MUSIC

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 1

By the end of grade 1, students will be able to:

Singing

1. Follow hand signals or numbers to sing do-re-mi-sol-la

(1-2-3-5-6, or C-D-E-G-A in C Major).

2. Sing echo songs the class echoing the teacher first, then

dividing the class into echoing halves. As the year progresses,

strong student singers can lead the first part of an echo song.

3. Sing a variety of good-quality European, American, and

non-Western folk songs, ethnic music, and hymns in simple

rhythms,

now covering the range of a ninth (middle C up to the D an octave

higher.)

4. Explore high voice, using good breathing, posture, and

physical freedom, and sing loud and soft while still keeping a

light tone.

Playing (Instruments)

5. Play Orff instruments, using quarter-note, half-note, and

whole-note rhythmic patterns.

6. Keep a steady pulse while playing the basic beat.

7. Experiment with scales on Orff instruments and keyboard.

8. Echo clap rhythms that use eighth notes or quarter rests.

Moving

9. Do finger plays led by the teacher.

10. March, gallop, and skip in time to the beat of music.

11. Pat-clap to 2/4 meter music. Pat-clap-clap to 3/4 meter.12.

Do simple actions to interpret the words of each phrase of a

song.

12. Do simple actions to interpret the words of each phrase of a

song.

13. Raise hands, lower hands for loud and soft. Move arms faster

or slower to coordinate with the music tempo.

Listening

14. Start and stop walking or marching at the beginning and ends

of phrases of music heard and sung.

15. Hear and identify separate phrases (lines) in poetry, hymns,

and folk songs.

Improvising

16. Make up a melody for phrases of a short memorized poem.

17. Scribble, draw, paint, or color question/answer pictures.

18. Experiment with question/answer melodies, using keyboard and

Orff-type instruments.

Reading

19. Clap or speak stick notation (using note stems only, no note

heads) of quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests.

20. See and sing repeated pitches and rhythms on a one- or

two-line music staff.

21. Know the relationship between the length of quarter notes,

half notes (which equal two quarter notes), and whole notes

(which equal four quarter notes or two half notes). Know the

quarter rest sign and its meaning.

Composing

22. Choose instruments to play simple rhythmic patterns to

accompany a story or poetry reading. Also make choices of level

of loudness or softness, rate of speed (tempo), lowness or

highness of pitch to express the words.

23. Write rhyming words to complete phrases.

Comparing

24. In listening or performing music, compare similarities and

differences of music from Western and non-Western cultures (e.g.,

similarities all use rhythm, voices, instruments, melody;

differences languages used, types of instruments, moods

expressed).

25. In listening to music or performing music, compare

differences between music for voices and music for instruments.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 2

By the end of grade 2, students will be able to:

Singing

1. Sing a variety of good-quality songs in tune from Western and

non-Western traditions (folk songs, hymns, ethnic music, sections

of the liturgy). Vocal range can now go from middle C up to E a

tenth higher.

2. Sing songs of various speeds while still keeping the beat

steady.

3. Sing complete phrases with one breath (based on continued good

posture, easy breathing, and vocal freedom without physical

tension).

4. Sing a major scale on sol-fa syllables

(do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do) or scale step numbers

(1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8).

5. Perform unison songs with and without instrumental

accompaniment.

6. Sing ostinatos (short repeated note patterns) to harmonize a

song (e.g., half notes on middle C and the G above as a repeated

background to "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat").

7. Begin singing rounds, echo songs, and partner songs.

8. Begin singing two-part harmony by following sol-fa hand

signals (Kodaly) or scale step numbers from the teacher.

Playing (Instruments)

9. Play two-handed parts on Orff-type instruments, being able to

cross one hand over the other to play a repeated pattern (only

<*dv_0*>the pitches to be played are inserted onto the instrument).

10. Echo clap and play quarter notes, half notes, dotted half

notes, whole notes, and eighth notes in rhythmic patterns on Orff

and rhythm instruments.

Moving

11. Continue to do actions to music, but more rhythmically than

in first grade.

12. Pat-clap 2/4 meter, Pat-clap-clap 3/4 meter,

Pat-clap-Pat-snap 4/4 meter.

13. Step to 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meters.

14. Participate in organized circle dances as well as free

movement to music.

Listening

15. Hear music in major and minor keys.

16. Hear woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments

alone and in combination, then discuss and identify instruments.

17. Hear short pieces of quality art music from Western and

non-Western traditions.

Improvising

<*dv_2*>18. Make up short rhythmic patterns for classmates to echo clap.

19. Improvise accompaniments for pentatonic songs (those with

only five notes) using Orff-type instruments (removing all notes

that are not in the pentatonic song being sung) or using just the

black notes on a keyboard.

Reading

20. Identify melodic direction (up or down in pitch) and relate

it to notes moving up and down on a staff.

21. Identify and know the relationships between eighth notes,

quarter notes, quarter rests, half notes, half rests, dotted half

notes, whole notes, and whole rests. (Add note heads to stick

notation this year!)

22. Begin to sing from a single melodic line with one line of

words beneath it.

Composing

23. Experiment with writing ostinato rhythmic, melodic, and/or

word patterns.

Comparing

24. Note AB and ABA patterns in music, relating those patterns to

art works and nature.

25. Distinguish between melody and harmony, beat, and rhythm.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 3

By the end of grade 3, students will be able to

Singing

1. Sing music from various cultures and genres, using music

books, sheet music, and hymnals. Songs may cover the range of an

octave and a fourth, from middle C to F.

2. Sing skips and steps to sol-fa hand signals (Kodaly) or scale

step numbers.

3. Sing rounds, partner songs, and simple descants.

4. Sing with increasingly clear tone, using loudness and

softness, word stress, and speed to be expressive, and always

using good posture and breathing techniques.

Playing (Instruments)

5. Strum Autoharp chords (teacher and child, then child and

child), taking turns pressing chord buttons and strumming

strings.

6. Play syncopated and dotted rhythms learned by rote on Orff and

rhythm instruments.

7. Play rhythm instruments in ensemble, using more than one

rhythmic pattern.

Moving

8. Clap, sway, and step to music expressively.

9. Echo clap, snap, pat, etc., syncopated, dotted and triplet

rhythms.

10. Mirror rhythmic body motions led by the teacher or other

students.

Listening

11. Hear solo music by different instruments and

voices.

12. Listen to and identify the meter of music. Duple is

strong-weak; triple is strong-weak-weak; quadruple is

strongest-weak-strong-weak.

Improvising

13. Lead echo claps, echo actions.

14. Improvise ostinato patterns (melodic or rhythmic, vocal or

instrumental) to accompany a class song.

15. Improvise melodic and/or rhythmic "answers" to musical

"questions" posed by the teacher.

Reading

16. Recognize and understand 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.

17. Recognize and understand p (piano soft) and f (forte loud)

dynamic markings.

18. Recognize and understand the treble clef sign, the musical

staff, and treble clef note names.

19. Recognize and understand dotted quarter notes, syncopated

patterns, and how they relate to rhythmic note relationships

previously learned.

20. Recognize and understand allegro and largo tempo signs.

Composing

21. Develop a drama based on the words of a piece of narrative

vocal music.

22. Write new lyrics to a familiar tune, matching word stress to

melodic contour, phrase length, and cadences.

23. Write melodic phrases for lines of poetry (melodic contour to

match word inflection and rhythm) to match word stress.

Comparing

24. Hear and identify differences in woodwind, brass, string,

percussion instruments, and voices.

25. Distinguish between weak, incomplete phrase endings (half

cadences) and strong, conclusive phrase endings (authentic

cadences).

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 4

By the end of grade 4, students will be able to

Singing

1. Continue to sing with increasingly clear tone and wider range

(an octave and fifth above, middle C up to G), always using good

posture and breathing techniques.

2. Sing from hymnals and sheet music that have printed

accompaniments as well as melody lines.

3. Sing short songs in other languages, especially Spanish.

4. Continue on a more complex level with rounds, partner songs,

canons, ostinati, and descants.

5. Continue singing sol-fa syllables or scale step numbers to

hand signals, but also apply syllables and numbers to the music

staff, beginning with familiar tunes and then to unfamiliar ones.

6. Sing sol-fa syllables or numbers in two-part harmony,

following teacher hand signals.

Playing (Instruments)

7. Begin to play pitches and simple songs on soprano recorders in

the keys of C, F, and G.

8. Become familiar with and play instruments from other

countries.

9. Continue to play Orff instruments and rhythm instruments with

increasingly complex rhythms.

10. Play two-chord songs on an Autoharp without assistance.

<*dv_4*>11. Begin to use student keyboard players for class songs.

Moving

12. Conduct patterns of 1, 2, and 3.

13. Participate in folk dances.

14. Listen for melodic themes in music (follow pictorial charts

of music).

15. Listen to Latin American music.

16. Hear major and minor tonality differences in music, both in

the melody and in chords.

Improvising

17. Use hand signals to lead the class in singing sol-fa or

numbers.

18. Make up sung harmony to a familiar song, in thirds or

ostinato.

19. Experiment at inventing pentatonic melodies (five notes only)

using the black notes on a keyboard or using Orff instruments

with all but the pentatonic scale notes removed.

Reading

20. Read all whole, half, dotted-half, quarter, eighth notes, and

rests in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.

21. Know and use all treble clef note names, ledger lines, flat

and sharp symbols.

22. Know and use terms for very loud (ff fortissimo), very soft

(pp pianissimo), medium slow (Andante), and very fast (Presto).

Composing

23. With guidance and narrowed parameters, create short songs and

instrumental pieces using a variety of sound sources specified by

the teacher.

Comparing

24. Understand how various musical forms give structure to music

(refrains AB, rondo ABACA, theme with variations) and compare

these forms to artworks and nature.

25. Experience the music and learn about the lives of several

major composers (Bach, Beethoven, Stravinsky), comparing how

their music is similar and dissimilar.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 5

By the end of grade 5, students will be able to

Singing

1. Sing increasingly advanced music (wider range, more complex

rhythms and melodies) from various cultures, styles, and genres

from hymnals, sheet music, and memory in unison and two-part

harmony.

2. Sing African and Middle Eastern songs.

3. Sing in a group with good breathing, posture, expression,

diction, and intonation.

4. Begin sight singing simple melodies on so-fa syllables or

scale step numbers (with light keyboard support to give

underlying harmony and later without keyboard).

Playing (Instruments)

5. Begin instruction on band/orchestra instruments, if choosing

to join a band or orchestra.

6. Continue playing recorders (adding songs in B-flat major and D

major) and Orff/rhythm instruments (with more complex rhythms).

7. Explore African and Middle Eastern instruments.

8. Play three chord songs alone on an Autoharp, using a written

chart of chords for a song.

Moving

9. Choreograph a piece of music, using rhythmic motions to match

the dynamics, speed, rhythm, melodic contour and phrasing, and

character of the music.

10. Participate in square dancing (in conjunction with

physical-education classes).

11. Conduct 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 patterns.

Listening

12. Listen to program music (instrumental music that tells a

story, paints a scene, or follows a text).

13. Listen to absolute music (instrumental music that has no

specific narrative or pictorial associations).

14. Listen to African and Middle Eastern music.

Improvising

15. Improvise simple rhythmic variations and simple melodic

embellishments on familiar songs, leading to improvising short

songs and instrumental pieces. (The teacher sets up clear

parameters, offering possibilities from which the students may

choose.)

16. Begin to sing improvised harmonies in thirds and sixths.

Reading

17. Know and understand key signature names and how to find them

in the treble clef.

18. Use key signatures to identify lines and spaces of the staff

with the scale step numbers and/or sol-fa syllables for each key.

(The line or space of the farthest sharp to the right in a key

signature is scale step number 7 or "ti" in sol-fa syllables. The

line or space of the farthest flat to the right in a key

signature is scale step number 4 or "fa" in sol-fa syllables.)

19. Know, identify, and understand 6/8, 3/8, 4/8, 2/8 time

signatures, sixteenth notes and rests, triplets, tied notes, and

various articulation terms (e.g., legato, staccato, marcato).

Composing

20. Dramatize a piece of program music (e.g., write a script,

make actions).

21. Write sound effects using Orff and rhythm instruments to

accompany a poem or brief story.

Comparing

22. Hear and identify thick textures (much activity, many

different notes and rhythms) and thin textures (comparatively few

different notes and rhythms) in music and relate that concept of

texture to works of art and nature.

23. Analyze how sonata form works with key relations of tonic (1)

<*dv_3*>and dominant (V).

24. Break down different instruments into families by how their

sound is produced (woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion).

25. Experience the music and learn about the lives of several

major composers (e.g., Handel, Haydn, Brahms, Britten), comparing

how their music is similar and different.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 6

By the end of grade 6, students will be able to

Singing

1. Sing increasingly advanced quality music from various

cultures, styles, and genres in two-part and three-part harmony.

2. (For changing voices), continue to use their light voices as

they explore the lower notes (possibly only one or two notes that

harmonize a song.).

3. Sing Asian and Oceanian songs.

4. Sing alone and in ensembles with expression, good breathing,

and good posture evenly throughout the singing range.

5. Sing whole and half steps and octaves in tune (add chromatic

sol-fa syllables [i.e., di is 1/2 above do; ri is 1/2 step above

fa; fi is 1/2 step above fa; si is 1/2 step above sol; li is 1/2

step above la; te is 1/2 below ti; le is 1/2 below la; se is 1/2

step below sol; me is 1/2 step below mi, ra is 1/2 step below

re]).

Playing (Instruments)

6. (Those in band or orchestra) continue with instruction on

band/orchestra instruments, performing with the ensemble

occasionally in public.

7. Find treble clef and bass clef pitches on a keyboard.

8. Play whole steps, half steps, and octaves on a keyboard.

9. Continue with recorders (music in A major and E-flat major, a

minor, d minor), Orff-type instruments and rhythm instruments

(increasingly complex rhythmic patterns).

10. Explore Asian and Oceanian instruments.

Moving

11. Participate in square and folk dances (in conjunction with

physical-education class).

12. Conduct with a steady tempo, use cuing and cutoff motions to

start and stop music.

13. Dance in simple group choreography to a musical theater song.

Listening

14. Identify Asian and Oceanian music.

15. Listen to musical-theater and opera excerpts (after studying

the story and hearing parts of the music, watch an entire

production live or on videotape.).

16. Identify simple chord progressions (I-IV-V7-I) at cadences of

music heard.

Improvising

17. Make up free melodies on the recorder.

18. Sing improvised embellishments and descants to a familiar

melody and accompaniment.

19. Harmonize a familiar melody in thirds, sixths, and chord

tones.

Reading

20. Know and understand bass clef, note key signatures, and names

in bass clef. Also know and understand slur and phrase markings.

Be able to identify half steps, whole steps, and octaves on a

music staff.

21. Know and understand eighth-dotted quarter, eighth rest-dotted

quarter, dotted eight sixteenth, syncopated

sixteenth-eight-sixteenth, two and four sixteenth note groupings.

Composing

22. Write a class operetta (possibly based on a biblical story or

on a folk tale). The class could write a script, write or choose

lyrics for songs to existing tunes or new melodies they write,

assign voices and instruments to perform the music to accompany

the play, and use various sound sources to create sound effects.

Comparing

23. Distinguish between monophonic (one unison line, no

accompaniment), homophonic (a melody and accompaniment texture),

and polyphonic (two or more separate melodies weaving

independently together) textures in music.

24. See how musical forms based on texture give structure to

music (e.g., chant, fugue, canon, concerto).

25. Experience the music and learn about the lives of several

major composers (Monteverdi, Verdi, Copland, Stravinsky),

comparing their music.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 7

By the end of grade 7, students will be able to

Singing

1. Sing quality songs from a variety of cultures, styles, and

genres in three-part harmony with a healthy tone, good posture

and breath, accurate pitch, and appropriate style.

2. Continue singing as their voices change. Changing voice boys

may need to sing rewritten parts of a few notes around middle C,

while changed voices will need to sing songs in a range roughly

covering the octave below middle C; throughout the change, boys

should be encouraged and helped to keep using their high voices,

which are becoming the light voice of an adult male. Girls need

to be helped to sing clearly by using good breath, strong

posture, and clear diction.

3. Sing intervals of thirds, fourths, and fifths in tune. (Use

sol-fa syllables to distinguish major, minor, augmented, and

diminished intervals).

4. Sing Native American songs and quality popular songs.

Playing (Instruments)

5. (Those in band or orchestra) continue instruction with

band/orchestra instruments, being able to play simple melodies at

sight and participating in occasional concerts with the ensemble.

6. On a keyboard, practice playing simple melodies by ear and

from written music.

7. Find intervals of thirds, fourths, and fifths on a keyboard.

8. Continue playing recorders (add the keys of E major and A-flat

major, E minor, G minor, C minor), Orff instruments, and rhythm

instruments (using all rhythmic notes learned thus far). Add

Native American percussion to the ensemble.

9. Begin class guitar instruction (be able to play melody notes

of the treble clef, C, G and G7 chords.)

Moving

10. Conduct with variations in loudness, softness (be able to

change size of conducting gesture to show dynamics).

11. Perform Native American dances.

12. Do line dancing, aerobic dancing, and free dancing rhythm to

popular music (in conjunction with physical education classes).

Listening

13. Hear and analyze contemporary art music (e.g., impressionism,

extended harmonies, neoclassicism, aleatoric or chance music,

<*dv_1*>12-tone or serial music, atonal music, electronic music).

14. Hear and analyze contemporary popular music (e.g., ragtime,

swing, jazz, blues, rock, Christian contemporary).

15. Hear and analyze Native American music.

Improvising

16. Improvise melodies on words and scat syllables over a 12-bar

blues accompaniment.

17. Vocally improvise embellishments (alterations) and descants

above a newly learned melody line.

Reading

18. Know and understand triplet sixteenth notes, triplet quarter

note/eighth note groups, sixteenth/dotted eighth groups

(Lombardic rhythm). Be able to interpret all time signatures (top

number is always the amount of the bottom number notes in each

measure).

19. Identify thirds, fourths, and fifths on a music staff. Know

and understand ledger lines of the bass clef.

20. Identify minor keys from a signature (scale step number 6 or

"la" or a major key). Students will be able to look in a key

signature at the line or space of the farthest sharp to the right

(which is scale step number 7 or "ti") or the farthest flat to

the right (which is scale step number 4 or "fa") to determine

where 6 or "la" is to name the minor key.

Composing

Composing

21. Write a 16-measure melody of 4 phrases for a given text and

accompaniment.

22. Explore and create accompaniments and sounds on a

synthesizer.

Comparing

23. Relate American music to American history, art, and popular

culture.

24. Experience the music and learn about the lives of several

important American composers (John Philip Sousa, Scott Joplin,

Duke Ellington, Pete Seeger), comparing their music.

25. Compare sacred and secular music and their associations, then

discuss the use of various musical styles in worship.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 8

By the end of grade 8, students will be able to

Singing

1. Continue to sing increasingly advanced quality songs from a

variety of cultures, styles, and genres in three-part harmony

expressively and with good technique.

2. Sing simple melodies at sight without accompaniment from the

treble and bass clef.

3. Boys continue to exercise light voice during voice change.

4. (Those in choral ensembles) begin simple four-part music with

appropriate vocal ranges.

5. Sing intervals of sixths and sevenths in tune (use sol-fa

syllables to distinguish major, minor, augmented, and diminished

intervals).

Playing (Instruments)

6. (Those in band or orchestra) continue with instruction in

band/orchestra instruments and playing concerts as a full group

and in small ensembles.

7. Find intervals of sixths and sevenths on a keyboard.

8. Play simple melodies at sight on a keyboard and recorder from

the treble and bass clefs.

9. Play I, IV, and V chords in C major, G major, and F major on a

keyboard.

10. Continue class guitar (playing 5 6 chords to accompany songs

rhythmically and harmonically).

Moving

11. Conduct with variation in style, articulation (staccato,

legato, marcato), and tempo.

12. Learn simple waltz and two-step dance patterns.

Listening

13. Hear representative art music of the West from around 1000 AD

to the present (i.e., Gregorian chant to 20th-century art music).

14. Hear representative art and folk music from around the world

(European folk songs, Native American, African, Middle Eastern,

Latin American, Asian, Oceanian, Australian).

Improvising

15. Improvise instrumental embellishments (alterations) of a

given melody.

16. Play guitar or piano chords by ear to accompany a given

melody.

17. Vocally improvise bass line harmonies to a given melody.

Reading

18. Know and understand all whole, half, quarter, eighth,

sixteenth, triplets and dotted notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4,

6/8, 3/8, and cut time (2/2). Know difference between compound

meters (each beat divided into three parts, as often happens in

6/8 with two beats of three subdivisions) and simple meters (each

beat divided into two equal subdivisions).

19. Know and use all standard terms for tempo (including the

meaning of metronome markings), dynamics, articulation, and

expression.

Composing

20. Assign simple appropriate chords to harmonize a given melody.

21. Write a melody for a given text, then assign chords to

harmonize it and instruments and/or voices to perform it.

Comparing

22. Review the history of Western music by studying

representative music from various periods (Gregorian chant A.D.

600 1000; medieval A.D. 1000 1450; renaissance A.D. 1450 1600;

baroque A.D. 1600 1750; classical A.D. 1750 1820; romantic A.D.

1820 1900; 20th-century). Study will include relating music

history and its role in the world to fine-art history and world

history.

23. Review the great variety of world music by studying and

comparing representative music. Relate music history and its role

in the world to fine-art history and world history.

<*dv_5*>24. Analyze and compare how Western and non-Western music use the

different elements of music. (How are they the same? different?)

25. Relate the history and role of music in the world to its use

in the church in the past, the present, and the future.