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Musical
Form of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Grades 5–8 Chorus
Objective
•
Students
will identify AABC form of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
and describe the repetitions and contrasts.
National
Standard
6A:
Listening to, analyzing, and describing music: Students describe
specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate
terminology.
Materials
•
recording
of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
•
audio-playback
equipment
•
chalkboard
Prior
Knowledge and Experiences
•
Students
have been learning to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner”
in preparation for a concert.
•
Students
have been introduced to form and are familiar with ABA pattern.
Procedures
1.
Invite students to sing or to listen to a recording of “The
Star-Spangled Banner.”
2.
Ask questions that will lead students to discover the form of
“The Star-Spangled Banner;” for example, “When
does each phrase or section of the music repeat? Are the repeated
sections always repeated exactly? Where are the contrasts in each
phrase or section?” Label same and different musical ideas
as A and B.
3.
Diagram the arrangement of the musical ideas on the chalkboard
as students identify and describe the from as AABC. (“The
Star-Spangled Banner” is often considered to be verse and
chorus form, although the chorus has different words.)
4.
Ask students to memorize the music in eight-measure phrases, always
being aware of the form. Ask, “Where does the melody repeat?
Do the same and different musical ideas make the text more meaningful?
How?” Encourage them to tell you what they discover.
Indicators
of Success
•
Students
identify AABC form in a selected piece and demonstrate an increased
ability to memorize the piece, based on their study of its form.
Follow-up
•
Have
students compare the form of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
to other songs they have sung or heard.
•
Have
students identify songs in their repertoire that are in binary,
rounded binary, and rondo form, and that are strophic or have
da capo sections.
•
Have
students identify the form of a piece as an aid to expression
as well as memorization.
From
Strategies for Teaching Elementary and Middle-Level Chorus.
Compiled and edited by Ann R. Small and Judy K. Bowers. Copyright
1997. MENC, Reston, VA.
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