Skip To Main Content

Music Curriculum

Music is an integral part of humankind. No known culture is without some aspect of artistic experience. Music is an important key to understanding our own cultural history and provides an understanding of other cultures. It is an indispensable tool to one who seeks an understanding of the past, the present, and the future. Music can provide the universal communication to overcome the barriers of language, politics, and geography.

Music Education cultivates the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication. There is ample evidence that the arts help students develop the attitudes, characteristics, and intellectual skills required to participate effectively in today’s society and economy. Music Education teaches self-discipline, reinforces self-esteem, and fosters the thinking skills creativity so valued in the workplace.

From preschool through grade six, Music Education develops mental discipline through a spiraling sequence of learning experiences. It also nurtures an appreciation of music’s aesthetic qualities. At every level, the skills acquired become the means for the expression of music. 

Music Curricular Goals

Pre-K/ Kindergarten

First Grade

PERFORMING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Differentiate between high and low pitches

o   Demonstrate their understanding of melody and contour through dance and visual activities

o   Accurately sing melodies in major and minor tonalities

o   Accurately perform tonal patterns in major and minor tonalities at the Verbal Association level

PERFORMING RHTYHMS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Keep the steady beat through motion or performance of the macro- or micro-beat.

o   Differentiate between different tempos while performing on classroom instruments

o   Accurately perform rhythms in duple and triple meter, up to and including micro-beat patterns

o   Perform rhythmic patterns at the Verbal Association level (in Music Learning Theory)

LISTENING SKILLS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Differentiate between major and minor tonalities in unknown songs

o   Identify resting tones using solfeggio and Curwen hand signs

o   Describe and explain their aesthetic responses to musical compositions

o   MUSICALITY

o   Student musicians will be able to:

o   Distinguish between their singing voice and speaking voice

o   Use proper breathing and posture for singing

o   Demonstrate a work’s musicality through movement and performance.

INDEPENDENTLY PERFORMING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Accurately sing melodies in major and minor tonalities and demonstrate their contour

o   Perform melodies independently.

o   Accurately perform tonal patterns in major and minor tonalities at Partial Synthesis level

INDEPENDENTLY PERFORMING RHYTHMS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Accurately perform rhythms in duple and triple meter

o   Accurately perform elongation and syncopation patterns

o   Perform rhythms and rhythmic accompaniments independently

o   Perform in rounds and canons

o   Differentiate between rhythms in duple and triple meter

o   Accurately perform rhythms at Verbal Association and Partial Synthesis level

LISTENING SKILLS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Differentiate between major and minor tonalities in unknown songs

o   Identify the resting tones in unknown songs using solfeggio and Curwen hand signs

o   Show their aesthetic responses to musical works through movement and visual responses

MUSICALITY

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Distinguish between their singing voice and speaking voice

o   Use proper breathing and posture for singing

o   Demonstrate a work’s musicality through movement and performance

Second Grade

Third Grade

IDENTIFYING & PERFORMING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

 o   Identify and perform given melodic patterns in major and minor tonalities, using solfeggio and Curwin hand signs.   o   Accurately perform tonal patterns at Partial Synthesis and Symbolic Association level.

IDENTIFYING & PERFORMING RHYTHMS

Student musicians will be able to:

  o   Identify and perform given rhythms in written music notation, in both duple and triple meters   o   Accurately perform rhythms independently and with accompaniment   o   Accurately perform rhythmic patterns at Partial Synthesis and Symbolic Association level.

LISTENING & CRITIQUE SKILLS

Student musicians will be able to:

  o   Identify major and minor songs, and their resting tones   o   Discern chord functions in a musical work   o   Show aesthetic responses to musical works through movement, visual, or written responses.   o   Give a review of a work of music

MUSICAL HISTORY & CONTENT

Students will be able to:

o   Describe and understand the development of major musical genres   o   Differentiate between different styles and genres of music

READING & PERFORMING MELODIES

Students will be able to:

   o   Perform familiar and unfamiliar melodies from          written notation, in major and minor tonalities    o   Identify key signatures and major and minor         tonalities   READING & PERFORMING RHYTHMS

Students will be able to:

o   Perform familiar and unfamiliar musical works from written notation, in duple and triple meters o   Read and perform rhythms in different time signatures

LISTENING & CRITIQUE SKILLS

Student musicians will be able to:

  o   Use their listening and critique skills in guided and independent self-reflection of performances   o   Show their aesthetic and musical responses in a variety of ways and settings   o   Review and compare different musical works

MUSICAL HISTORY & CONTENT

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Understand the historical and cultural contexts of a musical work   o   Define and describe the periods of different genres in music   o   Compare and contrast musical genres

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

READING & WRITING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

o  Identify key signatures of major and minor tonalities

o   Perform familiar and unfamiliar melodies from written notation, in major, minor, and modal tonalities.

READING & WRITING RHYTHMS
Student musicians will be able to:

o   Perform familiar and unfamiliar rhythms from written notation in duple, triple, and unusual meters.

LISTENING & CRITIQUE SKILLS
Student musicians will be able to:

o   Critically analyze and review symphonic works


MUSICAL HISTORY & CONTENT

Student musicians will be able to:

o  Define the different eras/genres of classical and popular music through the 20th century

CREATING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Compose and sing melodies in major, minor, and modal tonalities.

o   Work with and perform melodies at the Generalization level


CREATING RHYTHMS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Compose and sing melodies in major, minor, and modal tonalities.

LISTENING & CRITIQUE SKILLS
Student musicians will be able to:

o   Critically analyze and review larger symphonic works like symphonies and operas

MUSICAL HISTORY & CONTENT

Student musicians will be able to:

o  Define and describe the different eras/genres of classical and popular music through the 20th century

Sixth Grade

CREATING & IMPROVISING MELODIES

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Compose and sing melodies in major, minor, and modal tonalities.

o   Improvise melodies in major, minor, and modal tonalities

o   Work with and perform melodies at the Generalization level

CREATING & IMPROVISING RHYTHMS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Compose and perform rhythms in duple, triple, and unusual meters, beyond the micro-beat level

o   Improvise rhythms in duple, triple, and unusual meters

 LISTENING & CRITIQUE SKILLS

Student musicians will be able to:

o   Critically analyze and review larger symphonic works like symphonies and operas

MUSICAL HISTORY & CONTENT

Student musicians will be able to:

o  Define and describe the development of different eras of classical and popular music through the 20th century