A suite is a set of short pieces that are played one after another. Each piece is complete, and together they make one work. Suites are a good way into classical music for children, since no single piece is long.
The word is French. It means things that follow one another.
Two kinds of suite
The dance suite. In the Baroque era, a suite was a set of dances, all in the same key. Bach and Handel wrote many.
The suite of scenes. Later, a suite came to mean a set of pieces on one subject, or the best numbers taken from a ballet, an opera, or a play.
The Baroque dance suite
A Baroque suite has four main dances, in this order.
| Dance | From | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Allemande | Germany | Steady and flowing |
| Courante | France and Italy | Quick, with running notes |
| Sarabande | Spain | Slow and grave, in three |
| Gigue | The British Isles | Fast and skipping |
Composers often added a prelude at the start and other dances near the end, such as a minuet, a gavotte, or a bourrée.
By Bach’s time, people listened to these dances more than they danced to them.
Read dances in classical music.
Suites taken from a stage work
A full ballet can last two hours. A suite gathers its best music into about 20 minutes for a concert.
- The Nutcracker Suite, by Tchaikovsky. Eight numbers from the ballet. See the guide.
- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, by Grieg. Four pieces written for a play. See the guide.
- The Firebird Suite, by Stravinsky. See the guide.
- Carmen Suites, by Bizet. The famous tunes of the opera, without the singers.
Suites on one subject
Some suites were never part of a show. The pieces share a subject.
- The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns. Fourteen short pieces, most of them about an animal. See the guide.
- The Planets, by Holst. Seven pieces, each named for a planet. See the guide.
- Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky. Ten pictures, with a walking tune between them. See the guide.
- Mother Goose Suite, by Ravel. Five fairy tales. See the guide.
- Water Music, by Handel. Dances written for a royal trip on the River Thames. See the guide.
Suites by Bach to hear
Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude. One cello, alone.
Orchestral Suite No. 3, Air. The slow tune known as “Air on the G String.” See Air on the G String for kids.
Orchestral Suite No. 2, Badinerie. A quick, playful finish for the flute.
Read Bach for kids.
Suite or symphony?
| Suite | Symphony | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of pieces | Often five to ten | Four movements, as a rule |
| Length of each | Short | Longer |
| Built from | Dances or scenes | A set plan: fast, slow, dance, fast |
| Titles | Each piece often has a name | Movements have speed words |
Read what is a symphony?
Why suites work well with children
- Each piece is short. Many last two or three minutes.
- Each piece has a name, so there is something to listen for.
- You can play one piece a day and finish the suite in a week.
Things to do together
One a day. Choose a suite. Play one piece each day at breakfast. On the last day, vote for the favorite.
Guess the title. Play a piece from The Carnival of the Animals without saying its name. Your child guesses the animal.
Put them in order. Write the titles of a suite on cards. Play the pieces in a mixed order, and match each to its card.
Make a suite. Your child chooses a subject, such as the weather, and picks four pieces from anywhere to go with it. Give the suite a name.
Dance the suite. Play the four Baroque dances from a Bach suite. Walk for the allemande, run for the courante, step slow for the sarabande, and skip for the gigue.
Print and play
Use a listening journal page for each piece. For The Nutcracker, print the listening map. Read what is a movement in classical music?
More from this guide
This article is part of Music theory for parents: what your child is learning and how to help.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.