Edvard Grieg’s “March of the Trolls” (Trolltog), Op. 54, No. 3, is a short character piece from the fifth book of his Lyric Pieces, published in 1891. Grieg’s Lyric Pieces were a collection of short piano works written throughout his career, many of them inspired by Norwegian landscapes, dances, stories, and folklore.

This piece imagines the mischievous trolls of Scandinavian folklore marching and scurrying through the landscape. The fast outer sections use quick, accented musical figures that can sound sneaky, energetic, and a little wild, while the contrasting middle section suddenly becomes much slower, smoother, and more lyrical. That dramatic contrast makes the piece especially fun for movement and listening activities with students.

About This Version

For this resource, I have edited and rearranged the original recording slightly to make the musical form easier for elementary students to hear and experience through movement.

The music does not follow Grieg’s original structure exactly. In this version:

• The energetic troll march is labeled the A section.

• The A section has been edited so that the main troll theme occurs three times throughout the activity.

• The slower, lyrical middle material has been edited and shorted slightly into a clearly contrasting B section.

• The B melody is presented several times, making it easier for students to recognize the contrast between the two musical ideas.

• Short creeping and transition sections help connect the larger sections and give students opportunities to respond to changes in tempo, dynamics, and character.

  Lesson Ideas & Extensions

  1. Identify the Form

  Before using scarves, listen to the piece once and ask students to describe what they notice.

  You might ask:

  • When does the music sound like trolls?

  • When does the character of the music change?

  • Which sections sound fast or slow?

  • Which sections sound loud or quiet?

  • Can you hear when the A section returns?

  After listening, introduce the labels A and B and have students use hand signals or movement to identify each section.
  

  2. Explore Contrasting Movement

  Ask students to brainstorm words that describe each section.

  For example:

  A Section

  • strong

  • quick

  • sneaky

  • heavy

  • energetic

  B Section

  • smooth

  • gentle

  • floating

  • calm

  • lyrical

  • flowing

  Students can then create movements that match those musical qualities before following the scarf movement video.
  

  3. Listen for Instrument Timbre

  In this edited version, the B-section melody is heard several times with different instrumental colors.

  Challenge students to listen for how the sound changes each time the melody repeats. Older students could identify or compare the violin, clarinet, flute, and oboe, while younger students might simply describe each sound as bright, smooth, high, warm, light, or dark.

  You could also assign a different scarf movement to each instrument so students must listen for the change in timbre.
  

  4. Create Your Own Troll Movements

  After completing the guided activity, divide students into small groups and ask them to create their own movement for an A-section phrase.

  Each group can perform its “troll march” for the class, or the class can choose several movements and combine them into a new choreography.
  

  5. Create an A–B Composition

  Use the piece as an introduction to musical form.

  Have students create two contrasting musical ideas using classroom instruments:

  A: rhythmic, short, strong troll music
  B: smooth, sustained, quiet forest music

  Arrange the student-created ideas into an A–B–A or A–B–A–B–A form and perform them as a class.