Lesson Plan Library

BONG! DIDDLE! CRASH! Musical Onomatopoeia

Students will learn about dynamics, tempo, acoustics and instruments in the music of Charles Ives. Students will be introduced to and learn about the literary term onomatopoeia, and how it can relate to the sounds composed by Ives in The Unanswered Question, Central Park in the Dark and Symphony No 4. Students will then relate the literary term to musical expression. Making the connection between literacy and music, students will create their own musical onomatopoeias using various media, such as watercolor, tempera paint, crayons, magazine text and markers.