KS3/4 idea: This cartoon is set in 'tin can alley' and pupils will benefit from some prior knowledge of the context of the 'tin pan alley' song factory of the day. Some think the name itself came from the cacophony of several different styles and pieces being heard all at once, and this is the premise of this cartoon and its title - a battle between jazz ('hep cat') and classical (symphony) styles.

There are a number of ways of using this cartoon in class.
1. Simply as a novel follow up to works that you may have been studying in other contexts (e.g. trad jazz, Poet and Peasant Overture, William Tell Overture, etc.)
2. Discussion of some of the musical jokes (e.g. contrary motion piano glissandi to match order that keys fall from keyboard that has ended up in cat's mouth!)
3. As a stimulus idea for a creative project on a 'battle of the styles' theme - pupils choose two pieces in different styles and find some way of combining them in a single piece - you could maybe add the stipulation that by the end they must work out some clever way of making the two pieces co-exist - this could lead on to an exploration of related composition techniques used by Charles Ives (e.g. in 'Putnam's Camp' from 'Three Places in New England').

This is a specially restored version of a very old (1922) silent black and white cartoon movie. Felix wants to go swimming and asks a boy (Willie) to go with him. But Willie has to do piano practice. Things go wrong when they get some mice to play the piano instead and a goat eats their clothes while they swim!

KS2/3/4 idea: All the dialogue is shown onscreen as speech bubbles. This is an ideal opportunity to get students to make a soundtrack for this old silent film, with plenty of opportunity for easy sound effects. They could include speech (optional), sound effects and music to suit their age and ability. The whole movie lasts less than 3 minutes and with some groups it might be appropriate to divide it into shorter sections and get different groups to work on music for the different sections.

Memorable rendition of "St James Infirmary Blues" by Cab Calloway. Soundtrack includes excellent examples of musical cliches.

KS3 idea: The first half could be played as a stimulus for discussion about reasons why the soundtrack composer sometimes decorates the texture with quick notes, trills, flourishes etc.

Betty Boop runs out of gas in Feud County, and wins over the initially hostile hillbillies with her dancing.

KS3 idea: About half way through, the music soundtrack stops altogether for a while. This could be used to stimulate a discussion on the effective use of silence in film soundtracks. There are also some novelty animal effects in the song near the end of this 1930s cartoon.

Soundtrack includes excellent examples of musical cliches.
Bimbo visits a south sea isle, where he meets a dusky maiden who does a hot hula and looks a lot like Betty. Also a stereotyped headhunter tribe... The Royal Samoans perform in live-action.

KS3 idea: The introduction features a pacific islands ensemble vocal performance, followed by footage of a dancer with instrumental and vocal backing musicians 'The Royal Samoans'. The cartoon that follows concerning Betty's visit to Bamboo Isle is perhaps musically less noteworthy, except for a passage where guitars play extended harmonics and a portrayal of 5 dancers performing to body percussion only.

Film trailer for Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

KS3 idea: This trailer has a dramatic soundtrack that is firmly in the minor key. But other films about superheroes have had music in a major key (e.g. Superman). Why do pupils think the composer chose a minor key for this trailer? Does it work as well?

This is a mixture of movie cartoon with real life footage of the Mills Brothers quartet. The only musical instrument used is the guitar but the Mills Brothers create the illusion of other instruments (tuba, trumpet and saxophone) by using their voices and hands in clever ways. There is a 'bouncing ball' karaoke section in the middle where cinema audiences of the day would have sung along to the the song 'I ain't Got Nobody'.

KS3/4 idea: This is an interesting historical example of the earliest days of animated cartoons. There is no real storyline to the cartoon and there are frequent changes between cartoon and real camera shots of the musical performers. This may seem puzzling now, but would all have seemed exciting and new to audiences at the time, especially as films with soundtracks had only recently been invented. As a modern contrast to the Mills brothers' extended vocal techniques you could try getting KS3 pupils to devise a voice-only soundtrack to a section of cartoon footage, but allow them to use modern electronic processing equipment/software to create new effects.

Song from Disney's High School Musical, characters Troy and Gabriella sing accompanied on the piano. Could be used as example for songwriting structure and lyrical content at KS2 .

Dramatic theme music for the 2002 Spiderman movie and subsequent sequels (II & III). Composer of TV & Film music Danny Elfman has also written well known themes such as The Simpsons, Desperate Housewives and Tim Burton's Batman.

From the soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by John Williams. Example of musical theme (leitmotif), used also as the main title theme and in all subsequent films.