Elementary Music
The mission of the music program at Madison Elementary School is to instill in students a love of music, and to develop students into independent musicians who can read, create, listen to, analyze, describe, and appreciate music from a variety of styles and backgrounds. Students participate in a variety of activities, performance opportunities, and musical experiences during their time in elementary school.
Performance opportunities at Madison Elementary include the annual K-12 Christmas Program, a Spring Concert (for 1st-4th graders, featuring the third and fourth graders on recorder), a 5th-8th grade Spring Concert (chorus and band), MIMF (the opportunity to receive feedback from expert judges on their performance abilities), and of course, Kindergarten Graduation (kindergarteners only!).
Students in grades K-2
learn the foundations of making music: pitch matching and steady beat. These skills are mastered through the use of solfege (think "Doe, a deer...") and Takadimi (a system like solfege but for rhythms instead of pitches). Students begin learning to read and write music, perform music through singing and playing a variety of instruments, learn how to move their bodies to music through the form of dancing as well as other informal ways, and play musical games concentrating on developing musical skills and abilities. Students in these grades begin to develop a vocabulary of sound patterns (both tonal and rhythmic) that they can then use and identify when singing, playing, or making up their own music.
Students in 3rd and 4th grades
continue their musical development through singing, dancing, playing games and playing instruments. Their musical sound vocabulary is expanded, and their use of solfege and Takadimi becomes more advanced. This contributes to their ever-improving music reading and writing skills. Additionally, students in these grades study a common beginner's instrument, the recorder. Students progress through a series of tests proving proficiency on instrument and musical skills, earning "belts" based on the popular "Recorder Karate" program. The development of their musical skills is preparing them for band and choral experiences in the coming years.
Fifth and sixth grade students
continue their overall musicianship development, but also begin to focus those efforts towards specific musical interests (particularly in the form of singing and band instruments). Fifth and sixth graders have the option of enrolling in band, and also receive their first experiences with choir during their music class as well. The Madison Invitational Music Festival provides students in these grades the opportunity to sing and play for judges in solo and small group settings, as well as the large group setting. They are developing musicians who are proficient in solfege and Takadimi, and are developing the skills necessary to be successful in the high school music program.