Music

The Music program strives to nurture an enjoyment and understanding of music which will enrich the quality of life, to help students realize their potential by providing opportunities for creativity and expression of feelings and ideas through music, to expand knowledge, awareness, and appreciation of different kinds of music to cultivate discriminating consumers, and to offer varied musical experiences through which students may become acquainted with other art forms and cultures.

Kindergarten students will identify and perform basic beat (rhythm), respond to high / low differences in pitch (melody), respond to same / different melodic and rhythm patterns (form), recognize characteristic sounds of tambourines, drums, triangles, woodblocks, melody bells (tone color), respond to loud / soft differences (dynamics) and perform body movements which reflect the mood of music (style).

First grade students will identify and perform rhythms in terms of short / long, including (rhythm), identify visually and aurally upward and downward movement of the melodic line (melody), recognize the presence of multiple sounds through the singing of melody with accompaniment (harmony), recognize large sections of music as same or different (form), distinguish between solo / group performance (tone color), respond to dynamic levels through movement (dynamics) and choose classroom instruments for accompaniment which reflect the mood of the music (style).

Second grade students will identify and perform rhythms in terms of short / long, even / uneven, including (rhythm), recognize repeated tonal patterns (melody), aurally recognize chord changes played as accompaniment (harmony), identify repeat signs, D.C. AL FINE, introduction (form), recognize characteristic sounds of cello, French horn and clarinet, select and perform dynamics appropriate to the mood of the music and produce appropriate vocal tone color to reflect the mood of the song.

Third grade students will identify and perform rhythms through traditional notation, including (rhythm), identify octave, treble clef, staff (melody), perform simple canons, rounds (harmony), improvise compositions using two part / three part form (forms), recognize characteristic sounds of flute, trumpet, trombone, and tuba (tone color), compose music with contrasts in dynamics, including piano and forte (dynamics), and perform dance movements which reflect the mood of the music (style).

Fourth grade students will recognize the syncopated rhythms aurally (rhythm), identify aurally the tonal center of a song (melody), perform three part canons and rounds (harmony), identify verse / refrain and theme and variations (form), recognize characteristic sounds of marching bands, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion family (tone color), and compose music with contrasts in dynamics, including piano, forte, crescendo and decrescendo.

Fifth grade students will identify (rhythm), identify the terms bass clef, chromatic, sharp, flat and natural (melody), perform simple descants (harmony), create and perform a rhythm rondo (form), recognize characteristic sounds of soprano, alto tenor, and bass voices (tone color), identify the symbols p-piano, f-forte, < crescendo, and > decrescendo (dynamics), and compose a sound piece which creates a mood by combining appropriate dynamics and tone color (style).