Lesson 1: Learning “Heidenröslein”
Aim: How can we learn to sing “Heidenröslein” with a healthy singing style? Summary: Students will learn to sing “Heidenröslein” while learning about German Art Songs. Materials: Musical Explorers CD or online audio, markers or crayons Time Required: 30 minutes (three 10-minute activities) Standards: GA: MGMK-2.1, MGMK-2.6, MGMK-2.7, MGMK-2.8, MGMK-2.9 SC: MGK-2.1, MGK-2.4, MGK-2.5, MGK-2.6 Vocabulary: art song, Lieder, poem |
Meet Heidi
- Meet Heidi on SG34.
Warm Up Your Voices
- Healthy singing is part of a good technique for a classical singer. Prepare your students to sing well by focusing on using their head voice, emphasizing good posture, and breathing from the abdomen. See detailed activities here.
Learn about Art Songs
- Art song is a genre of traditional Western European classical music that is performed with one singer and one pianist. Although art songs can be sung in any language, German art songs are called Lieder (LEE-dur). Classical singers typically perform Lieder in solo recitals.
- Look at SG35 to discover some other places in Georgia and South Carolina where students might hear Lieder or other classical music being sung. Discuss with your students the different types of classical music we can hear in those places (e.g., operas, orchestras, choirs, recitals, etc.).
Learn to Sing “Heidenröslein”
- Listen to Heidi sing “Heidenröslein,” Track 33.
- Listen to Heidi sing the repeated refrain, Track 34
Listen to the pronounciation of the refrain,
Track 35, and sing along with Heidi. - “Heidenröslein” (HIGH-den-ruhs-line) is German for “wild rose.” The poem “Heidenröslein” is about a young boy who tries to pick a wild rose from a field. The repeated refrain translates to “Little rose, little rose, little rose red, / Little rose of the field.”
Explore Poetry through Lieder
- Lieder composers, like Schubert, used poetry for their lyrics. Using SG36, ask students to complete a poem about themselves.
- A poem is a group of words that expresses an emotion or idea. The words in a poem often have rhythm, and patterns of sound.
Schubert and GoetheOne of the most important composers of Lieder was Franz Schubert (Fronz SHOE-burt), who lived between 1797 and 1828. He lived in Austria and composed over 600 Lieder throughout the course of his life. He often used poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (YO-han VOLF-gang fon GUH-tuh), who wrote the poem “Heidenröslein” and was the most famous German poet in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of Schubert’s other famous Lieder using Goethe’s poems are “Gretchen am Spinnrade” (“Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”) and “Der Erlkönig” (“The Fairy King”). |
Musical Word Wall
Add art song, Lieder, and poem to the Musical Word Wall.
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