Introduction
Nocturnes
A nocturne is a single moment character piece usually composed for piano, evoking the mood of the night. Chopin’s nocturnes are especially well-known for this musical form.
Chopin
If you read the Scholes chapter on Chopin in the lesson for the Minute Waltz, ask students to recall anything they remember about the chapter.
Listen
Listen to the song using one of the links below. You may want to listen to the piece more than once in a sitting.
Discussion
Harmony
- Voicing: There is a pattern of melody and accompaniment which is typical of many piano pieces. The melody is played by the right hand and the accompaniment is played by the left hand. The melody is relatively connected and linear; the accompaniment involves a regularly occurring pattern of alternating low and high notes. It is very helpful to watch the video below where you see the piano keyboard and colored bars illustrating the separation of melody and accompaniment.
- Ask the students to identify melody and accompaniment
- How do the two sound different? What is the difference in register of the two (the accompaniment is lower on the piano and the melody is higher).
Melody
- Describe the contour of the melody. Is it primarily conjunct or disjunct motion? Ask to identify sections where it is conjunct, or point out moments where it is disjunct. This might be easier on the video where the music is graphically notated and the keyboard is shown.
- Identify moments where the melody has a trill (rapidly alternating notes). This is called melodic ornamentation. It is a kind of decoration.
- Ask students to identify the ornamentation and name it (trill).
Mood
- How does this piece make you feel? What makes it sound that way?
- Is this piece happy or sad? Is it exciting or not? What makes it sound that way?
- If this was a movie or story, what would it be about? Why do you think that it sounds that way?
Review or Narration
- Tell me about the music we listened to together?
- Can you sing me the melody?
- Can you sing me the harmony/accompaniment?
- Does this piece remind you of any other music we have listened to? (Encourage them to consider similarities and differences in instrumentation, speed, mood.)
Links
MusOpen
Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55 no. 1 – free to download or listen, sheet music
YouTube
Minute Waltz performed by Arthur Rubenstein, a Polish (like Chopin) pianist who is considered a great re-interpreter of Chopin’s works :
A live performance by pianist Vladimir Horowitz:
An animation to help visualize the melody and harmony. This may help to visualize the patterns of the music.
Something Fun
An arrangement for classical guitar performed by Josh Turner:
A chance to see inside a piano and how the hammers hit the strings:
Music at home 