There are numerous resources and lesson plans available from this website to help you if you are planning music lessons.

Learning about the Classical Composer Joseph Haydn? – Here are a few ideas for you:

Encourage the students to pretend that they are Prince Esterhazy, and that they are looking for a new Kapellmeister. Have them write a job ad for a job website which outlines the role and responsibilities of this position. Encourage them to write down details of the Esterhaza palace where the applicant will live and work.

Stretch the classes imagination and pretend that T.V. talk shows existed in the 18th century. Create a talk show segment interviewing Haydn on the success of one of his tours to London. They can talk about the events of the time, people he met, the current fashion and the response to his music. Don’t forget that Haydn was known for his great wit! This could be done as a class discussion, or you could break off into small groups to do the activity.

Ask the students to Research and write a paragraph about the musical form the ‘Symphony’. Include information on the standard instrumentation (instruments used), the number of movements and any other interesting facts. Have them find out which other composers wrote symphonies.