Students in 4th grade music class will learn to play the recorder! Each student will be provided a soprano recorder (usually around February) to learn the technique and skills required for beginning band students. The recorder helps to build hand-eye coordination, strengthens music reading skills, strengthens fine motor skills, improves connections between the right and left side of the brain, and builds muscles in the mouth to help students who want to join band in 5th grade.

In order to be successful on the recorder, students will need to be able to read notated music, including both rhythms and pitches on the music staff. They will need to learn the fingerings required to create the appropriate sound and will need to build their listening skills to assess their own progress.