The Bear is Sleeping: Lesson Ideas

2. Week 1 & 2 - Aural activities – teacher resource

Background info on the piece

This piece of music is based on a folk song. Have a look at various versions from around the world. “The Swedish folk song is also a game, where one child pretends to be the sleeping bear whilst the others walk in a circle gently singing the song. In the game the bear wakes up at the end and chases after the children, trying to catch one.”

Questions to ask your pupil:

• What is the title of the piece of music?
• How will this affect the way you perform the piece?
• Should you play it fast or slow?    
• Should you play mostly loud or quiet?
• The piece is about a bear sleeping and then it wakes up. Do you think the music should be loud or quiet when the bear wakes up?

Perform the piece of music to your pupil.

Once you've listened to the piece of music, explore the following questions with your pupil. 

• Does the music start loudly or quietly?
• Does the music end loudly or quietly?
• Listen as I play, can you raise your hand when the music gets louder and put it down when the music becomes quiet again?
• Does the music get faster or slower at the end?
• Can you clap the pulse as you listen to the music?

Creating an echo-singing activity

Here is the song, the arrangement is slightly longer than the song to make the most of the learning experience. Can your pupil clap the rhythm? Can they sing a phrase? Ask them to put dynamics into their performance as written and breathe between the phrases. Get them to play the melody on the piano (either using the music or by ear). Encourage your pupil to think about the words as they play to make it more expressive. Below you can see a 1-bar melody and then an empty bar where your pupil can respond.