About

Music at St. Augustine School develops students’ musicianship skills to enable them to become competent musicians both inside and outside of the classroom. Following an Orff-Schulwerk-based approach, students are invited to explore music via listening, creating/playing/singing, and movement. Beginning with the youngest learners, students work on essential concepts such as beat, rhythm, and melody, learning both by rote and by reading in various notations.  

While continuing to build on these foundations, students in first and second grade learn about instrument families, developing an ear to identify musical instruments and themes. At this age, students also learn to distinguish music genres and world music styles while comparing and contrasting them to the music with which they are familiar.  

Students in third through fifth grade begin transitioning these musical skills to instruments as they learn ukulele using TAB and standard notation, as well as chord charts. As they become proficient with the ukulele, students begin to use the instrument to explore music composition and eventually compose their own songs. 

In middle school, students continue to deepen their understanding of musical concepts through the lens of different themes for each grade level. Western music history, ethnomusicology, and higher level musical concepts such as harmony, texture, timbre, and tonality are explored through Pop Music Through the Ages in sixth grade, Fun and Functional Music in seventh grade, and Music at the Movies in eighth grade. Each year explores several different genres and styles within the theme, with students completing composition and research-based projects that bridge the gap between music, visual arts, and history.

Grading policies:

Grades in Music are aligned with a standards based grading scale, as outlined in the Parent Student Handbook.  In elementary school (Grades 1-5) these grades are calculated off the daily score each student earns in class based on factors such as effort and participation.  In the upper grades, students recieve a more standard range of assignments that contribute to their overall grade.  These grades are broken into large grades (homework and unit projects), medium grades (mini projects and class work), and small grades (daily listening exercises.  More details regarding the middle school grading policy in music can be found under the 6th-8th Guidelines tab.