- STEP 1: Choose a piece of music that has a rich variety of expressive elements. Some recommendations include: Danse Macabre, Peter and the Wolf, Nimrod Symphony IX, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Beethoven’s Symphony number 3, Haydn’s Surprise Symphony.
- STEP 2: Listen to the piece prior to your students. Allow yourself to write down any specific elements that pop out at you and what images that creates in your mind.
- STEP 3: Beside that list create a column with the header “what caused that?” at the top.
- STEP 4: Listen to the piece again and when you hear an item on your list, write down what you hear this time that caused that initial reaction (was it the dynamics, the different use of instruments, the speed of the piece?)
- STEP 5: Lead your students through the same exercise.
- STEP 6: Listen to the piece for a third time. Create a new column on the paper with the header “What comes next?” and have students decide for each element what would occur next in the piece based upon this 3rd listening.
- STEP 7: Create a story from the piece based upon the active listening you just participated in.
 |  |  |