FIG. 1: Here are examples of a variation on “America” using the same harmony but different notes (variation 1) and a variation using bitonality, combining C major and B Locrian (variation 2).

Students who take fine-arts appreciation in high school learn to listen to and identify many forms of music. One compositional technique commonly presented early on is called theme and variations. In this “Lesson Plan,” I'll use Charles Ives's “Variations on America,” with its unusual sounds and dissonances, to teach composing and listening to variations on a theme. In addition, students will use notation software to create their own compositions. While the lesson is written primarily for high school students, some version of it may be used in grades 4 and higher.

This lesson is intended for use in a classroom that has computers which are equipped with notation software. It may be used in other settings if the computer work is completed outside of class — for example, by using a computer at home, in a library, or in a computer lab.

Materials needed for this lesson include the following:

• An accompaniment for “America” (“My Country 'Tis of Thee”). A MakeMusic Finale (.mus) file and a MIDI (.mid) file of that accompaniment can be downloaded from the MET Web site (see Web Example 1). The MIDI file is suitable for use in Finale, Sibelius, and other notation programs. Note that the Finale files contain lyrics, instructions, and page-layout details that the MIDI files do not.
• A CD recording or an MP3 file of Ives's “Variations on America” for orchestra. I recommend that you use the version arranged by William Schuman and performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on the compact disc An American Salute: Spirit of the Nation (Naxos, 2005). This same piece is also available for 99 cents on the Apple iTunes Web site (www.apple.com/itunes).
• Prepared notation files with theme and variation activities. Such files can be downloaded from the MET Web site (www.metmagazine.com) in Finale and MIDI file formats (see Web Examples 2 and 3).
• Demo, free, or full versions of MakeMusic Finale (www.finalemusic.com), Sibelius Software Sibelius (www.sibelius.com), or comparable notation software. The full versions of those programs are preferred so that students can save their projects after the trial period permitted in the demonstration versions.

Two additional pieces will provide you with excellent supplemental examples of theme and variation. They are available for 99 cents each over the iTunes site and are both well worth purchasing:

• Haydn's Symphony no. 94; the second movement, from the compact disc Bernstein: Haydn (Deutsche Grammophon, 2004), with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker.
• Canadian Brass, “Amazing Grace,” from the compact disc Amazing Brass (JVC Victor, 2005).

The first goal of this lesson is to acquaint students with the theme of the piece. That can be accomplished by having the class sing “America” all the way through a time or two. You can play an accompaniment or can use the MIDI or Finale files (Web Example 1). The MIDI file has several advantages, not the least of which is that you don't have to divide your focus between your class and playing the piano.

Once the students are familiar with the song, explain that composers frequently take a well-known tune and repeat it several times with changes each time to create interest. Each new version of the song is called a variation. The theme is normally played before any of the variations so that the listener can better understand the variations that come afterward. Composers have written so many songs in this manner that the term theme and variations has come to describe them. Ives's “Variations on America” is an excellent example of theme and variations.

At this point, you should play Ives's “Variations on America” for your students and ask them to count how many variations they hear. You may need to tell your class that the piece starts and ends with a section that has only a hint of the theme. Those sections should not be counted.

Student questions will prompt you to discuss who wrote this piece, the type of dissonance used, and whether Ives was being disrespectful or unpatriotic. Inform them that Ives was an American composer — a native of Danbury, Connecticut — who lived from 1874 to 1954. He didn't believe that writing music would support a family, so he worked in insurance and founded an insurance company that became one of the largest in America. Ives frequently wrote music in a dissonant style that became popular among classical composers in the early 20th century. He wrote the first version of “Variations on America” at age 17 but didn't become well-known until he was in his 60s. Ives won the Pulitzer Prize for his Third Symphony.

Ives wrote dissonant music using a number of techniques, including bitonality (when two songs are played in two different keys at the same time). Ives's dissonant treatment of “America” was a result of his intellectual independence and curiosity. He was not trying to be unpatriotic; his patriotism is evidenced in numerous other works.

Next listen to the theme from the recording of Ives's “Variations on America,” and ask students if they hear anything humorous. Students usually notice that the triangle is very loud.

At that point in the lesson, it is beneficial to listen to each variation, one at a time, and discuss the variation techniques used (see the table “Listening Map”).

Finally, have students open the prepared notation files and compose variations on “America” as directed (see Fig. 1). That work can be done in class if the students have access to a computer lab with notation software. Otherwise, it can be completed as homework using demonstration or free versions of notation software. For completed examples in MIDI and Finale formats, see Web Examples 4 and 5.

Ives's “Variations on America” provides an attractive introduction to the concept of theme and variations. By using notation software to compose original songs in this form, students experience the concepts involved firsthand. The combination of technology and excellent musical material makes this an enjoyable and informative lesson. For a traditional elementary lesson plan on “Variations on America,” see http://lessons.usamusic.org/109.html.

Floyd Richmond is a member of the music faculty at Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He is a frequent presenter and writer in the field of music technology.

This chart identifies the beginning and end of each theme in “Variations on America” as well as the variations and the techniques used.

TIME	DESCRIPTION
0:00	The introduction borrows rhythms from the theme of “America” and later from the melody (“Land where my fathers died”), but it does not contain a complete statement of the melody.
1:09	The melodic theme begins in the strings and is presented as expected except with a rather humorous percussion accompaniment. Listen especially to the two entrances of the triangle.
1:48	In variation 1, Ives uses an expected harmony for “America,” but he uses a completely different and carnival-like melody.
2:29	In variation 2, he rewrites the melody and harmonies using an unusual mode (mostly Dorian, which sounds minor).
3:12	Variation 3 is much more experimental in tone. The melody is played in two keys simultaneously that are a step away from each other, which produces a very dissonant harmony. The accompanying harmonies are also dissonant.
3:36	Variation 4 is faster, lilting, and in 6/8 meter. In addition to its rhythmic changes, Ives changes the articulations of the notes in the melody and adds an obligato part.
4:34	Variation 5 is also in another mode (like natural minor). Unlike the first modal variation (variation 2), variation 5 is fast, with Latin rhythms.
5:16	The interlude is reflective and slower in tempo.
5:33	Variation 6 is in major and is primarily changed by the addition of a refreshing obligato part.
5:53	Variation 7 includes a light-hearted oom-pah-pah accompaniment with a broadening obligato in the lower instruments.
6:30	The coda section brings back the melodies of the introduction with a full orchestral closing.