A quick review on musical forms.

Music is organized and labeled using FORMS. Think about an easy song like Twinkle Twinkle. The form for Twinkle Twinkle is in ABA form. When you sing Twinkle Twinkle in your head, you can easily hear 3 sections or parts. 2 of these sections sounds the same while the middle part sounds different.

Let’s listen to another, more challenging song. This song is in AABA Form. See if you can pick out where the B section is (it will sound quite different from the beginning melody).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSZxmZmBfnU

In “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland, you can see how the first two verses establish the main melody of the song. Then the bridge shifts the song into a different gear, giving it a contrasting quality. Then, the return to the last verse provides the listener a comfortable return to what is familiar.

A	First verse	Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
A	Second verse	Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue
B	Bridge	Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me
A	Final verse	Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly…

 

Here is a list of common elemental forms:

ABA                AABA             ABAB              ABAC              ABACA           ABCBCA

Please listen to these 3 pieces, and answer what form each of these are in.

1: Oh Suzanna

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Oh%2C_Susannah_rounded_binary_form.mid

Form: __________________

 

2. Fly Me To the Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFlMy48ui9s

Form: ___________________

 

3. Moon River

https://www.omarimc.com/a-complete-guide-to-song-form-structure-examples-aaba-aaa-abab-abac/

Form: ____________________

 

Bonus: Old Town Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eMKT8H_76g

Form: _____________________

Choose one song to share.
This song should be important TO YOUR FAMILY.

You may want to choose a song based on one of the following:

A song your mom used to sing to you
or A song your family always sings when they are together
or A song from your culture
or A song from a favourite holiday
or A song that your family loves for you to sing to them
or A song your family always listens to when they are together
or A song from a family favourite movie or TV show
or A song that makes you think of a family member (grandmother, grandfather, mom, dad, uncle, aunt, etc.)

You will present this song by:

sending the answers to the following questions to Ms. Chang and sending her the YouTube link or mp3 or mp4 file of your song to lucy.chang@burnabyschools.ca

Title of Song _______________________________
Artist __________________________
Composer (if different from the artist) ______________________________

Why is this song important to your family?

What is the meaning of this song?

How does this song make you feel?

Do you like or dislike this song?

What should people listen for (any special qualities) when listening to this song?

Here is a program that is fun to use to create songs. You can either download the app or play around with it online. Feel free to send me some of the songs you are proud of creating! Please feel free to do them at your own pace or not at all if things get too overwhelming. The activity is meant to be fun and entertaining, and not as a stress factor.

https://www.incredibox.com

1. Can you write about one of your favorite songs and why it’s one of your favorite songs? Can you talk about elements of music such as pitch (high/low), tempo (allegro/largo), and dynamics (forte/piano)?
2. Can you go outside on a sunny day and lay down on the ground? What do you hear around you? Can you write down some of the sounds you hear and what emotions you feel as you hear each of the sounds? Can you talk about elements such as pitch (high/low), tempo (allegro/largo), and dynamics (forte/piano)?
3. Can you pick a favorite musical artist to listen to? What do you like about their music? Their lyrics, their beats, their melody or harmony?

Please put your writing into a binder specified for music. Every week, I’ll be giving out new activities and assignments. A good idea is to regularly do them each week and put any additional paperwork into the binder. Please put your name and date on each assignment.