, Book Five”, the story of Odysseus and
Kalypso.
● Students will apply musical concepts discussed and practiced in class warm ups
to Mackey’s composition to convey their newfound context and meaning behind
the piece and it’s story.

Score/Plot Analysis: (For lesson 2/3)

Big # measures plot

I m.1-9 Odysseus is washed up on shore

II A (m.10)- (m.45) Kalypso finds Odysseus, brings hope! Kalypso

sings as she sews on her loom and heals
Odysseus.

III D (m.46) - m.62 Kalypso and Odysseus are in love for 7 years.
Kalypso’s tapestry on her loom grows over time.

IV F (m.63) - m.80 Odysseus remembers his wife and son, harsh

reality returns and he must leave Kalypso and her
island. This breaks Kalypso’s heart.

V H (m.81) - m.100 Kalypso and Odysseus say goodbye. Kalypso is

heartbroken, but knows the Odysseus must return
to his family. He builds a boat and she prepares
food and supplies for his journey.
VI K (m.101) - end Kalypso watches Odysseus leave, using her
tapestry as his sail. “Shattered, she watches him
go; he does not look back.”

Score/Plot Analysis In Depth: (For lesson 3/3)

Big # measures plot

I m.1-9 Odysseus is washed up on shore

Certain voices depict waves crashing onto
the shore.

II A (m.10)- D (m.45) Kalypso finds Odysseus, brings hope! Kalypso

sings as she sews on her loom and heals
Odysseus.
Kalypso’s voice is depicted in the higher
woodwind voices, singing to Odysseus.
m.30 Odysseus (depicted by saxophones)
responds, and Kalypso sings back at m.38
m.39 Overall mood depicts their love
starting to grow and time starting to pass.

III D (m.46) - F Kalypso and Odysseus are in love for 7 years.

Kalypso’s tapestry on her loom grows over
time.
The 7/8 time signature sounds playful and
loving.
Rehearsal E depicts love and bliss for
Kalypso and Odysseus, for neither are
lonely anymore.
m.60 Indications of something coming soon.

IV F-H Odysseus remembers his wife and son, harsh

reality returns and he must leave Kalypso and
her island. This breaks Kalypso’s heart.
At Rehearsal F the french horns bring
memories back to Odysseus, and with each
biting rhythm brings back the harsh reality
of his other life.
The upper winds depict a sense of panic
within Kalypso.

V H- K Kalypso and Odysseus say goodbye. Kalypso

is heartbroken, but knows the Odysseus must
 return to his family. He builds a boat and she
prepares food and supplies for his journey.
Interchanging voices between the upper
woodwinds (Kalypso) and saxophones
(Odysseus) depict a mournful,
heartbreaking goodbye.

VI K- end Kalypso watches Odysseus leave, who uses

her tapestry as his sail. “Shattered, she
watches him go; he does not look back.”
The drastic dynamics in measure 101 depict
the final wave that pushes Odysseus out to
sea.
Odysseus doesn’t look back, and Kalypso is
along again, with only the sound of her own
breathing, conveyed by the flutes. This last
section of the piece is both hopeful for
Odysseus as he sails home, and
heartbreaking for Kalypso as she watches
him sail away from her island.

Fun Facts About John Mackey

1. Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1995 from the Cleveland Institute of Music
2. Master of Music degree from Juilliard in 1997
3. Mackey never formally studied an instrument
4. Has composed music for orchestras, chamber ensembles, concert bands,
theatre, dance, and voice.
5. In 2014, Mackey became the youngest composer ever inducted into the
American Bandmasters Association.
6. Mackey’s spouse, A.E. Jaques titles all of his compositions.
7. Some of his works include:
Strange Humors
Sheltering Sky
Aurora Awakes
Foundry
Undertow
Wine-Dark Sea : Symphony for Band
Redline Tango
 Lesson Plans:

Lesson 1/3

Objectives
● Students will learn about the composer John Mackey
● Students will develop musical tools to help convey the meaning of a piece of
music through performance
● Students will learn musical terms such as “tension and release”, “dissonance”,
and “text painting” and their important roles in conveying meaning in music.
● Students will practice these musical tools in Brian Balmages warm up chorales.

Standards Addressed (​National Core Arts Standards and VA Music SOLS)

Anchor Standard #5 Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for
presentation.

Anchor Standard #6 Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.

90HIAD.15 The student will demonstrate the use of articulations, dynamic

contrasts, phrasing, various tempos, and tempo changes as means of
expression.

Procedure
1. Students will take the Pre-Test via Google forms
a. https://bit.ly/2VCmWXW
b. This can be taken on students cell phones. This form can be completed
multiple times on one device, so students may share devices if some
student phones are not readily available. There will also be a laptop set up
in the classroom for students to use.
2. Students will gain background information about John Mackey
a. See “Fun Facts About John Mackey”
3. Students will brainstorm and create a list or “toolbox” to musically convey
meaning. Students will write these ideas on the class whiteboard.
a. Dynamics, dissonance, tension and release, text painting, etc.
4. The class will play through the Balmages warm up chorales conveying different
emotions by using the tools they brainstormed.
5. Students will mark the six major sections in ​This Cruel Moon​ for next rehearsals
lesson.
Assessment
1. Students will be informally assessed for engagement in group brainstorming
activity and group discussion.
2. Students will be informally assessed for participation in warm up activity.

Materials
● Brian Balmages warm up packet
● Whiteboard and markers
Lesson 2/3

Objectives
● Students will gain insights on what Mackey’ composition “This Cruel Moon” is
written about.
● Students will analyze the piece of music in sections and connect these sections
to various plot points in “The Odyssey, Book Five”, the story of Odysseus and
Kalypso.
● Students will apply musical concepts discussed and practiced in class warm ups
to Mackey’s composition to convey their newfound context and meaning behind
the piece and it’s story.

Standards Addressed​ (National Core Arts Standards)

Anchor Standard #4 Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
Anchor Standard #6 Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
Anchor Standard #7 Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Anchor Standard #8 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

Procedure

1. Students will play through the Brian Balmages warm up chorales as a class
warm up.
2. Students will brainstorm what they think “This Cruel Moon” is about as a class.
3. The class will listen to the program notes included in the score that explain what
the piece and the full symphony are both about.
a. “This piece is an adaptation of the middle movement of ‘Wine-Dark Sea:
Symphony for Band’. The full symphony tells the tale of Odysseus and his
journey home following his victory in the Trojan War. But Odysseus’
journey would take as long as the war itself. Homer called the ocean in
which Odysseus sailed a wine-dark sea, and for the Greek kind it was a
murky and disorienting as its name; he would not find his way across it
without first losing himself.
b. “‘This Cruel Moon’ is the song of the beautiful and immortal nymph
Kalypso, who finds Odysseus near death, washed up on the shore of the
island where she lives all alone…”
4. Student volunteers will draw stick figures depicting the plot of Book Five in “The
Odyssey” as the teacher leads them through a brief plot review.
 a. Each drawing will correspond with a section of the plot (6 sections total)
that align with the sections marked in each student’s music from the
previous class.
b. The teacher will touch on the fact that this plot is the composers
interpretation of book five, and that there are other interpretations studied.
5. To connect the plot of the story to the music, the band will run each section
separately, pausing in between to review what is happening in the storyline
during that part of the piece.
6. During this time, students will also identify what tools Mackey is using to depict
the storyline in the music.

Assessment
1. Students will be informally assessed for participation in class activity and
discussions.
2. Students will be informally assessed on their understanding of the musical tools
Mackey uses in “This Cruel Moon”
3. Students will be formally assessed with a “Post-Test” that covers today’s content
on Monday’s rehearsal.

Materials
● Whiteboard and markers
● Score and score notes
Lesson 3/3

Objectives
● Students will analyze the piece of music in sections and connect these sections
to various plot points in “The Odyssey, Book Five”, the story of Odysseus and
Kalypso.
● Students will apply musical concepts discussed and practiced in class warm ups
to Mackey’s composition to convey their newfound context and meaning behind
the piece and it’s story.
● Students will further analyze the piece of music as it relates to their individual
parts.

Standards Addressed ​ (National Core Arts Standards)

Anchor Standard #4 Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
Anchor Standard #6 Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
Anchor Standard #7 Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Anchor Standard #8 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

Procedure
1. Students will enter the classroom and warm up on their own
a. On Monday rehearsals which are 45 minutes instead of the usual 90
minutes, this is known class procedure.
2. The ensemble will dive deeper into sections II, IV, and V in “This Cruel Moon”,
focusing on their role as an individual or section.
a. Individual parts will tie in with the storyline and its characters (see second
plot chart).
i. Section II: A - D
ii. Section IV: F - H
iii. Section V: H - K
3. Students will take the post test for the last 10 minutes of class.
a. This can be taken on students cell phones. This form can be completed
multiple times on one device, so students may share devices if some
student phones are not readily available. There will also be a laptop set up
in the classroom for students to use.
Assessment
1. Students will be informally assessed on participation in class discussion and
playing.
2. Students will be formally assessed by the post-test.

Materials
● Score
● Whiteboard and markers
● Devices to complete “Post Test” survey.

Pre and Post Tests:

* indicates a required question

1. Full Name ​*
2. Instrument (in band) ​*
3. What do you know about John Mackey? ​*
4. What Mackey compositions have you played, if any? ​*
5. What are your first impressions of "This Cruel Moon"? What do you think
this piece of music is written about? (Guesses are great!) ​*
6. How can musicians convey the meaning of a piece through performance?
What musical tools can be used to communicate the meaning of the music
to listeners?  
7. What musical tools are used in "This Cruel Moon" to convey the meaning
of the ​*​ piece? ​* 
8. What does the phrase "tension and release" mean in a musical context? ​*
9. What is "dissonance"? ​* 
10. What is "text painting"? ​* 
11. *LAST Q* Are you excited about this piece? (It's OKAY if you aren't!) Rate
yourself 1-5, 1=not at all excited, 5=super stoked ​*
 Pre/Post Assessment Analysis:

I sorted these 11 questions into 5 categories for analysis:

I. Identifying Information (#1-2)
A. I excluded Category I from analysis.
II. Knowledge of Composer (#3)
A. #4 was excluded from post test, and was only used in pre test to gauge
prior student experiences with Mackey’s composition after listening to a
recording and sight reading the piece.
III. Knowledge and Identification of Musical Tools (#6-10)
IV. Interpretation of Piece (#5)
A. #5 was excluded from post test, and was only used in pre test to gauge
students initial impressions on the compo
V. Attitude Toward Piece (#11)

______________________________________________________________________

While I did assess knowledge of composer (​Category II​), I did so more to learn how
many students remember the little blurb of facts about a composer that is typically said
when a new piece is introduced to a band class.

#3 What do you know about John Mackey?

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 46.7% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 5%

Understands Somewhat 31.7% Understands Somewhat 41.7%
Understands Well 21.6% Understands Well 53.3%
 Category III​ was the most important category to analyze for this project. The biggest
idea I wanted to focus on with this piece was Mackey’s text painting and the tools he
uses in the piece to depict such a dynamic story.

​ ow can musicians convey the meaning of a piece through performance? What musical
#6 H
tools can be used to communicate the meaning of the music to listeners?

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 18.3% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 3.3%

Understands Somewhat 70% Understands Somewhat 43.3%
Understands Well 11.7% Understands Well 53.4%

​ hat musical tools are used in "This Cruel Moon" to convey the meaning of the piece?
#7 W

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 41.7% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 6.6%

Understands Somewhat 41.7% Understands Somewhat 46.7%
Understands Well 16.6% Understands Well 46.7%

#8 What does the phrase "tension and release" mean in a musical context? *​

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 36.8% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 10%

Understands Somewhat 31.6% Understands Somewhat 40%
Understands Well 31.6% Understands Well 50%

​ hat is "dissonance"?
#9 W

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 58.3% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 20%

Understands Somewhat 30% Understands Somewhat 38.4%
Understands Well 11.7% Understands Well 41.6%
 ​ hat is "text painting"?
#10 W

Pre Post

Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 78.3% Doesn’t Understand / Non-Answers 20%

Understands Somewhat 10% Understands Somewhat 25%
Understands Well 11.7% Understands Well 55%

I was curious to learn what students thought the piece was about (​Category IV​) before
introducing the composer's program notes.

#5. What are your first impressions of "This Cruel Moon"? What do you think this piece of music
is written about? (Guesses are great!) *​

Pre-Test Answers:
70% of answers were guesses to the theme or descriptors of the overall theme or
mood of the piece.
30% of answers were “non answers” or “I don’t know”
16% described the music as “eerie”, “dark”, “spooky”, or “ominous”.
11% thought the piece was about nighttime
10% thought the piece had something to do with the moon
8% thought the piece was about mourning or loss
5% of answers referenced werewolves or Halloween
5% of answers referenced struggle, poverty, or depression
3% thought the piece was about love
3% thought the piece was about murder
9% fell into individual categories, and were each mentioned once (less than 3%
per category)
- About a man
- Dinosaur Extinction
- Insomnia
- Anger
 I assessed student attitude (​Category V​) toward piece because this is a slow and
technically simple, grade 3 piece. I was curious to see how attitudes toward a seemingly
“boring” piece might change after learning more about the piece and it’s story. By going
into detail about the plot this music is written around, I hoped for a more engaging and
meaningful music making experience.

Pre-Test #11

Post-Test #11
 Reflection of Project and Process:

I first played this piece a few weeks before starting my high school placement. The
conductor of the ensemble I was in did not give us any context for the piece past his
one statement, “This is about Odysseus from the Odyssey”. I loved all of the moving
parts and crushing dissonance in this piece and I knew I wanted to show it to the high
schoolers when I got the chance. When I began studying the score, I learned more
about Mackey’s inspiration for the piece. As I studied I started to see Book 5, the story
of Odysseus and Kalypso, written quite deliberately throughout the piece. Mackey used
an incredible amount of text painting to tell this story, which I was clueless about when I
performed this piece in a concert just the month before.

I enjoyed showing the students in concert band the piece, and then uncovering what it
was written about. We had fun drawing parallels from characters and plot points to
sections and individual instrument parts. We expanded our own “musical toolbox” of
techniques to convey meaning through performance. Most importantly, we explored
through the score and it’s story, and got a better sense of what we were performing
about. I believe that step is often under emphasised in the music classroom when it
comes time to prepare for performances.

My ultimate goal was to show students that slow, simple music can be more than just
beautiful- it can tell a story, it can hold various and contrasting emotions, and it can be
just as exciting as something more upbeat. I appreciated all of the student feedback I
received, both in the surveys and in class. This was an incredible learning experience.