CMP Teaching Plan

NAME
Jayden Gustafson
Mini-Suite
Morton Gould
G. Schirmer, Inc. – Grade 3

Broad Description
 Written for Gould’s two daughters’ birthday’s during their pre-teen years
 Encapsulates the joyfulness of youth and inspires performers (and audiences) to have fun and embrace their youthfulness
regardless of their age
 Fairly simple in structure and texture, but still provides a variety of technical challenges with a variety of syncopations,
articulations, styles, key signatures, etc.
 Great introduction to the march style and prepares students for more complex marches in higher grade levels

Composer Biography
Morton Gould (1913-1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist who was
recognized as being a child prodigy for his ability to improvise and compose at an early age. He
studied composition at the Institute of Musical Art and was particularly inspired by his teachers
Anny Whiteside and Vincent Jones. As a teenager, Gould would play piano in movie theaters and
vaudeville acts in New York City and when Radio City Music Hall opened, Gould took on the
position of staff pianist. By 1935, Gould was conducting orchestral programs for the New York
WOR station, and began combining popular programming with classic music that reached a
national audience through the Mutual Broadcasting System. He also conducted a multitude of the
major American orchestras as well as orchestras from Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and
Australia. The president of ASCAP position was also awarded to Gould in 1986 and he held the
position in 1994. Additionally, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and
Letters in 1986.

Gould was also known for receiving many awards for both his conducting and compositions. Some of these awards include the 1966
Grammy Award for Charles Ives’ First Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Gold Baton Award, Pulitzer Prize for
Stringmusic (a piece commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra), and in 2005, he was honored the Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award. Furthermore, Gould was a member of the board of the American Symphony Orchestra League and of the
National Endowment for the Arts music panel. Overall, Gould was a well-known and well-respected musician that not only conducted
music but composed music for the world to enjoy long after his passing. His legacy lives on through his music and can be undoubtedly
illuminated in Mini-Suite.

Background Information
Mini-Suite for Concert Band by Morton Gould was written for Gould’s two pre-teen daughters on each of their birthdays. Adapted
from a series of piano pieces, the three movements of Mini-Suite are: I. Birthday March, II. A Tender Waltz, and III. Bell Carol. The
first movement being based off of the infamous tune “Happy Birthday.” The work is meant to be both fun and joyful to listen to as
well as perform. Gould tried to encapsulate his daughter’s youthfulness in this piece to keep the young spirit at heart, whether the
individual be young or old.

“These pieces are intended for the young player, the older player who still remembers being young, and the old player who would like
to feel young again. They are adaptations from a series of piano pieces I wrote for my daughters Abby and Deborah on each of their
birthdays during their pre-teen years. I thought some of these appropriate for the band medium, and selected Birthday March, A
Tender Waltz, and Bell Carol to form this Mini-Suite. They are obviously purposefully simple in construction and texture, but
hopefully will stimulate the young player and please the listener regardless of his age.”
– Program Notes from the Composer

Elements of Music – Mvt. 1: Birthday March

Measur Meter Form Melody Rhythm Harmony Timbre Texture Expression
e and
Tempo
N/A, snare Dotted N/A Heavy, thin, Texture is The intro sets
introduction quarter, and bright essentially the tone of the
with rhythm quarter, bareboned with piece by
2/4,
eighth, just percussion sounding
quarter
Intro sixteenth, and playing resilient,
1-4 note
grace notes confident,
=104
strict in the
snare drum
and cymbals

2
 Bb Cornet Dotted Melody is in Bb Warm, Texture is still As the cornet
introduces the quarter, major brassy, and thin, however, enters with the
melody eighth, eighth bright cornet layers melody, the
note triplet, over top of the piece sounds
^ A
5-12 dotted eighth, percussion confident,
sixteenth, and regal, and
grace notes soars through
the phrases
Melody Dotted Accompaniment Warm, Accompaniment With the entire
remains in quarter, outlines Bb bright, joins in adding ensemble
cornet and then quarter, chords brassy, and an additional finally
pics, fls, obs, eighth, throughout this strident layer however, entering, it
Eb cl, and A sixteenth, and section the overall solidifies the
sax join in on grace notes texture of the feeling of
the melodic piece is still confidence,
^ A
13-24 content on beat fairly sparse. regality, and
two of m.16 sense of
soaring that
was introduced
by the cornet
in the previous
section
^ B Tenor sax and Half, quarter, Shifts to Eb Light, Texture clears In this section,
25-42 Bb clarinets eighth, dotted major in the rounded out again with there is a
take the eighth, trio. In the 1st sound, just the melody feeling of
melody and sixteenth, and repeat, cornets clear, and and fanfare-like reservation
hold it until the grace notes reply to the focused harmony. It while
end of the trio. melody with a slowly layers simultaneously
Melody has a fanfare-esc harmony back feeling joyous,
fanfare-like rhythm. in in the second lighthearted,
conversation Trombones join repeat and excited
with the the fanfare in
harmony m.36. 2nd

3
 throughout this repeat, picc, fls,
section and bells echo
the melody
while cornet
and tbn
continues
fanfare
Melody is in Dotted Returns to Bb Warm, The ensemble The piece goes
the Bb cornets quarter, Major. bright, abruptly back to its
and French quarter, Accompaniment brassy, and reenters and familiar sound
horns. Fl, obs, eighth, eighth continues to strident restores the of confidence,
A Eb cl, Bb cls, A note triplet, outline the texture to feel regality, and
43-62
sax, T sax, trbs, sixteenth, and melody with Bb fuller like in the soaring as the
and euph join grace notes chords previous A piece
in on the section progresses to
melody in m.51 the coda
The melody Half, dotted Bb Major, Reedy, Texture is the This final
can be found in quarter, movement ends piercing, thickest that it section creates
the A sax, t quarter, on a tutti/unison harsh, and has been in the a sense of
sax, cts, hns, eighth, eight Bb chord light; last entire piece conclusion as
trbs, and euphs note triplet, note is with trills in the it is the busiest
up until the and sixteenth resonant woodwind part in the
final unison grace notes voices overtop piece. It still
^ Coda note. of the melody in maintains the
63-68
the brass voices. sense of
Final note confidence but
creates a sense adds a positive
of resolution and optimistic
and concludes feeling in the
the piece last note as
well

The Heart Statement

4
The heart of Mini-Suite is the stunning collection of simplistic melodies that encapsulates the innocence of youth and inspires
individuals to keep joyfulness and excitement alive throughout their lives, no matter their age.

Introducing the Piece

Affective Outcome:

Strategies

Assessment

Skill Outcome:

5
Strategies

Assessment

Knowledge Outcome:

Strategies

Assessment

Recommended Recordings

6
References

Works for Winds

Glossary of Terms

Sang through, studied, and marked parts (check off as completed)

7
Piccolo Cornets/Trumpets 1st Violins
Flutes Horns 2nd Violins
Oboes Trombones Violas
English Horn Euphoniums Celli
Bassoons Tubas String Bass
Eb Clarinet Harp
Clarinets Timpani
Alto Clarinets Snare Drum Sopranos
Bass Clarinets Mallet Percussion Altos
Contra Bass/Alto Clarinet Remaining Percussion Tenors
Saxophones Piano Basses