THE CARNIVAL

OF THE ANIMALS

Learning Resource
The Carnival of the Animals
The Carnival of the Animals is a suite of fourteen short movements
by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Saint-Saëns composed
the work in 1886 as a fun piece to be performed in the homes of his
friends. There are fourteen movements, and each represents an
A Suite is an
animal, group of animals, or a type of person! instrumental work made
up of shorter pieces.

1. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion

2. Hens and Roosters
3. Swift Animals
4. Tortoises
5. The Elephant
6. Kangaroos
7. The Aquarium
8. People with Long Ears (Donkeys)
9. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods
10. The Aviary
11. Pianists
12. Fossils
13. The Swan
14. Finale
The Instruments – Strings
The string family is made up of four
instruments of different sizes: the violin, the
viola, the cello, and the double bass.
Sound is produced on
strings instruments either
with a bow or by plucking
the strings with fingers.

Violin

Bow

Double Bass

Cello

Viola
The Instruments –
Percussion and Woodwind
In addition to the strings, there is a small
group of additional instruments making up
the orchestra in The Carnival of the Animals. The glockenspiel and
xylophone are
members of the
percussion family.
Glockenspiel
Piccolo
The piccolo, flute, and
clarinet are members
of the woodwind
family.

Clarinet
Flute

Xylophone
The Instruments – Piano

Two pianos feature in The Carnival of the

Animals orchestra. Pianos are members of
the percussion family when used in an
orchestra because the fingers hit the keys
and the hammers inside the piano hits the
strings.

Not every instrument is used in every

movement. The sound of the instruments
has been considered carefully by Camille
Saint-Saëns to illustrate the characteristics
Piano
of the animals.

Activity
Think about an animal and choose an instrument that
represents the size or personality of that animal.
1. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion

The introduction is played by the string instruments

and two pianos.

The Royal March of the Lion begins with the pianos A march is a piece of
music with a strong,
playing in a march style. It sounds very regal and regular rhythm. Most
grand. The running scales in the pianos makes the marches are in the time
sound of the lion’s roar. signature of 2/4 or 4/4.
Think one two three four,
and march to the music.
Repeat sign

Accent – makes the

sound stronger than
the other notes
2. Hens and Roosters

The movement features violin, viola, and piano

playing short, jittery sounds to represent hens and
roosters pecking and scratching. The trills in the
pianos sound like crowing roosters. A solo is a special melody
just for one instrument.
Listen for the clarinet solo.
The clarinet plays short solos during the movement.
 3. Swift Animals
The fingers of the two pianists are running up and down
the keyboard playing scales. A scale is a sequence of
notes placed in ascending or descending order.

The pianos are playing in the key of C minor.

Activity
Play the scale of C major slowly and then as fast as you can.
C major uses only the white notes on the keyboard.
 4. Tortoises
The melody of the Can-Can is normally played very fast but
here it is played very slowly so that the slow tortoises can
dance along. Using this fast melody to represent a tortoise
is a musical joke.

At a majestic, walking pace

Bass clef

Ritardando: gradually getting slower

The pianos play a repetitive triplet pattern. A triplet is a set

of three notes played in one beat in the place of two notes. Triplet
5. The Elephant

The movement features the double bass with the

pianos playing a waltz. This is a musical joke.
Can you imagine an elephant dancing a waltz?
A waltz is a dance with three beats in each bar, The movement is in Ternary
with the emphasis on the first beat. Form (A B A). Listen for the
return of the first theme.
How is the middle (B)
section different to the first
and last (A) sections?

Activity
Find the three beats in each bar in the piano music.
 6. Kangaroos

The movement has two pianos playing a pattern of

hopping chords up and down the keyboard.

The tempo speeds up and the dynamics get louder when

the music gets higher.
The tempo slows down and the dynamics get softer when
the music gets lower.

Accelerando – getting faster

Grace note – an embellishing note played quickly within the same beat.

Crescendo – gradually getting louder

Quaver Quaver rest
7. The Aquarium
The movement is played by strings, pianos, flute, and
glockenspiel. Imagine fish swimming gracefully in calm
water on the Great Barrier Reef, at the aquarium, or in a
fish tank at home. You can make a glass
harmonica by placing glasses
As the glass harmonica is an unusual instrument, the side by side, wetting your
fingers with water, and
glockenspiel is often used in an orchestra when this moving your fingers gently
instrument is required. around the rim of the glass.
Adding water into the glass
will change the sound.
8. Characters with Long Ears (Donkeys)

The movement is very short and only the violins play.

Listen for high loud notes and low sounds, composed to

sound like the hee-haw of a donkey. Count the number of
high sounds you hear.

Ledger lines are extra lines to write music higher or lower than the staff.
In this example, 8 indicates to play 8 notes
(or one octave) higher then what is written.
This makes a very high sound.

Ledger lines
9. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods

The movement is played by the pianos and clarinet. The

clarinet plays a two-note pattern during the piece to sound
like the call of the cuckoo. The piano plays softly to create
a sound like a deep, dark forest.

A clarinet player in your school could play this for you.

• How many beats are in the bar?

• On which beat does the cuckoo call?

If you play this motif on the piano it may sound different to the clarinet.
The clarinet is a transposing instrument and to make the melody sound the
same you must play a C instead of the D and an A flat instead of the B flat.
10. The Aviary

The movement is played by the strings, piano, and flute.

Listen to the flute and imagine birds fluttering in the trees. The smaller the instrument,
the higher the sound.

The larger the instrument,

Activity the lower the sound.
The flute and the violin are high-pitched instruments.
Can you identify the lowest sounding instrument in
The Carnival of the Animals orchestra?

Inside the piano, the low sounding

notes have long, thick strings.
The high sounding notes have short,
thin strings.
11. Pianists
The movement is played by the pianists on the pianos.
When practicing to play the piano well, you must play scales
so that your fingers run over the keys smoothly and quickly.
Can you hear the mistakes
the pianists are making?
The composer asks the pianists to miss some of the notes
Sometimes they are not
and make mistakes. This is another musical joke about how playing together.
much practice is needed to play your instrument well.

Activity
Play a five-note scale of C
major. Can you play this
scale in both hands at the
same time if you’re playing
on a piano?
12. Fossils
The movement features the xylophone. The xylophone is
a percussion instrument with wooden bars of different
lengths to make the different sounds.
A fossil is the skeleton of a
pre-historic animal, bird, or
The xylophone is played like a piano keyboard except
fish. Fossils are found
beaters are used to hit the bars. Hard beaters are used to embedded in rocks. Name
play the xylophone to make the sounds of the dried bones some pre-historic animals.
of fossils.
 13. The Swan

The movement features the cello playing the melody and

accompanied by the piano.
The Swan is one of the
The smooth melody highlights the graceful swan gliding most famous pieces of
through the water. The rippling pattern in the piano music from The Carnival of
represents the ripples in the water made by the swan. the Animals suite. Close
your eyes and imagine the
beautiful swan.
14. Finale
Melodies from the thirteen other movements are
brought back in the Finale.

Listen for: Activity

Play every movement of
• The roar of the lion The Carnival of the Animals
as background music in
• The crisp sound of the fossils (xylophone) your classroom while
• The pecking of the hens and roosters completing other tasks.
• The leaping strings (kangaroos) As an art activity, draw your
• The clarinet playing the cuckoo’s call impression of your favourite
• The pianists practicing their scales animal from The Carnival of
the Animals.
• And the donkeys just before the final chords
 DISCOVER
Education – Link with Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
Prep to Year 2. Some elements Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6.

General Capabilities: Key Ideas embedded in this activity The Arts Learning Area Achievement Standard: Prep to
Literacy Year 2
Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing Students will describe artworks they make and those to which
Numeracy they respond. They consider where and why people make
Recognising and using patterns and relationships artworks.
Information and Communication Technology Investigating Students use the elements and processes of arts subjects to
with ICT make and share artworks that represent ideas
Critical and Creative Thinking Music Subject Specific Achievement Standard: Prep–Yr 2
Inquiring, exploring and organising information and ideas Students will communicate about the music they listen to, make
Generating ideas, possibilities and actions and perform, and learn where and why people make music.
Critical and Creative thinking in the learning areas Students improvise, compose, arrange and perform music.
Personal and Social Capability They demonstrate aural skills by staying in tune and keeping in
Self awareness time when they sing and play
Social awareness Cross Curriculum Priorities: Sustainability OI. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7.
Ethical Understanding Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia OI. 1, 3, 4, 5.
Understanding ethical concepts and issues Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and
Reasoning in decision making and actions Cultures OI. 3, 8
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities Outcomes:
Intercultural understanding The students will:
Recognising culture and developing respect Attend a live orchestral concert.
Interacting and empathising with others See and hear the instruments of the orchestra performed by
Reflecting on intercultural experiences and taking responsibility professional musicians.
Intercultural understanding in the learning areas Learn how sounds are produced and the distinct sounds of
Activity Risk Assessment: each instrument
As per school excursion risk assessment if attending live Develop skills in melody, beat and rhythm with focus on Core
concert. Low risk participation and observation activities Concepts Prep–Year 6.
Respond to the story of Carnival of the Animals, Saint- Saëns.
Compare and contrast.
Education – Link with Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
ELEMENTS OF MUSIC – core concepts covered in this activity highlighted below
Education - Link with Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
ELEMENTS OF MUSIC (continued)
EducaNon - Link with Australian Curriculum Assessment and ReporNng Authority
GENERAL CAPABILITIES
Prepared by Pam Lowry,
former Education Liaison Officer,
Queensland Symphony Orchestra

For more information go to

www.qso.com.au/education

Contact the Education team

[email protected]