Unit Plan 13 (Grade 6 Orchestra): Form in Action—AB & ABA
Grade 6 orchestra unit teaches AB, ABA, and call-response form, helping students organize melodies with contrast, repetition, and expressive intent.
Focus: Organize musical ideas into clear AB, ABA, or call-and-response forms that support an expressive intent.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Orchestra (Form/Structure • Composition • Listening/Analysis)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, Grade 6 orchestra students explore how musical form helps ideas make sense to a listener. They listen to and identify simple AB, ABA, and call-and-response patterns in familiar string music, then use motives and short melodies (from prior work) to build small pieces with clear sections. Students experiment with contrast (change) and repetition (same) in rhythm, melody, dynamics, and tempo so that each section of their piece has a role. By the end, they organize their ideas into a short AB or ABA piece and explain how the form supports their expressive goal.
Essential Questions
- What is musical form, and how do patterns like AB and ABA help listeners follow the music?
- How can I use repetition and contrast to build sections that sound different but related?
- How do rhythm, melody, tempo, and dynamics help show where one section ends and another begins?
- How can organizing my ideas into AB/ABA or call-and-response make my music feel more expressive and clear?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify AB, ABA, and call-and-response forms in short pieces by listening and looking at simple notation.
- Describe how musical elements (rhythm, melody, tempo, dynamics) change between sections to create contrast and unity.
- Organize given or original motives into a short piece with a clear AB or ABA form (or simple call-and-response).
- Notate their form-based piece in a given key and meter, showing section labels (A, B, A).
- Perform or have their piece performed and explain how the form supports their expressive intent (e.g., calm–excited–calm).
Standards Alignment — Grade 6 Orchestra (custom, NAfME-style)
- OR:Cr2.6a — Organize selected musical ideas into a short piece with a clear form (AB, ABA, or call-and-response) that supports expressive intent.
- Example: Students organize a melody into ABA form and identify what changes in the B section.
- OR:Re7.6a — Identify and describe musical elements (rhythm, melody, tempo, dynamics) and simple form (AB/ABA) in orchestra music.
- Example: Students identify an ABA form and describe how dynamics change in the B section.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can hear and label simple forms like AB, ABA, and call-and-response in music.
- I can describe how rhythm, melody, tempo, and dynamics change between A and B sections.
- I can organize my musical ideas into a short piece with a clear AB or ABA form.
- I can label my sections (A, B, A) on the page and explain their purpose.
- I can describe how my form choice supports the feeling or story I want my music to communicate.