Ravel Bolero

Ravel’s Bolero features just three ideas that repeat over and over as the music grows from very soft to extremely loud. It is one of the most successful pieces of music ever written and made Ravel very, very rich!

For this task you need very large paper and art materials. Use the biggest paper you can find – lining paper or the back of wallpaper is the best option - and spread it out along the floor. Decide which end is the beginning and which is the end and mark ‘start’ and ‘finish’ on the paper lightly in pencil. Also have as many different colours as possible ready to hand

 1.     Ravel’s Bolero features three ingredients:

  • A repeating bassline (mostly played by cellos and basses)

  • A repeating rhythm (played throughout by the snare drum)

  • A wandering, snake-like tune

2.     Listen to some of Bolero (above, at 3’30) and try to spot the three ingredients. Decide on one colour for the bassline, a different colour for the repeating rhythm and a range of colours for the tune. The tune moves across the orchestra from solo flute, through the woodwind and onto some unusual combinations of instruments before being played by full orchestra, so you need a lot of different colour choices and combinations to represent it.

3.     Listen to the 1st version of the tune played by the flute (scroll to 0’57). Choose your colour carefully and as you listen draw the shape of the melody across your paper moving slowly from left to right. Do this without taking your pen off the page and allow your hand to just move up and down with the shape of the tune. .     Next choose a colour to represent the clarinet – the next soloist (above, 1’55). Listen onwards and add this colour on top as your draw its melody. You can place this above, below or next to the flute tune. 

5.     Keep listening and draw each version of the tune adding a new colour or combination of colours as the different instruments join. 

6.     Finally, listen one more time and draw the bassline (perhaps along the bottom of the page) and the repeating rhythm (across the middle maybe). Also pay particular attention to the ending. This is known as the Coda. It is different to the rest of the piece. Can you add this onto the end of your page, all the way to the right? (To hear the coda scroll to 18’53).