“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order and lends to all that is good and just and beautiful.” ~Plato

 

Please check the “Concert Information” and “Concert Attire” tabs for important Spring Concert information!

Trustworthiness, Truthfulness, Active Listening, No Put downs, Personal Best

Our Lifelong Guidelines

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life! John 3:16

Kindergarten

Let’s find that steady beat! Kindergarten is on the move experiencing music by marching, playing drums, and any creative way that we can. This month we are learning about our different voices: speaking, whispering, calling, and most importantly our singing voice. Ask your student what a musical “pitch” is.

1st Grade

Music is never the same! Experiencing, listening, moving to, and singing by using dynamics (soft vs loud) and tempo (fast vs slow) is the beginning of our first grade adventure in music class. This month we are using non-locomotive movements with scarves, rhythm sticks, and more to show tempo and dynamics. “Simple Gifts” and “The William Tell Overture” are two of our favorite pieces to move to.

2nd Grade

What’s your favorite style of music? We’ll be exploring all of the many different styles of music from classical to jazz. Along the way, we’ll be making sure that everyone has their “steady beat” by using a variety of drums and rhythm instruments. We have been learning how to develop our singing voice and how to breath properly from our diaphragms.

3rd Grade

The orchestra is made up of four instrument families. This year, the third grade will be studying each of these families and its many members. We are beginning with the loudest and one of the largest – the Brass section! Listening to selections that feature these instruments as well as participating in activies and viewing actual instruments will all be a part of our unit of study. At times we will have a featured “guest artist” perform for us. Presently, we are studying the String Family! A violinist, cellist, and harpist are lined up to come demonstrate and speak with us about their instruments.

4th Grade

This year we will go on a trip around the world, the music world that is! A variety of countries will be represented and each has a diverse culture that is uniquely represented in its music. Musical instruments unique to each culture as well as musical styles and dance will be explored and experienced. Our theme this quarter is “Celebrations”. Each week we sing, listen to, and talk about a particular song or style of music used in our daily life celebrations. One week we listened to 8 different variations of “Happy Birthday” and another learned about The Twist and it’s creator, Chubby Checker.

5th Grade

Melody and harmony are an important part of what we’re learning in class this year. We are beginning this year by experiencing and observing the different ways that pitch moves in a melody. There will be plenty of singing going on in our class this year with an emphasis on vocal development and the changing voice. Our quarter this time is focusing on beat as well and the role of percussion in keeping that beat. Using “percussive pencils” we were all stars in playing rhythm patterns to the drum classic, “Wipe Out”.  STOMP is one of the groups we viewed on our SMART board and each student has been assigned to bring in an everyday object from home to demonstrate a beat pattern with. We continue to develop our voices and this month we will be singing a spiritual about equality among all of God’s children.

Middle School Music

6th Grade

We’re sampling every style of music that we can in 6th grade beginning with some great Big Band music. In the process, we’re sharpening our music notation and reading skills and finding out about different musical ensembles. To date, we have listened to and/or sang  big band, swing, Bavarian marching, and salsa music.

7th Grade

“Broadway Bound!” is the name of our study this year in 7th grade Music class. We will be learning and experiencing one of our most beloved American traditions – the musical theater. Everything from its beginnings to the many positions held, story lines, how a musical is produced, and viewing actual selections of the musicals is all a part of our unit for the year. We’ll even be role playing and recreating some of the more famous scenes.

8th Grade

Beginning with Ragtime and Scott Joplin, 8th grade is winding it’s way through the musical decades. Along the way we’re discussing how world events can influence music and musical artists. The Charleston is a famous dance from the Roaring 20′s era and we will be learning how to dance it to “Won’t You Charleston with Me?”. Students listen to a dramatization of each of the decades and discuss the characteristics from each of these time periods.