# Creating playlists for teenagers



## Tinaj0669 (Sep 20, 2020)

I would love some help curating a playlist that could be played as high school students are entering the virtual classroom. Anticipating a reluctant audience I think pieces that are lively or that pull the listener in might be good. Any ideas?


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

The warhorses:

Four Seasons
Beethoven symphonies
The Planets
Mozart Requiem

And so on. Just clips not full pieces.

That's my two cents.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Tinaj0669 said:


> I would love some help curating a playlist that could be played as high school students are entering the virtual classroom. Anticipating a reluctant audience I think pieces that are lively or that pull the listener in might be good. Any ideas?


Perhaps you can tell us, what you have tried so far.........


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

If it's a typical class and not music class then they may be immediately reluctant shutting off their ears to older musical styles, ie. Ride of the Valkyries, Vivaldi's Storm, Beethoven Sonata 14-3 or Symphony 5. But you should try. Some may just be more influenced by how orchestral music is made with modern film scores like Dark Knight, Inception or Harry Potter. They would recognize the tones and spark a new interest. Kids like any of the above dark stuff anyhow; maybe do a subliminal mix?


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Ethereality said:


> If it's a typical class and not music class then they may be immediately reluctant shutting off their ears to older musical styles, ie. Ride of the Valkyries, Vivaldi's Storm, Beethoven Sonata 14-3 or Symphony 5. But you should try. Some may just be more influenced by how orchestral music is made with modern film scores like Dark Knight, Inception or Harry Potter. They would recognize the tones and spark a new interest. Kids like any of the above dark stuff anyhow; maybe do a subliminal mix?


I like that idea. Yes, knowing what kind of class this is for could help focus the choices. What do you mean by subliminal mix?


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

Tinaj0669 said:


> I would love some help curating a playlist that could be played as high school students are entering the virtual classroom. Anticipating a reluctant audience I think pieces that are lively or that pull the listener in might be good. Any ideas?


Dvorak 9 is always super popular.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

My kids love Rossini overtures (e.g. La Gazza Ladra, Barber of Seville, William Tell).


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

MatthewWeflen said:


> My kids love Rossini overtures (e.g. La Gazza Ladra, Barber of Seville, William Tell).


This was one of the first classical albums I ever listened to:










Indeed they are quite fun!


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Handel - Coronation Anthem 1


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I taught literature and humanities courses (including to high school students) and have often played music while students entered my classroom -- one of the old fashioned sorts, not the newer fangled virtual setups. Alas!

No matter what you play, there will be some student for whom it strikes a chord. This makes an argument for variety. Of course, a lot might depend upon how well you yourself know the music. I happened to have quite a musical vocabulary and so could choose pieces for specific reasons or literary works. Often I would incorporate relevant musical pieces into the lit lectures -- for instance, I played Liszt's _Dante Symphony_ and _Dante Sonata_ and Tchaikovsky's _Francesca di Rimini_ during Dante _Commedia_ studies, John Adams's _Wound Dresser_ during readings of Walt Whitman, and Howard Hansen's _Lament for Beowulf_ upon finishing up the Old English epic.

I often utilized music based upon major composer birthdays. For years I celebrated Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven birthdays with "lessons" on these men and their music and their music's contribution to our culture. I recall using Bach's birthday to discuss the nature of the fugue (and utilizing Glenn Gould's delightful song "So You Want To Write A Fugue" into the session), using Mozart's birthday to outline "sonata form" and it's importance to classical music, and Beethoven's birthday to discuss the nature of "the symphony" as a musical art form. Of course, there is so much of this that ties into forms and themes of literature and cultural humanities.

It would help to know something of the nature of the class session. But the responses you've gotten so far seem viable. There is indeed something to be said for the "warhorses". Many of these pieces -- such as Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyrie" -- will get students saying "I've heard that before. What is it?" Which leads to questions needing answers and learning taking place. "What's a Valkyrie?" someone is likely to ask. You can also get into linguistics by explaining that the composer's name is pronounced with the English sounding V rather than W, because it's a German thing. (I used to distinguish between paintings made by one of the Three Stooges -- Moe's Art -- and the classical composer Mote-sart. Again, it's a German thing.) The music can take one in many directions, so don't consider that it will simply be ignored or merely set a mood.

You might spend a week with one composer, allowing students to get a sense of the composer's style over a number of works. Again, some of them will invariably recognize many of the pieces by the big names. And the big names are well worth hearing. Of course, there is quite a variety of music available out there by lesser known composers, but one must have a good grip on the music in order to utilize it most effectively. I'll bet the following lesser known "classical" pieces will spark interests when heard for the first time: _Sensemaya_ by Silvestre Revueltas, _Time's Encomium _by Charles Wuorinen (a Pulitzer Prize winner), and _Adagio for Strings_ by Samuel Barber.

Again, one's discipline may well lead to musical directions. Were I a science teacher, I would appreciate my students knowing music by such as Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, a German astronomer, Alexander Borodin, a Russian chemist, and George Antheil, an inventor of radio guidance systems. It's also helpful to realize that Anton Chekhov, the Russian playwright, was a medical doctor, that Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer of the great orchestral showpiece _Sheherazade_, was a Russian naval officer, and that Einstein played the violin. Many of our greatest minds were interdisciplinarians. Did you know Benjamin Franklin wrote a string quartet?

I commend your thoughtfulness in wanting to plan music into your teaching. I would not limit my own classes to "classical" when there is so much fine world music, popular music, jazz, etc. to explore as well. My own preference is to tie the music into the lesson in some significant manner, so that while one presents the topic of the lesson the music of the day will keep to the general area of discussion. Of course, there are other viable strategies.

I wish you the best in your teaching.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Tracks from Tchaikovsky's ballets and Williams' film scores would do, especially if the waiting time is several minutes long.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

This should immediately grab their attention:






Tell them to listen to this passionate and not slowed down _Eroica_ as a homework later:


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Instead of creating a playlist for your students, why not have them create their own?


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## EmperorOfIceCream (Jan 3, 2020)

As a teenager, this thread is very amusing for me


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

EmperorOfIceCream said:


> As a teenager, this thread is very amusing for me


Could you elaborate? Your input would be appreciated.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I'd create a playlist of new classical music. They might be more interested in classical music written today as opposed to 200 years ago. Also, I've found that young people are usually more open to experimental and avant-garde works than traditional classical music listeners.


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## Axter (Jan 15, 2020)

To be lively and teenager appealing, I would recommend specific pieces, not the whole work, such as:

Wagner "Ride of the Valkyries"
Prokfiev's Romeo & Juliet's "Dance of Lords" 
Beethoven 5th Symph. 1 Mvmt.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

I reckon that at least parts of _Carmina Burana _would be appealing to young people. Some of the subject matter might be relatable to them, and the songs are short with catchy melodies. They can be quite thrilling.


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