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MUSIC CURRICULUM

 

• Students will understand that music is a universal language that expresses human experiences and values.

 

• Students will understand that creating and performing music are forms of self-expression.

 

• Students will understand that everyone has the opportunity and ability to experience music in a unique and personal way.

 

• Students will understand that the creation of new music and the performance of new and existing music are essential.

 

• Students will understand that music has a fundamental connection with history and culture.

 

• Students will understand that cooperation and collaboration shape all musical experiences.

 

• Students will understand that that individual life experiences influence the appreciation and enjoyment of music.

 

• Students will understand that music can be analyzed and evaluated.

 

 

 

 

• How do I use the tools I have to produce the sound I want?

 

• How do we work together to produce a quality performance?

 

• When do I stay within the established rules, guidelines and conventions of composition?

 

• What inspires me? What is the best way to show this idea musically?

 

• What does quality music look and/or sound like?

 

• How do I navigate this piece of music?

 

• Why do people have different interpretations of the same piece?

 

• How does knowing the context of the piece affect how I listen to it?

 

• How do I know if my performance was effective?

 

• What am I learning about myself as a musician?

 

• What makes a piece of music, performance, composer, or musician enduring?

 

• What does it take to be successful as a musician or performer?

 

Sequence of Key Concepts

The following charts show how students learn the standards of music instruction in each grade level.  Please click on the link to see the grade-by-grade scope of their learning:

Music Grades K-5

Music Grades 6-8

Choral Music Program Grades 6-12

Band Program Grades 5-12

 

 

Proficiency Statements ("I Can...") for Music

As students complete each year in their music education, they learn new content and skills.  We want our students to be able to state what they learn.  These are our Proficiency Statements:

KINDERGARTEN

• I can be a good listener.
• I can follow directions.
• I can sing in unison.
• I can interpret music through appropriate movement.
• I can identify some instruments visually and by ear.
• I can rhyme simple words.
• I can echo simple rhythm patterns.
• I can keep a steady beat using simple rhythm instruments.

GRADE 1

• I can sing in unison expressively.
• I can keep a steady beat using more complex rhythm instruments.
• I can visually express pitch direction in music.
• I can perform simple rhythms using the syllables “ta, tee-tee, tri-ple-tee and rest.”
• I can describe various music through appropriate movement and art.
• I can critically evaluate musical performances.
• I can show that music tells a story through writing and art.
• I can identify simple melodic and rhythmic patterns.

GRADE 2

• I can sing in two parts using partner songs and rounds.
• I can play steady beats and simple rhythm patterns using more complex rhythm instruments.
• I can visually express direction, dynamics and tempo through appropriate and creative movement.
• I can read a simple, unison music score.
• I can write basic musical terms and symbols.
• I can identify additional instruments, both visually and by ear.
• I can identify four different styles of jazz music.
• I can complete measures in 4/4 time.

GRADE 3

• I can sing in two independent parts, accompanied.
• I can play simple melodic instruments.
• I can play more complex rhythm patterns.
• I can play instruments in multiple parts.
• I can choose appropriate instruments based on tone color, timbre, etc.
• I can create appropriate and simple accompaniments using rhythm instruments.
• I can read a 2-part musical score.
• I can follow the directions of more complex musical terms and symbols.
• I can identify the core instruments of the orchestra visually and by ear and place them in the correct family.
• I can write additional lyrics to familiar songs.
• I can complete measures in 2/4 and ¾  time.

GRADE 4

• I can play more complex rhythm patterns with both rhythmic and melodic instruments. 
• I can create appropriate and more complex accompaniments using rhythm instruments.
• I can read a 3-part music score.
• I can understand more complex musical terms and symbols.
• I can identify the characteristics of Baroque and Classical music and instruments.
• I can identify two composers of the Baroque period,
• I can identify two composers of the Classical period.
• I can identify the historic timelines of the Baroque and Classical periods.
• I can sing and play music in 2/2, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.

GRADE 5

• I can play more complex rhythm patterns with both rhythmic and melodic instruments. 
• I can create appropriate and more complex accompaniments using rhythm instruments.
• I can read a 4-part music score.
• I can understand more complex musical terms and symbols.
• I can identify the characteristics of Romantic and Modern music and instruments.
• I can identify four composers of the Romantic period,
• I can identify three composers of the Modern period.
• I can identify the historic timelines of the Romantic and Modern periods.
• I can sing and play music in 2/2, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 time signatures.
• I can sing and play music that changes meters.

Grade Six

• I can read whole, half, dotted half, quarter and eight notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.
• I can find and show the steady beat.
• I can compose and play 2 and 3 part rhythms using everyday materials.
• I can read the notes on the treble clef staff.
• I can compose and play a short song using the C Pentatonic scale.
• I can use musical terms to describe music.
• I can play simple rhythms and melodies on classroom instruments.
• I can demonstrate active listening skills.
• I can identify instruments by family and classification.
• I can compose and perform music for home-made instruments.
• I can read basic musical symbols and notation like parts of a language.
• I can relate music to mathematical ideas (counting, numeracy, fractions, multiples)
• I can reflect on different topics and styles of music by writing in my daily reflective log.

Grade Seven

• I can explain how music is able to make a story or movie more interesting.
• I can find, follow, and show the steady beat or pulse in a drumming circle.
• I can show the four major modes of play on a djembe or drum.
• I can create a complementary rhythm in the drumming circle.
• I can demonstrate how to correctly hold use instruments of the drumming circle.
• I can show how to play using the bass, tone, and slap techniques on a world drum.
• I can define timbre and demonstrate how different instruments create unique sounds.
• I can read, compose, and play using different types of drumming notation.
• I can improvise simple melodies, harmonies, and rhythms.
• I can compose and play short melodies or sound effects that fit with my story.
• I can connect vocabulary from music with art (pattern, color, tone).

Grade Eight

• I can explain what musical styles helped form rock’n’roll.
• I can identify the major instruments used in a jazz band or combo.
• I can describe some of the well- known musicians in the American genres of jazz, blues, early rock’n’roll, R&B, zydeco, country western, and hip-hop.
• I can write my own blues lyrics that follow the correct rhyme scheme.
• I can explain copyright and intellectual property rights.
• I can tell you how downloading music illegally online can affect the artists.
• I can arrange and publish my own ringtones online using digital looping software.
• I can manage my own “credit system” for songs I’ve created.
• I can name the different parts of an acoustic guitar.
• I can tell you the pitch for each string on a guitar and play basic chords.
• I can accompany a song on the guitar using three or less chords.

 

Middle School Chorus

• I can sing in unison, two, or three part harmonies.
• I can match pitch with others in my section.
• I can use proper diction to communicate the words of a song.
• I can sing a scale using the correct solfege syllables and hand signs.
• I can sing our concert selections from memory.
• I can sing with expression songs from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.
• I can identify common notation symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, and expression.
• I can tell you the difference between a step, skip, and jump between two notes.
• I can compose a simple warm-up exercise using half notes and basic solfege syllables.
• I can sing a Level One Sight-Singing example within three attempts.
• I can reflect on our concert performances using music vocabulary.
• I can tell you the meaning and context for every piece we perform.
• I can identify specific trouble spots within our chorus music.
• I can describe vocal techniques that help with difficult sections of a song.

 

High School Choir

• I can sing in unison, two, three, and four part harmonies.
• I can match pitch with others in my section and the choir.
• I can use proper diction and phrasing to communicate the words of a song.
• I can sing major and minor scales using the correct solfege syllables and hand signs.
• I can sing our concert selections from memory with proper posture and expression.
• I can sing with expression songs from a variety of cultures and languages.
• I can identify and define common notation symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, tempo, and expression.
• I can demonstrate my understanding of basic music theory, including pitch, rhythm, clef, dynamics, tempo, intervals, scales, key signatures, time signatures, and form.
• I can compose a simple two part warm-up exercise using half, quarter, and eighth notes as well as the basic solfege syllables.
• I can sing a Level Two Sight-Singing example within three attempts.
• I can reflect on our concert performances using music vocabulary and offer constructive criticism for areas in need of improvement.
• I can tell you the meaning and context for every piece we perform.
• I can identify specific trouble spots for myself and others within our chorus music.
• I can describe vocal techniques that help with difficult sections of a song.

Grades 5-12 Band

 

• I can demonstrate proper embouchure for my instrument.
• I can demonstrate the proper attack and release of tone on my instrument.
• I can identify the characteristic sound of each instrument and their families.
• I can demonstrate tone, appropriate to my experience level (winds only) utilizing proper breath support.
• I can demonstrate a controlled and consistent tone throughout my playing range.
• I can identify appropriate rhythms at an appropriate grade level on a scale of 1 – 6.
• I can count and perform appropriate rhythms at an appropriate grade level on a scale of 1 – 6.
• I can perform the rhythms appropriate to my level.
• I can maintain a steady beat as an individual and with an ensemble.
• I can identify and perform music at a variety of tempos.
• I can identify and apply multiple time signatures and meters.
• I can demonstrate the correct fingerings and appropriate alternate fingerings for all notes in my playing range.
• I can accurately perform melodies without an accompaniment as an individual and in an ensemble.
• I can identify and perform the correct fingerings for accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals).
• I can identify the order of sharps and flats in the key signature.
• I can identify and apply key signatures appropriate for my level on a scale of 1 – 6.
• I can identify sharp, flat, and/or in tune pitch.
• I can adjust my instrument, breath support and/or embouchure to correct tuning and match pitch.
• I can use an electronic tuner to tune my instrument.
• (Percussion) I can accurately tune timpani to any given pitch.
• I can perform any scales appropriate to my level.
• I can identify and demonstrate unison and harmony through performance.
• I can adjust my performance volume to maintain a balance and blend of sound between melody and harmony.
• I can demonstrate dynamic contrast.
• I can identify, use, and understand various tempo markings such as Presto, Allegro, Moderato, Maestoso, Andante and Largo.
• I can identify and perform dynamic markings such as pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, sfz, fp, cresc., decresc.
• I can demonstrate proper hand position and posture for my instrument.
• (Percussion) I can demonstrate correct hand and stick position.
• I can transpose concert pitch to my instrument.
• (Percussion) I can identify and perform the rudiments for my level.
• I can define the categories and apply the skills of performance evaluation including Tone, Intonation, Rhythm and Expression.
• I can perform music at an appropriate grade level on a scale of 1 – 6.
• I can sight-read music at an appropriate grade level on a scale of 1 - 6.
• I can demonstrate correct styles of attack and release such as legato, tenuto, staccato.
• I can perform music from various musical periods and cultures.
• I can identify and respond to standard conducting gestures.
• I can demonstrate appropriate performance behavior and attire.
• I can demonstrate audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed.

Music Vocabulary

Musicians have their own language and our students learn this as early as Kindergarten!  Please click the link below for definitions of commonly used vocabulary.