7-12 Vocal
Sibley-Ocheyedan 7-12 Vocal Music
Standards, Benchmarks & Curriculum
National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
*from the National Association for Music Education
MUSIC STANDARDS - High School Choral Music
I. Be able to demonstrate proper vocal technique.
A. Know and be able to use proper posture.
B. Know and be able to use proper breathing techniques.
C. Be able to produce proper intonation.
D. Know and be able to use proper diction.
E. Know and be able to use rehearsal etiquette.
II. Possess written and performing knowledge of basic music symbols.
A. Be able to sight read for and explain dynamics.
B. Be able to sight read for and explain duration, rhythm, and tempo (rests and notes).
C. Be able to sight read for and explain miscellaneous markings.
D. Be able to sight read for and explain key signature and tone centers.
E. Be able to sight read for and explain form.
III. Be Able to perform literature from various periods and cultures.
A. Be able to apply knowledge for expression of style and interpretation.
B. Be able to apply knowledge for expression of ornamentation.
C. Be able to apply knowledge for expression of rhythms.
IV. Be able to meet performance expectations.
A. Be able to perform for expressiveness.
B. Be able to perform for balance and blend.
C. Be able to perform for phrasing.
D. Be able to perform for technique.
E. Know and be able to use performance etiquette.
F. Be able to respond to conducting.
G. Be able to be independent in selection, rehearsal, and performance of music.
H. Be able to select music.
I. Be able and willing to use music for community service.
J. Be able to be a discriminating listener.
MUSIC BENCH MARKS - HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL MUSIC
I. Be able to sing alone, and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
A. sing music written in four or more parts.
B. sing music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being sung.
C. Sing with accurate pitch.
D. Demonstrate ensemble skills. (Blend, balance, articulation, enunciation, etc.)
E. Sing with or without accompaniment.
II. Be able to demonstrate proper vocal technique.
A. Be able to maintain proper breath support while singing.
B. Sing with proper intonation.
C. Know and use proper diction in various languages.
D. Use proper rehearsal technique.
III. Be able to demonstrate knowledge of reading and notating music.
A. Be able to sight read single parts.
B. Be able to explain and sight read dynamic markings in music
C. Recognize key signatures and tonal centers.
D. Explain tempo markings and expressive markings.
E. Interpret nonstandard, 20th century notation symbols.
IV. Be able to describe the relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
A. Explain how elements, artistic processes, and organizational principles are used in similar and distinctive ways in various arts.
B. Compare characteristics of two or more arts within a particular historical period or style and site examples.
5. Be able to recognize musical traits from various cultures and time periods.
A. Be able to apply knowledge for expression of style and interpretation.
B. Know the famous composers of the various time periods and be familiar with their most famous works.
C. Be able to apply knowledge for expression of ornamentation.
6. Be able to evaluate music and music performances.
A. Be able to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own performance.
B. Be able to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of others’ performances.
C. Know how to offer constructive suggestions for improvement.
7. Be able to compose and arrange simple songs.
A. Apply basic musical theory in order to arrange music.
B. Recognize form and it’s function in music.
PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY FOR ARTS EDUCATION
The arts must be an integral part of every student's education. The performing arts help students to develop self-esteem, self-discipline, self-motivation and cooperation skills necessary for success in life. The performing arts can be a powerful vehicle for motivation and teaching students. Because the performing arts allow students to express themselves in different ways, involvement in the visual arts, drama and music courses is often responsible for keeping them in school. The performing arts are for everyone, not just the talented. Just as society expects competence in mathematics of all students, society should expect competence in the performing arts.
The performing arts are rigorous academic disciplines which require active learning through creation, practice, rehearsal and performance of works of art. Studying the performing arts involves critical and creative thinking and problem-solving skills. The performing arts have intellectual and emotional components. They build a bridge between verbal and nonverbal, between the strictly logical and the emotional - the better to gain an understanding of the whole. When students create visual art, music, and theatrical works, they grow in their ability to comprehend the world and learn to communicate with others.
In performing arts classes students learn to appreciate the role of the arts in their daily lives and develop criteria for evaluating creative works. They study the history, experiences and contributions of cultures throughout the world. In addition, students learn about and prepare for career opportunities in the arts - as many as one in three students will find employment in an arts-related field. Increasingly, students learn to use technology in exploring, creating and presenting art.
Participating in society is more than earning a living; it is also living a life rich in meaning, engaging in self-expression and delighting in the creative efforts of others in our diverse world. The performing arts are valuable in and of themselves, providing expression for universal human values. Through the arts, the best of our civilization will be passed on to our future generations.
In performing arts classes, we want our students to:
* develop a picture of who they are - a whole person, a valuable person
* develop a sense of belonging, of connecting with society
* develop reliability, responsibility, patience and the willingness to try something new
* take pleasure in rehearsal and performance, and pride in their successes
* have high expectations for themselves and be active participants in their lives - not spectators
* learn to develop their skills through sustained effort
* develop an understanding of human nature and the ability to empathize
* become tolerant and open to others' ideas and ways of being so to
develop a love for all arts
GOALS FOR PERFORMING ARTS EDUCATION
The Performing Arts are those symbolic arts which consist of notes, figures, and words and which require the student to engage in interpretation and expression. They require a use of the creative imagination. Because the Performing Arts require a physical expression of some kind, they differ from the the Visual Arts of painting and sculpture in that the person is the medium as well as the means of expression. Students are entitled to sufficient opportunity and necessary materials and facilities to practice, rehearse, and perform.
Artistic Expression
Students develop necessary technique and appropriate vocabulary to communicate artistically.
Creative Expression
Students use experience and imagination in composition, improvisation and interpretation of the arts.
Historical and Cultural Context
Students develop a knowledge and appreciation of the richness and complexity of human history and the diversity of world cultures through the arts.
Aesthetic Valuing
Students analyze, interpret, and make critical judgments about the arts in accord with intuitive and learned aesthetic principles.
GRADES 7-12
The study of music contributes in important ways to the quality of every student's life. Every musical work is a product of its time and place, although some works transcend their original settings and continue to appeal to humans through their timeless and universal attraction. Through singing, playing instruments, and composing, students can express themselves creatively, while a knowledge of notation and performance traditions enables them to learn new music independently throughout their lives. Skills in analysis, evaluation, and synthesis are important because they enable students to recognize and pursue excellence in their musical experiences and to understand and enrich their environment. Because music is an integral part of human history, the ability to listen with understanding is essential if students are to gain a broad cultural and historical perspective. The adult life of every student is enriched by the skills, knowledge, and habits acquired in the study of music.
Terms identified by an asterisk (*) are explained in the glossary. Two levels of achievement, "proficient" and "advanced," have been established for grades 9-12. The proficient level is intended for students who have completed courses involving relevant skills and knowledge for one to two years beyond grade 8. The advanced level is intended for students who have completed courses involving relevant skills and knowledge for three to four years beyond grade 8. Students at the advanced level are expected to achieve the standards established for the proficient as well as the advanced levels. Every student is expected to achieve the proficient level in at least one arts discipline (that is, music, theatre, visual arts) by the time he or she graduates from high school.
The standards in this section describe the cumulative skills and knowledge expected of students exiting grade 12 who have enrolled in relevant music courses. They presume that the students have achieved the standards specified for grades 5-8; they assume that the students will demonstrate higher levels of the expected skills and knowledge, will deal with increasingly complex music, and will provide more sophisticated responses to works of music. Every course in music, including performance courses, should provide instruction in creating, performing, listening to, and analyzing music, in addition to focusing on its specific subject matter. Determining the curriculum and the specific instructional activities necessary to achieve the standards is the responsibility of states, local school districts, and individual teachers.
I. Content Standard: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. sing with *expression and *technical accuracy a large and varied repertoire of vocal literature with a *level of difficulty of 4, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory
b. sing music written in four parts, with and without accompaniment
c. demonstrate well-developed ensemble skills
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. sing with expression and technical accuracy a large and varied repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 5, on a scale of 1 to 6
e. sing music written in more than four parts
f. sing in small ensembles with one student on a part
II. Content Standard: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
Achievement Standard, Proficient:
Students
a. perform with expression and technical accuracy a large and varied repertoire of instrumental literature with a level of difficulty of 4, on a scale of 1 to 6
b. perform an appropriate part in an ensemble, demonstrating well-developed ensemble skills
c. perform in small ensembles with one student on a part
Achievement Standard, Advanced:
Students
d. perform with expression and technical accuracy a large and varied repertoire of instrumental literature with a level of difficulty of 5, on a scale of 1 to 6
III. Content Standard: Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. improvise stylistically appropriate harmonizing parts
b. improvise rhythmic and melodic variations on given pentatonic melodies and melodies in major and minor keys
c. improvise original melodies over given chord progressions, each in a consistent *style, meter, and tonality
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. improvise stylistically appropriate harmonizing parts in a variety of styles
e. improvise original melodies in a variety of styles, over given chord progressions, each in a consistent style, meter, and tonality
IV. Content Standard: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. compose music in several distinct styles, demonstrating creativity in using the *elements of music for expressive effect
b. arrange pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written in ways that preserve or enhance the expressive effect of the music
c. compose and arrange music for voices and various acoustic and electronic instruments, demonstrating knowledge of the ranges and traditional usage's of the sound sources
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. compose music, demonstrating imagination and technical skill in applying the principles of composition
V. Content Standard: Reading and notating music
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. demonstrate the ability to read an instrumental or vocal score of up to four staves by describing how the elements of music are used
Students who participate in a choral or instrumental ensemble or class
b. sight-read, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
c. demonstrate the ability to read a full instrumental or vocal score by describing how the elements of music are used and explaining all transpositions and clefs
d. interpret nonstandard notation symbols used by some 20th- century composers
Students who participate in a choral or instrumental ensemble or class
e. sight-read, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 4, on a scale of 1 to 6
VI. Content Standard: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. analyze aural examples of a varied repertoire of music, representing diverse *genres and cultures, by describing the uses of elements of music and expressive devices 1
b. demonstrate extensive knowledge of the technical vocabulary of music
c. identify and explain compositional devices and techniques used to provide unity and variety and tension and release in a musical work and give examples of other works that make similar uses of these devices and techniques
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. demonstrate the ability to perceive and remember music events by describing in detail significant events 2 occurring in a given aural example
e. compare ways in which musical materials are used in a given example relative to ways in which they are used in other works of the same genre or style
f. analyze and describe uses of the elements of music in a given work that make it unique, interesting, and expressive
VII. Content Standard: Evaluating music and music performances
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. evolve specific criteria for making informed, critical evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations and apply the criteria in their personal participation in music
b. evaluate a performance, composition, arrangement, or improvisation by comparing it to similar or exemplary models
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
c. evaluate a given musical work in terms of its aesthetic qualities and explain the musical means it uses to evoke feelings and emotions
VIII. Content Standard: Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. explain how elements, artistic processes 3, and organizational principles 4 are used in similar and distinctive ways in the various arts and cite examples
b. compare characteristics of two or more arts within a particular historical period or style and cite examples from various cultures 5
c. explain ways in which the principles and subject matter of various disciplines outside the arts are interrelated with those of music 6
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. compare the uses of characteristic elements, artistic processes, and organizational principles among the arts in different historical periods and different cultures
e. explain how the roles of creators, performers, and others involved in the production and presentation of the arts are similar to and different from one another in the various arts 7
IX. Content Standard: Understanding music in relation to history and culture
Achievement Standard, Proficient: Students
a. classify by genre or style and by historical period or culture unfamiliar but representative aural examples of music and explain the reasoning behind their classifications
b. identify sources of American music genres, 8 trace the evolution of those genres, and cite well-known musicians associated with them
c. identify various roles 9 that musicians perform, cite representative individuals who have functioned in each role, and describe their activities and achievements
Achievement Standard, Advanced: Students
d. identify and explain the stylistic features of a given musical work that serve to define its aesthetic tradition and its historical or cultural context
e. identify and describe music genres or styles that show the influence of two or more cultural traditions, identify the cultural source of each influence, and trace the historical conditions that produced the synthesis of influences
Notes:
1. E.g., rubato, dynamics
2. E.g., fugal entrances, chromatic modulations, developmental devices
3. E.g., imagination, craftsmanship
4. E.g., unity and variety, repetition and contrast
5. E.g., Baroque, sub-Saharan African, Korean
6. E.g., language arts: compare the ability of music and literature to convey images, feelings, and meanings; physics: describe the physical basis of tone production in string, wind, percussion, and electronic instruments and the human voice and of the transmission and perception of sound
7. E.g., creators: painters, composers, choreographers, playwrights; performers: instrumentalists, singers, dancers, actors; others: conductors, costumers, directors, lighting designers
8. E.g., swing, Broadway musical, blues
9. E.g., entertainer, teacher, transmitter of cultural tradition
GLOSSARY
Classroom instruments. Instruments typically used in the general music classroom, including, for example, recorder-type instruments, chorded zithers, mallet instruments, simple percussion instruments, fretted instruments, keyboard instruments, and electronic instruments.
Elements of music. Pitch, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, timbre, texture, *form.
Expression, expressive, expressively. With appropriate dynamics, phrasing, *style, and interpretation and appropriate variations in dynamics and tempo.
Form. The overall structural organization of a music composition (e.g., AB, ABA, call and response, rondo, theme and variations, sonata-allegro) and the interrelationships of music events within the overall structure.
Genre. A type or category of music (e.g., sonata, opera, oratorio, art song, gospel, suite, jazz, madrigal, march, work song, lullaby, barbershop, Dixieland).
Level of difficulty. For purposes of these standards, music is classified into six levels of difficulty:
* Level 1-Very easy. Easy keys, meters, and rhythms; limited ranges.
* Level 2-Easy. May include changes of tempo, key, and meter; modest ranges.
* Level 3-Moderately easy. Contains moderate technical demands, expanded ranges, and varied interpretive requirements.
* Level 4-Moderately difficult. Requires well-developed *technical skills, attention to phrasing and interpretation, and ability to perform various meters and rhythms in a variety of keys.
* Level 5-Difficult. Requires advanced technical and interpretive skills; contains key signatures with numerous sharps or flats, unusual meters, complex rhythms, subtle dynamic requirements.
* Level 6-Very difficult. Suitable for musically mature students of exceptional competence. (Adapted with permission from NYSSMA Manual, Edition XXIII, published by the New York State School Music Association, 1991.)
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). Standard specifications that enable electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, sampler, sequencer, and drum machine from any manufacturer to communicate with one another and with computers.
Style. The distinctive or characteristic manner in which the *elements of music are treated. In practice, the term may be applied to, for example, composers (the style of Copland), periods (Baroque style), media (keyboard style), nations (French style), *form or type of composition (fugal style, contrapuntal style), or *genre (operatic style, bluegrass style).
Technical accuracy, technical skills. The ability to perform with appropriate timbre, intonation, and diction and to play or sing the correct pitches and rhythms.
**Developed by using the curriculum standards of the National Music Association for Music (MENC) The Music Education Associations of Arizona & Kansas and the High School Music Department of the Des Moines Public Schools.