Musical FORM

Magic happened in my music classroom when we combined a study of musical form, movement, and a parachute. Anything large and colorful always brings excitement! Bright colors beg to be noticed, and BIG things demand attention. After my students spent some time listening to different pieces and discovering the difference between Binary form (AB) and Ternary form (ABA), we used a parachute to illustrate and feel the musical form. One of the students’ favorites was the theme to “Star Wars.”  The form is: intro – A – B – A – B – A – ending, an extended Ternary form. This is the version that I used: Reader’s Digest Music: The Best of Henry Mancini – The 1981 Reader’s Digest Recordings, Vol. 3 Here is a peek at the fun we had together using the parachute in the big music room. Musical form, movement, and a parachute really made the class time magical. Students worked together on the SMARTBoard to label each section. Once they agreed on the form, I brought out the parachute and they were beyond excited to come up with movements for the A section and B section. “Again, again, again” is all they have said when I pass them in the hallways. “What piece can we analyze next?” As much as I love integrating technology in my music classroom, I love the  joys of simply enjoying music together even more! Priceless!