Formal Analysis and Composition Lesson – Suite from Bohemia

Objective: Students will compose an at least 16 measure loop composition in garage band which
contains a recognizable form and varying textures.

Standard:

Pr.2.I Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how the setting and formal
characteristics of musical works contribute to understanding the context of the music in
prepared or improvised performances

Cr.1.I Compose and improvise ideas for melodies and rhythmic passages based on
characteristic(s) of music or text(s) studied in rehearsal.

Materials:
Garage Band
Suite from Bohemia, Mvmt. I – Vaclav Nelhybel

Sequence:
Analyze movement 1’s form
1. What types of things might we look at to analyze form?  What would make one section
different than another?
-dynamics 
-melody
-instrumentation
-etc.  
2. Organize them into a table written on the board. You can have a student come up and help.
3. Table set-up: (to be filled out from scratch in class)
Measure: 1-4 5-13 14-21 22-31 32-39 40-47

Form: Intro A B A’ B’ Closing

Instruments:

Dynamics

Articulation

Etc.

4. Everyone play at m. 4.  Stop playing and raise your hand when you think we’ve finished a
section we can call the A section.  
 5. Let’s keep going.  Stop when you think we’ve got to the end of the next section.
6. What was similar?
7. Different?
8. Do we think this is similar enough to be another A section or different enough to be a B
section?
9. Let’s keep going:
10. Continue playing through the piece, filling out the chart
11. What is one thing that links all the A sections together (brass)  
12. So in this piece, instrumentation is really important for differentiating between
sections.  Interesting. 
13. We’re going to make a project. You all are going to compose your own piece using garage
band.

Here’s what you are going to do:

I want you to experiment with form by choosing loops to use as A and B sections.
Do one in class as a group example, modeling where to find loops and how to put them together.

If you’re thinking: GARAGE BAND IS THE COOLEST THING SINCE SELENA GOMEZ! Then you
can use more of the options that garage band offers like recording, input of different
instruments, etc. BUT…

What’s the bottom line? I want you to create something with form. Easiest way to do this is
with loops.

Give students time to start working in class

Homework: Finish composition, then write one paragraph telling me about what you chose for
your composition (tell me the form)

Assessment:
Incomplete Emerging Meeting Exceeding
Form No attempt was Form is unclear or Form is clear and Composition is at
made to compose less than 16 composition is at least 16 measures
with form measures are used. least 16 measures. long. Form is clear,
using more than
one characteristic
to differentiate
between sections
Reflection No paragraph Paragraph tells Paragraph clearly Paragraph is well-
about composition describes the form written and explains
but leaves out form but offers little details about
additional details. compositional
choices, including a
description of the
form