Music

The general music classes meet every other day for half the school year. We look at many types of music including musicals, rounds, action songs, add-on songs, part-singing, as well as popular music. We use a music series called Sharing the Music by MacMillan Publishing, which incorporates music and art from many parts of the world. We use the songs to demonstrate the new musical concepts, so that they always have meaning for the student. Students also learn theory through music theory games. The games reinforce the meanings of musical notations such as note values, rests, dynamics, time signatures, key signatures, musical symbols, directions, and accidentals.

In the kindergarten and 1st grade classes, we use folk songs and action songs to learn musical concepts and expand the students’ personal repertoires. They will also learn about the lives of some classical composers.

The students in 2nd and 3rd grade will also use songs to understand concepts, but they will include listening examples. It is at this time that students will begin the process of reading printed music and understand what the symbols represent.

After learning about the history of popular American music through the years (including hymns, patriotic songs, barbershop, spirituals, marching bands, ragtime, Dixieland, jazz, blues, big bands, early rock ‘n’ roll, protest songs, R&B, and disco), students in 4th and 5th grade will often do a research project dealing with popular American music from a historical perspective. After compiling the information about their artist, they will present their findings to the class. Students will be exposed to the giants who paved the way for the music stars they see and hear today and learn what makes certain performances and performers stand out above the others. At this stage, students have the opportunity to take group lessons for band instruments — flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. We use the Standard of Excellence band method.