Tech Lesson 09-5: Animation of a
Musical Selection
Standards:
Demonstrates understanding of basic technology and telecommunication
tools
Operates Basic technology tools and applications
CSTA Level I Standard 4: (3rd to 5th) Use general purpose productivity
tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, remediate skill
deficits, and facilitate learning throughout the curriculum.
CSTA Level I Standard 5: (3rd to 5th) Use technology tools for
individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing
activities to create presentations, and publishing activities to create
presentations for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
Basic Skills:
M5P4 Students will make connections
among mathematical ideas and to other disciplines.
M5A1: Students will represent and
interpret the relationships between quantities algebraically.
M4G3 Students will use the coordinate system.
a. Understand and apply ordered pairs in the first quadrant of
the coordinate system.
b. Locate a point in the first quadrant in the coordinate plane and
name the ordered pair.
c. Graph ordered pairs in the first quadrant.
Objectives:
Identify musical sections and form.
Create Scratch Motion Sequences using coordinate system.
Use distance and angles to create circular motion paths.
Create a Dance Animation to a musical selection's Form that uses
different objects and methods to illustrate each musical section.
Define methods and coordinate with Broadcast or function calls to align
with recorded music.
Project Requirements:
Select Short Musical Clip from List
Label form of clip using A,B,C,D form notation
Sketch storyboard of animation ideas
Use Scratch or Alice to Animate at least 25 seconds of the musical clip
Animation can use characters or tell a short story
- or -
Animation can use abstract shapes and designs
Process: (Students work in
Pairs)
1. Discuss animation of Music:
a. Show form and structure through movement
b. Show emotion / feeling of music through movement
c. Can be a story or "abstract"
Examples:
Beethoven's 5th from Fantasia 2000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3pdO-Y5ZKU
Bach's D minor Fastasia from Fantasia
(1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1z12_Ps-gk
One Man Band: Pixar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGeJXOz4AV4
Mr.
Michaud's Example of Mozart's Eine Kliene 1st Movement

2. Select Musical clip from following list
- Chinese Dance from Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky
- World Mix
- Pickin Fool
- Cosmic Energy
- Persian Flavor
- Ascension
- Entry of the Nations
- Beethoven's 5 Symphony 1st Movement
- Eine Kliene Movment 1 by Mozart
- Incredits clip by Giacchino
3. Write down the form of your musical clip. (What parts
can you break your clip into)
Example: Introduction, A Section, B Section . . .
4. Listen again to your clip - brainstorm with your partner some
visual ideas. Think of musical elements like:
- Tempo
- Instruments
- Dymanics (Loud and Soft)
- Tonality
5. Do a short sketch or storyboard of your visual ideas. (It will
look like a comic strip)
6. Open Scratch
7. Import your musical clip into Scratch
a. Click on Stage once
b. Click "Sounds" tab
c. Click "Import"
d. Click on your musical selection
e. Click "OK"
8. Save your work as "Teachername Lastname Lastname Animation"
9. Be Creative! Animate your ideas!
Guides to Animation in Scratch:
1. Use Glides and GoTo commands to allow your sprites to move in time
with music.
2. Create code for your animation movements. Use Broadcast
and "When I Receive" to time your commands.

3. Process for using Glides to coordinate movements
a. Move the Sprite to a starting position.
b. Click on "Movement" and drag a "GoTo" block to
the Scripts pane.
c. Move the Sprite to the position where you want it
to finish.
d. Drag a "Glide 1 secs to X Y" and connect it to
the "GoTo"
e. Double click "GoTo" / "Glide" stack and test.
f. If it works - Drag a "When I Receive" block
and Label the movement.
4. Other Code samples for Animation:
Code
Samples for Scratch:

Other
Animation Scripts
Principles for Animation
1. Keep it simple and fast moving!
2. The first 5 seconds and the last 5 seconds are most
important! Start with a lot of movement to catch the viewer's eye
and attention.
3. Use timed movements like "Glides" to keep in line with
music.
4. Avoid using "Move 10 steps" because it will be hard to time
with music.
5. Animate small sections and label with When I Receive.
6. Simple is Good!