Throughout the year, each grade will different topics. This set up ensures that year by year, students will not only be building upon the skills they learned in the previous year, but will be increasing their all around knowledge in many different aspects of music!
The following are just some of the basic concepts each grade will cover this year:
Kindergarten- Singing, pitch exploration, finding the voice, movement exploration, beat motion activities, learning about instruments (families, sounds, timbre), using rhythm instruments.
First Grade - Singing, pitch exploration, finding the voice, movement exploration, beat motion activities, learning about instruments (families, sounds, timbre), using rhythm instruments. Building upon everything they learned the previous year. Learning the beginning of reading music on the treble clef.
Second Grade - Singing (alone and with others), creating simple songs, reading/writing notes on the staff, note/rhythm value, learning about the instruments (families, sound, timbre, indentification), playing simple songs.
Third Grade - Singing (alone and with others), creating simple songs, reading/writing notes on the staff, note/rhythm value, learning about the instruments (families, sound, timbre, indentification), playing simple song. Learning to read/sing in solfege syllables, learning about sound waves and how we make sound, seasonal songs in singing/playing.
Fourth Grade - Singing, playing, theory basics, reading/writing music (treble and bass claves), Learning to read/sing in solfege syllables, different musical formats (opera, musical theater, ballet) part-singing, singing in rounds, formal and informal assessments.
Fifth Grade - Learning to read/sing in solfege syllables, Singing, playing, theory basics, reading/writing music (treble and bass claves), learning about American music through the decades, part-singing, singing in rounds, piano identification, formal and informal assessments.
Sixth Grade - Learning to read/sing in solfege syllables, Singing, playing, more in depth music theory reading/writing music (treble and bass claves), learning about world music from different countries, part-singing, singing in rounds, piano identification, formal and informal assessments.
Seventh Grade - Singing, playing, written and aural theory, reading/writing music (treble and bass claves), learning about Classical music throughout history, music history, part-singing, singing in rounds, aural training, piano identification, ukulele unit, musical vocabulary, different projects/research on related material, learning the ukuleles for chords and song writing, formal and informal assessments.
Eighth Grade - Singing, playing, written and aural theory, reading/writing music (treble and bass claves), learning about music in the movies/television, music history, part-singing, singing in rounds, aural training, piano identification, songs on the keyboard, musical vocabulary, different projects/research on related material, creating music, different scales/sharps and flats, formal, informal and performance assessments.
This is just a brief overview of some things covered in music class!