General Music

General Music:

All FLS students take music class. We are on a 3 day rotation and every class in every grade level gets 1 music class in each rotation. For example, your child may have music on day 1. Day 1 could fall on any day of the week, it just depends on where the rotation falls that week. Here is a summary of what we work on at each grade level.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten music students work on singing, playing percussion instruments, staying on the beat, and basic musical concepts such as loud/soft, fast/slow, high/low, instrument identification. Students learn how to appropriately handle percussion instruments. Class consists of performance, listening, and movement. We work in music games as often as possible. Students are exposed to a variety of musical styles and learn appropriate audience behaviors.

First Grade

First grade music students work on singing, playing percussion and melodic instruments, staying on the beat, and basic musical concepts such as loud/soft (dynamics), fast/slow (tempo), high/low (pitch), and instrument identification. Students also learn to read basic musical rhythms (quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests). We work in music games as often as possible. Class consists of performance, listening, and movement. Students are exposed to a variety of musical styles and learn appropriate audience behaviors.

Second Grade

Second grade music students work on singing, playing percussion and melodic instruments, staying on the beat, and basic musical concepts such as melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, form, style, dynamics, tempo. Students also learn to read basic musical rhythms (quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, rests). Students start to play keyboards (some may try songs). Class consists of performance, listening, and movement. Students are exposed to a variety of musical styles and learn appropriate audience behaviors.

Third Grade

Third grade music students work on singing, playing percussion and melodic instruments, staying on the beat, and basic musical concepts such as melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, form, style, dynamics, tempo. Students also learn to read basic musical rhythms and notation. Students will learn to play simple keyboard songs using traditional and non-traditional notation. Students will have the opportunity to create original music. Students are exposed to music technology and are encouraged to explore resources available to them. Class consists of performance, listening, and movement. Students are exposed to a variety of musical styles and learn appropriate audience behaviors.

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade music students work on singing, playing percussion and melodic instruments, staying on the beat, and basic musical concepts such as melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, form, style, dynamics, tempo. Students also learn to read basic musical rhythms and notation. Students will learn to play songs in a small group using a variety of instruments. Students will have the opportunity to create original music. Students are exposed to music technology and are encouraged to explore resources available to them. Class consists of performance, listening, and movement. Students are exposed to a variety of musical styles and learn appropriate audience behaviors.

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade music students will learn about the elements of music (melodic and rhythmic notation, dynamics, time signatures, timbre, form, harmony, style, tempo). They will learn to effectively communicate about music and musicians using appropriate musical terms. They will learn about the music of different cultures. Students continue to work on learning appropriate audience behaviors for several styles of music. Class consists of a mixture of activities devoted to the project or musical elements of focus for that day. Activities are varied and include singing, keyboard/percussion instrument work, recording, games, and listening.

5th Grade Projects:

Composition - Student teams compose music using the notes BAG and simple rhythms. Songs are recorded using ProTools recording software. Finished products are transferred to CD and given out as a Christmas gift in a bag decorated by the students. The students write a short letter to their gift recipient explaining how they made the song and why they chose this person to receive the gift.

Cultural music - We explore music from other countries. We discuss instruments used, where the country is located, how the music compares to the same style in our own country, and our preferences for the music of each country. Students also look/listen to music from the 1950's, 60's, 70's, and 80's to see how older music has shaped the music of today. These assignments are completed using Google Classroom. Students may work at their own pace and have the opportunity to work from home. Parents may access their child's work, see what they have completed, see what is missing, and email the teacher with questions.

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade music students will learn about the elements of music (melodic and rhythmic notation, dynamics, time signatures, timbre, form, harmony, style, tempo). They will learn to effectively communicate about music and musicians using appropriate musical terms. They will learn about the music of different cultures. Students continue to work on learning appropriate audience behaviors for several styles of music. Class consists of a mixture of activities devoted to the project or musical elements of focus for that day. Activities are varied and include singing, instrument playing, keyboard/percussion instrument work, recording, games, and music listening. Students are engaged in more projects at the 6th grade level.

6th Grade Projects:

Keyboard Performance - Students chose a keyboard song written in a lead sheet format (they learn simple chord changes), practice it for a few classes, and perform it for the class.

Enhanced Voice Mail Message - Student groups write the script for a voice mail message. The goal is to record a message with sound effects and student performed background music. Students record themselves reading their script- students are encouraged to use voice acting. Students record sound effects and background music. All is recorded into the computer using ProTools recording software.

Cultural music - Students write their nationality in a smart board document. During this unit, we listen to music from several of the countries noted. For each country we listen to traditional, rock, and rap music. We discuss instruments used, where the country is located, how the music compares to the same style in our own country, and our preferences for the music of each country. These assignments are completed using Google Classroom. Students may work at their own pace and have the opportunity to work from home. Parents may access their child's work, see what they have completed, see what is missing, and email the teacher with questions.