Music
Spotlight on Learning
Hello Parents and Guardians and Students!
Welcome to our 2023-24 musical school year! Last year was a blast and we accomplished many goals. Some of our highlights were our Choir performances, Piano Recital and our Musical. This year we will be building our music program even more, and will be adding in grade level performances.
I want to thank all of you for being so supportive of our program last year, and for supporting me specifically as I figured out how to make all of our performances amazing. I can’t thank you enough for getting students to practices promptly, for your generous donations, and for your kind words of encouragement!
This year, some things will stay the same and some things will change. I will only be offering one choir and one choir performance in December of this year. Honor choir tryouts will be in a couple of weeks during music class. If your 3rd, 4th or 5th grader auditions and qualifies for Honor choir, I will send home a permission slip and information packet. If you decide to have them participate, I will have you submit everything electronically through a Google Form.
Our school Musical auditions will be held in January, and we will begin practices in January. Auditions will be open to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, regardless if they were a member of the Honor Choir during the first semester. The Musical performances will be in May.
We will have a piano recital for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students in February. Students will begin working on their music this fall and if they can show mastery they will receive a permission slip.
Finally, we will have grade level performances, which will be the new endeavor this year. Intermediate (3rd-5th) students will perform sometime in December, and Primary (K-2nd)
students will perform second semester. We are still working on the dates, and I will send an update as soon as I know when all the performances will be held.
If you would like to donate to the Music Room, I have created an Amazon Wish List with some items that would be helpful to our learning. Thank you again for everything you have helped us accomplish, and for all you do to support your wonderful children. I look forward to working with you again this year!
If you have any questions, please email me at kearnm2@nv.ccsd.net
Sincerely,
Marsi Kearney
Music Specialist
Contact:
To contact Mrs. Ms. Whelan, please send an email to: whelalm@nv.ccsd.net.
Ongoing
Each grade level studies the five major elements of music in accordance with the CCSD Elementary Music Curriculum. These five elements, and some major goals for each, are listed below (This list is not exhaustive and merely highlights major concepts within each element).
Each element is presented through several means: movement, speaking and singing, playing on instruments, listening, reading and writing notation, and creating or improvising original material in a collaborative classroom setting.
Rhythm
K-1 Experience and demonstrate steady pulse.
2-3 Develop rhythmic reading and independence.
4-5 Master basic rhythmic patterns, and experience more complex patterns such as mixed meter.
Melody
K-1 Experience pitch matching and identify high and low.
2-3 Develop proper singing and playing technique.
4-5 Master common melodic patterns (scales, etc.) and apply to learning new music.
Harmony
K-1 Experience and identify changes in harmony; play simple accompaniments on mallet instruments.
2-3 Develop singing and playing in harmony using rounds, canons, etc.
4-5 Demonstrate and identify specific changes in harmony by singing, playing instruments, and listening.
Form
K-1 Experience 2-part (AB) form and musical phrase.
2-3 Identify 2-part (AB), 3-part (ABA), and rondo (ABACA) form, and demonstrate musical phrase.
4-5 Demonstrate all basic elements of form, including introduction, interlude and coda.
Expressive Qualities
K-1 Experience differences in timbre, dynamics, tempo, etc.
2-3 Identify and interpret common musical symbols.
4-5 Describe or perform a piece of music using appropriate expressive terminology or techniques.
Websites
Classics for Kids: Listen to excerpts of classical music along with educational, kid-friendly commentary regarding the historical context of the composer and music.
MusicTheory.net: An excellent resource for middle and upper grade students to practice note naming, ear training, and other musical skills.