Download 4th Grade - Rocklin Academy Meyers

April 12, 2013
We are now taking a look at the Romantic Era, which was roughly from 1805-1910. We have
found that the Romantic Era was a response to the restraint, balance, and elegance of the
Classical Era. Romantic music was much more emotional, full of imagination, and was not so
concerned with following rules. We spent some time discussing the characteristics of the
Romantic Era and how they apply to all art created during that period, not just music. We looked
at some art by Goya and Delacroix and analyzed the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by
William Wordsworth.
We also took a look at the most famous composer from this era, Ludwig van Beethoven. He only
wrote nine symphonies, compared to Haydn’s 100, but they are some of the most famous pieces
of all time. For example, we found that every student could hum the first few notes of Beethoven’s
Fifth Symphony. We learned that despite the fact that he started going deaf at the age of 28, he
continued to compose, creating some of his greatest works after completely losing his hearing.
We listened to part of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and his Moonlight Sonata.
Finally, since the Romantic Era only takes us to the beginning of the 20th century, we started
listening to the many different styles of music that have come about during the last 100 years.
Students were given a music styles map, and they have been listening to short samples of
everything from Dixieland and Barbershop to Rhythm and Blues and Rap. After each sample,
students used their critical listening skills to write down what is unique about each style.