Listening Lesson: 'Golden Butterflies'

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Age Range: Elementary, Grades K-6

Learning Objective: Students will listen to Ludovico Einaudi’s Golden Butterflies and connect music with nature.

Overall Description: Listening Lessons guide students through one piece or movement of music, using listening maps and suggested activities to cultivate deep listening skills.

Total Listening Time: 5:54 for Golden Butterflies alone; 37:50 for all examples

Total Lesson Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Download This Free Lesson Plan

Download These Free Instrument Flashcards

INTRODUCE Golden Butterflies and activities

The Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi [loo-doh-VEE-koh ay-NOW-dee] decided to go on a series of walks and write a whole lot of music inspired by the things he saw and heard. Listen to one of the pieces inspired by his walks.

  1. The title of this piece is Golden Butterflies. Can you imagine going on a walk and seeing some butterflies? What kind of music do you think that would inspire?

  2. Listen to the Golden Butterflies. Maybe you can imagine other details about this walk as you listen.

  3. Three instruments play this music. Can you name what they are? If you guessed piano, violin, and cello, you are correct!

  4. Create an instrument card for piano, violin, and cello, or print and cut out these pre-made instrument cards. Draw as many details as you can, and label any parts you know. Look at these pictures and use them to help you make your cards.

    labelled pictures of violin, cello and piano
    Wikimedia Commons

    The parts on the piano picture are not labeled, but you can add labels to the keys and the pedals - two very important parts.

  5. Listen to a little bit of each instrument's timbre, or unique sound.

    Violin

    24 Caprices, Op. 1, No. 5 in A Minor: Agitato

    Niccolo Paganini24 Caprices, Op. 1, No. 5 in A Minor: AgitatoRoberto Noferini, violin

    00:00
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    listen
    [0]

    Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006

    Johann Sebastian BachViolin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006Jennifer Koh, violin

    00:00
    0
    listen
    [0]

    Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 115, I. Moderato

    Sergei Prokofiev; Tedi Papavrami, violin

    00:00
    0
    listen
    [0]

    Cello

    Suite for Solo Cello, No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007

    Johann Sebastian BachSuite for Solo Cello, No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007Matt Haimovitz, cello

    00:00
    0
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    [0]

    7 Papillons: No. 7

    Kaija Saariaho7 Papillons: No. 7Estelle Revaz, cello

    00:00
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    [0]

    Cello Sonata in B Minor, Op. 8: III. Allegro molto vivace

    Zoltán KodályCello Sonata in B Minor, Op. 8: III. Allegro molto vivaceJeno Jando, cello

    00:00
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    [0]

    Piano

    10 Preludes, Op. 23 No. 5 in G Minor

    Serge Rachmaninov10 Preludes, Op. 23 No. 5 in G MinorGuillaume Vincent, piano

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    [0]

    Goldberg Variations: Air

    00:00
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    [0]

    A Prole do Bebe, No. 1, 7. O polichinelo

    Heitor Villa-LobosA Prole do Bebe, No. 1, 7. O polichineloSonia Eubinsky

    00:00
    0
    listen
    [0]

  6. Listen to a bit of Golden Butterflies again and flash each instrument card when you hear that instrument play.

  7. Want to think more about how to get musically inspired on your own nature walks? Try the Nature lesson.

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