Elementary Music
Curriculum Handbook
The elementary music curriculum in an abbreviated, easy to ready format with one page
dedicated to each grade level. For a more detailed and in depth look at the curriculum and
concepts presented here, refer to the Bayonne School District Elementary Music Curriculum
Grades Pre-K through 8.
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Pre - K
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Through participation become
SINGING
o Sing, alone or with others, a simple song on pitch.
o Sing unaccompanied, accompanied, and in unison.
o Demonstrate, vocally, singing and speaking voices.
o Demonstrate, vocally, high and low pitches.
o Sing a round for two or more groups.
familiar with basic elements of
music (rhythm, melody, form,
timbre)
o Steady beat, long/short,
sound/silence.
o Speaking vs. singing voice.
o Fast/slow, loud/soft.
o So-mi patterns
o Elements – melody & rhythm
o Melody - Melodic contour –
high/low, up/down.
o Repertoire - Folk & traditional song
(refer to song lists/listening list in
appendix)
o Expression - Fast/slow, loud/soft
o Timbre – vocal singing, speaking,
whispering; instrumental strings,
brass, winds, percussion,
male/female voices, child/adult
voices.
RHYTHM & PLAYING
o Recognize a steady beat; moving to a beat; play a steady beat; recognize accents.
o Imitate clapping patterns of at least four claps per pattern that vary in tempo, number, length of pause between claps,
etc.
o Use instruments or other objects to imitate a sequence of three or more sounds made by more than one instrument.
MOVING
o Move responsively to music (marching, walking, hopping, swaying, etc.).
o Create vocal sounds that move upward and downward in response to visual and movement cues.
CREATING & COMPOSING
o Echo short rhythms and melodic patterns.
o Recognize short and long sounds.
o Discriminate between fast/slow, loud/soft.
LISTENING & RESPONDING
o Express initial reactions and personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways (drawing picture, talking
about their feelings, etc.)
o Recognize same and different sections in familiar pieces of music.
o Hum the melody while listening to music.
o Identify a selection as fast or slow and loud or soft.
o Discriminate between obvious differences in pitch: high and low.
o Recognize the difference between voices and instruments.
o Recognize that music has timbre or tone color.
o Recognize differences between the voices of men, women, and children.
o Recognize selected instruments by sight and/or sound.
o Interpret iconic representations of a steady beat and melodic direction.
Songs for Performance
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A Tisket, A Tasket
Are You Sleeping?
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Did You Ever See a Lassie?
Eensy, Weensy Spider
Five
Little Ducks That I Once Knew
Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed
Happy Birthday to You
Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Vocabulary
accent
beat
clap
echo
fast
high
instrument
loud
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Here is the Beehive
I Know an Old Lady
I’m a Little Teapot
Kookaburra
Lazy Mary
Looby Loo
Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow
Oh, Do You Know the Muffin Man?
Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog
Gone?
low
music
pat
silence
sing
singing voice
slow
soft
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One Potato, Two Potato
Open, Shut Them
Pop Goes the Weasel
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around
Teddy Bears Picnic
Where is Thumbkin?
Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?
You Are My Sunshine
sound
speak
speaking voice
speed
steady beat
stomp
voice
whisper
Rhythms
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music, Composers & Compositions
DYNAMICS – LOUD/SOFT
 Symphony no. 94 in G Major (“Surprise Symphony”): second movement – Joseph Haydn - Why do you think this symphony is called “Surprise Symphony”? Do
you hear changes in the music? If so, what are they? How did you feel when you heard Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony”?
STEADY BEAT
 Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa - Where might you hear this music? What kind of movement or activity would match this music? Why is this kind
of music important to Americans?
TEMPO – FAST/SLOW
 The Carnival of the Animals: “The Swan” – Camille Saint-Saëns - What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What about the music makes
you think of this animal? What words would you use to describe the speed of this music? What kind of movements would you use to illustrate the speed?
 The Carnival of the Animals: “Hens and Roosters” or “Aviary” – Camille Saint-Saëns - What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What
about the music makes you think of this animal? What words would you use to describe the speed of this music? What kind of movements would you use to
illustrate the speed?
PITCH HIGH/LOW
 The Carnival of the Animals: “Kangaroos” – Camille Saint-Saëns - What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What about the music makes
you think of this animal? How would you describe the sound of this music, using words? How would you describe it, using movements?
OTHER REPERTOIRE EXAMPLES
 Edvard Grieg, “Morning” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt
 Victor Herbert, “March of the Toys” from Babes in Toyland
 Richard Rodgers, “March of the Siamese Children” from The King and I
 Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals
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2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Kindergarten
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic elements of music (rhythm,
SINGING
o Sing individually and in groups a variety of songs with a limited range.
o Sing two-pitch (sol-mi) songs by echo and ensemble singing.
o Demonstrate the difference between singing voice and speaking voice.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including loud/soft and fast/slow, using the voice.
RHYTHM & PLAYING
o Imitate & demonstrate a steady beat using body percussion or instruments.
o Maintain a steady beat independently.
o Imitate long/short and fast/slow sounds.
o Choose and play long/short and/or fast/slow sounds appropriate for song, story, poem, or recorded selection.
o Choose and play high or low sounds appropriate for song, story, poem, or recorded selection.
o Accompany songs and chants with body percussion and instruments.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including loud/soft and fast/slow, using body percussion and instruments..
IMPROVISING
o Explore playing sounds non-rhythmically using body percussion & percussion instruments
o Improvise vocal sounds appropriate to the teacher-selected song, poem, or story.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Explore a variety of sounds.
o Create a composition using a variety of sounds.
o Create and demonstrate a composition using a variety of sounds.
o Dramatize songs, stories, and poems.
READING & NOTATING
o Recognize iconic notation for steady beat.
o Recognize iconic notation for melodic direction.
o Perform rhythmic patterns that include sounds and silences, using voice, body percussion, and instruments.
o Read high and low pitches represented by traditional and nontraditional notation (e.g., icons).
o Read rhythms represented by traditional and nontraditional notation (e.g., icons, syllabic phrases).
LISTENING
o Recognize same and different sections within a two-section musical selection.
o Recognize the following instruments by sight and sound: guitar, piano, trumpet, flute, violin, drum.
o Recognize a steady beat; begin to play a steady beat.
o Recognize that some beats have accents (stress).
o Discriminate between short and long sounds, fast & slow, high & low, loud & soft.
o Recognize that some phrases are the same, some different.
MOVING
o Move at the appropriate time following a vocal or instrumental introduction.
o Match movements to rhythmic patterns in response to music.
o Demonstrate a steady beat, using movement.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including loud/soft and fast/slow, using movement.
o Exhibit respect for personal space of self and others when moving to music.
o Explore & improvise movement in response to a given song, poem, story, or listening example.
o Illustrate rhythmic patterns that include sounds and silences, using movement.
EVALUATING
o Discuss a musical performance using teacher-given criteria and grade-appropriate music vocabulary.
o Discuss & demonstrate appropriate audience behaviors during a performance.
o Describe the personal feelings evoked by musical experience.
melody, harmony, form, timbre,
etc.).
o The four different ways of using
their voices: speaking, singing,
shouting, and whispering.
o The correct body position &
breathing technique.
o Steady beat with movement and
body percussion, beat vs. rhythm
o Simple rhythms in groups of 2 and 4
beats and simple patterns to
accompany songs using quarter
notes, quarter rests, and eighth
note sets.
o Short/long sounds.
o Fast/slow beat.
o Loud/soft sounds.
o Classroom instruments by name.
o Traditional & non-traditional
examples of written rhythmic
notation.
o Through participation, become
familiar with some basic elements
of music (rhythm, melody,
harmony, form, timbre, etc.).
o Terms high/low, soft/loud,
fast/slow, short/long
o Melodic contour, up/down; pitch:
high/low
o Tonality - Major and minor songs
(happy/sad)
o Phrasing – same/different; AB form
o Instruments by sight and sound
including the guitar, piano, trumpet,
flute, violin and drum.
o Appropriate audience behaviors
(being quiet, listening, applause, no
shouting, no eating, etc.)
o Feelings and stories inspired and
evoked by musical examples.
o Common elements between music
and other arts (beat, rhythm,
feelings, etc.)
o Patriotic and seasonal song titles
and themes.
o All vocabulary.
Songs for Performance
o The Bear Went Over the Mountain
o Bingo
o The Farmer in the Dell
o Go In and Out the Window
o Go Tell Aunt Rhody
o Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Vocabulary
band
bumpy
call
call-and-response
chant
choir
choppy
chorus (ensemble)
compose
composer
eighth note
instrumentalist
2014 – Bayonne School District
o The Hokey Pokey
o Hush Little Baby
o If You’re Happy and You Know It
o Jingle Bells
o John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
o Kumbaya (also Kum Ba Ya)
o London Bridge
o Old MacDonald Had a Farm
o Row, Row, Row Your Boat
o This Old Man
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
o The Wheels on the Bus
introduction
jumpy
long
lullaby
march
movement
Rest
rhythm
short
singer
smooth
snap
musician
nursery rhyme
pattern
pulse
quarter note
repeat
solo
song
thick
thin
title
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music, Composers & Compositions
Loud/soft - Symphony no. 94 in G Major (“Surprise Symphony”): second movement – Joseph Haydn
o Why do you think this symphony is called “Surprise Symphony”? Do you hear changes in the music? If so, what are they? How did you feel when you heard Haydn’s
“Surprise Symphony”?
Steady beat - Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa
o Where might you hear this music? What kind of movement or activity would match this music? Why is this kind of music important to Americans?
Slow - The Carnival of the Animals: “The Swan” – Camille Saint-Saëns
o What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What about the music makes you think of this animal?
o What words would you use to describe the speed of this music? What kind of movements would you use to illustrate the speed?
Fast - The Carnival of the Animals: “Hens and Roosters” or “Aviary” – Camille Saint-Saëns
o What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What about the music makes you think of this animal?
o What words would you use to describe the speed of this music? What kind of movements would you use to illustrate the speed?
High/low - The Carnival of the Animals: “Kangaroos” – Camille Saint-Saëns
o What animal do you think of when you hear this piece of music? What about the music makes you think of this animal?
o How would you describe the sound of this music, using words? How would you describe it, using movements?
Other Repertoire Examples
o Symphony no. 94 in G Major (“Surprise Symphony”): second movement – Joseph Haydn
o Edvard Grieg, “Morning” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt
o Victor Herbert, “March of the Toys” from Babes in Toyland
o Richard Rodgers, “March of the Siamese Children” from The King and I
o Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals
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2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
1st Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Through participation, become familiar with some
SINGING
o Sing a variety of songs individually and in groups, with emphasis on songs containing sol, mi, and la
pitches.
o Perform music, using the voice in speech and song.
o Demonstrate high and low pitches vocally.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using the voice.
RHYTHM & PLAYING
o Maintain a steady beat independently at varying tempos.
o Imitate long/short and fast/slow sounds.
o Perform short rhythm patterns with a steady beat using body percussion and instruments.
o Perform ascending and descending scale songs on pitched instruments.
o Accompany songs and chants with body percussion and instruments while singing.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using body
percussion and instruments.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise appropriate sounds, using voice or classroom instruments, to accompany teacher-selected
song, poem, or story.
o Improvise, vocally, short melodic phrases in response to simple musical questions.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Create and demonstrate a four-beat rhythm composition using quarter notes, paired eighth notes,
and/or quarter rests.
o Create and demonstrate a composition using so and mi.
o Create melodies for familiar nursery rhymes and chants.
READING & NOTATING
o Perform rhythmic patterns that include quarter notes, paired eighth notes, and quarter rests, using
voice, body percussion, and pitched and non-pitched instruments.
o Demonstrate melodic rhythm, using voice, body percussion, and instruments.
o Read and perform traditional notation for quarter note, paired eighth notes, and quarter rest.
o Recognize and perform iconic notation for high, middle, and low sounds.
LISTENING
o Express initial reactions and personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
o Describe ways in which the elements of music are used for different purposes in the music they
perform, listen to, and create.
o Recognize same and different sections within extended musical selections (e.g., ABA form, rondo).
o Recognize instruments, by sight and sound, and classify into families.
o Describe the mood of music in terms of fast/slow and/or loud/soft.
o Recognize sudden changes in expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo.
o Describe ideas and emotions evoked by music.
o Recognize a steady beat; moving to a beat; play a steady beat; recognize accents.
o Recognize that music has timbre or tone color.
MOVING
o Perform dances and games from various cultures, with emphasis on American cultures.
o Use movement to dramatize songs, stories, and poems, with emphasis on American cultures.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using movement.
o Exhibit respect for self and others while moving to music.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Discuss classroom performances (visually and aurally) using grade appropriate vocabulary.
o Demonstrate appropriate audience behaviors during a performance.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for growth as musical performers, creators,
interpreters, and audience members.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Identify and describe musical experiences in their own lives.
o Experience music and dance, theatre, and/or visual art.
o Explore and identify common elements between music and dance, theatre, visual art, and language
arts.
Investigate the role of music and musicians in the community.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Experience music examples from various historical periods and cultures.
o Identify a variety of musical pieces from different cultures through performing and/or listening to them.
o Experience songs and singing games from various historical periods and cultures.
o Experience and discuss music related to famous Americans, American cultures, historical events, and
major holidays.
basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,
form, timbre, etc.).
o The four different ways of using their voices:
speaking, singing, shouting, and whispering.
o The correct body position needed to sing and perform
well.
o The proper breathing used for singing and that
breathing is an important part of singing well.
o Steady beat and rhythmic patterns using quarter
notes, quarter rests, and eighth note sets.
o Steady beat with movement and body percussion,
beat vs. rhythm
o Simple rhythms in groups of 2 and 4 beats and simple
patterns to accompany songs.
o A wide range of music, children’s music, popular
instrumental music, and music from various cultures.
o So-mi-la patterns and notation.
o Short/long sound characteristics.
o Fast/slow beat characteristics, terms
o Loud/soft sound characteristics, terms.
o Classroom instruments by name.
o Traditional & non-traditional examples of written
rhythmic notation.
o Rhythmic values including the quarter and eighth
note pairs.
o Basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,
form, timbre, etc.).
o Rhythms - whole, half, quarter notes and rests. Eighth
pairs.
o Notation for high, medium and low sounds – 5 or 3
line staff .
o So-mi-la patterns on standard staff/three line staff.
o Loud – forte, soft – piano
o A strong sound for a note or beat (accent)
o Smooth and detached articulation.
o Phrase, call & response.
o Treble clef & percussion clef
o Bar line to group beats.
o Double bar & repeat signs.
o Tempo markings presto and largo.
o Through participation, become familiar with some
basic elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony,
form, timbre, etc.).
o Principles of performance including rhythm, pitch,
dynamics.
o Instruments of the orchestra – string section,
woodwinds, brass, and percussion with their basic
family members.
o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, classical music,.
o Jazz American music with African and African
American roots, jazz musicians improvise.
o Recognize Louis Armstrong as a great early jazz
musician.
o All vocabulary words.
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Songs for Performance
o America the Beautiful
o Billy Boy
o Dry Bones
o For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow
o Frère Jacques
o La Cucaracha
Vocabulary
accompany
applause
audience
ballet
beam
body percussion
brass
circle dance
clarinet
Classical
concert
conductor
cymbal
dance
drum
ensemble
flute
folk music
form
forte
o Make New Friends
o Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
o Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?
o Oh, John the Rabbit
o Oh! Susanna
o On Top of Old Smokey
o She’ll Be Comin’ ’Round the Mountain
o Skip to My Lou
o Take Me Out to the Ball Game
o There’s a Hole in the Bucket
o When the Saints Go Marching In
o Yankee Doodle
guitar
half note
horn
improvise
instrument families
instrumental
Jazz
la
largo
line dance
melodic rhythm
performance piano
(soft)
piano (inst.)
piece of music
pitch
phrase
poetry
presto
quarter rest
refrain
sol
melody
mi
mood
non-pitched
note
note head
opera
ostinato
percussion
percussion
perform
solfege
stem
strings
timbre
trumpet
unaccompanied
verse
violin
volume
woodwind
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music, Instruments, Compositions
Instrument Identification, Evocation of Ideas/Images
o The Four Seasons – Antonio Vivaldi - Which instrument plays a solo? What season do you think of when you hear this piece? What in the music sounds like
that season?
Fast, High/Low
o Pictures at an Exhibition: “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” – Modest Mussorgsky - What is ballet? How does the music match the movements of the unhatched
chicks? How does the melody move?
Instrument Identification, Vocal Style
o “Hello Dolly” – Jerry Herman, as performed by Louis Armstrong - Which instruments perform the melody? What style of music is this song? What words
would you use to describe Louis Armstrong’s voice?
Melodic Rhythm
o Symphony no. 5 in C Minor: first movement – Ludwig van Beethoven - What rhythm do you hear repeated? Have you heard this music before? If so, where? Do
you think a person needs to be able to hear in order to compose music? Why, or why not?
Other Repertoire Examples
o W.A. Mozart, A Little Night Music (Eine kleine Nachtmusik)
Musical Connections: Music Can Tell a Story
Opera –
o Understand that opera combines music, singing, and acting. Listen to selections from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel: “Brother Come Dance With Me,” “I
Am the Little Sandman,” “Children’s Prayer.”
Instrumental Music –
o The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Paul Dukas - Imagine/create stories, watch Disney’s version from Fantasia.
o Peter and the Wolf – Sergei Prokofiev - What do you hear when a new character enters the story? How is Peter’s melody different from the melodies of the
other characters? What instruments represent the characters in the story? Why?
Ballet
o Understand that ballet combines music and movement to tell a story – Listen to Tchaikovsky’s Nutckracker Suite, watch a video of a performance or see a
live performance.
American Musical Traditions - Jazz
o Understand that Jazz is a kind of music developed in America with African-American roots, Improvisation and Jazz – Listen to Louis Armstrong’s
performances and improvisations.
More Musical Examples
o Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf.
o Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Sleeping Beauty.
o Various examples of early Jazz performed by Louis Armstrong with focus on melody, rhythm and improvisation.
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2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
2nd Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic principles of vocal and
SINGING
o Sing pentatonic and diatonic songs accurately with good vocal technique (e.g., posture, breathing, blending).
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Demonstrate correct singing posture, vocal technique, and good tone.
o Speak/sing, in a group, a vocal ostinato while the teacher speaks a poem or sings a melody.
o Demonstrate sudden and gradual changes in expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using the
voice.
o Sing the C major scale using “do re mi” etc.
o Echo short rhythms and melodic patterns.
RHYTHM & PLAYING
o Play a steady beat in group A while group B plays a simple rhythm; Play simple rhythm patterns.
o Demonstrate correct technique for playing and holding instruments and/or mallets.
o Accompany songs and chants with ostinati and single-chord accompaniments, using instruments.
o Play music in AB and ABA forms, using instruments.
o Demonstrate sudden and gradual changes in expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using
instruments.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise appropriate sounds using voice, body percussion, or classroom instruments within teacher-provided parameters to
accompany a song, poem, or story.
o Improvise, vocally, short melodic phrases in response to simple musical questions.
o Improvise a vocal phrase within teacher-given parameters.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Create and demonstrate a four to eight beat rhythm composition using quarter notes, paired eighth notes, and/or quarter
rests.
o Create and demonstrate a composition using so, mi, la and low do.
o Create a simple introduction and/or coda for a given piece.
o Create accompaniments and ostinati.
o Create music to enhance stories, songs, and poems.
READING & NOTATING
o Identify AB and ABA forms in music.
o Read melodic patterns, using sol, mi, la, and low do.
o Read, notate and perform rhythmic patterns, using traditional notation and including paired eighth notes, quarter notes,
quarter rests, half notes, half rests, whole notes, and whole rests.
LISTENING
o Express initial reactions and personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
o Describe ways in which the elements of music are used for different purposes in the music they perform, listen to, and create.
o Recognize as same or different sections within extended musical selections (e.g., ABA form, rondo).
o Recognize selected orchestral, band, folk, and/or ethnic instruments and classify into families.
o Describe how fast/slow and/or loud/soft affect the mood of music; label tempo as fast/slow and dynamics as loud/soft with
musical terminology.
o Investigate how musicians are inspired to perform or compose.
o Recognize a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat.
o Describe sudden and gradual changes in dynamics and tempo, using music terminology.
o Categorize music compositions by form.
MOVING
o Perform dances and games from various cultures.
o Use movement to dramatize songs, stories, and poems from various cultures.
o Demonstrate sudden and gradual changes in expressive qualities of music, including changes in dynamics and tempo, using
movement.
o Improvise, individually and in a group, appropriate movements to show selected musical forms and/or expressive qualities.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Discuss a musical performance using teacher-given criteria and grade-appropriate music vocabulary.
o Discuss classroom performances (visually and aurally) using grade appropriate vocabulary.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for growth as musical performers, creators, interpreters, and audience
members.
o Demonstrate appropriate audience behaviors during a performance.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Recognize similarities and differences between music and dance, theatre, and/or visual arts.
o Identify common elements between music and language arts.
o Investigate how music is a form of communication in various cultures.
o Investigate how musicians are inspired to perform or compose.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Perform songs and singing games from various historical periods and cultures.
o Recognize that musical examples come from different historical periods and cultures.
instrumental performance
including good posture,
technique, position, tone,
rhythm, etc.
o Simple melodic ostinato,
melodic patterns using notes
of the pentatonic and C Major
scales.
o Breath support, long/short,
singing vs. speaking.
o Simple melodic patterns using
the notes “mi”, “so”, “la”, and
low “do”.
o Strong vs. weak beats in
different meters.
o Proper playing technique for
instruments used in class.
o Rhythms, theory and related
vocabulary from other strands
that relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole
note/rest, half note/rest,
dotted half notes, quarter
note/rest and eighth note
pairs (perform/compose) and
single eighth notes (identify)
o Songs & rhythms in 2/4, 3/4,
and 4/4 time.
o Fast and slow tempi - terms.
o Melodic contour – melodic
shape
o Dynamic symbols and terms.
o Smooth and detached
articulation .
o Treble clef, names of lines and
spaces in the treble clef,
solfege.
o Elements of music including
melody, harmony, rhythm,
instrumentation, timbre, and
form.
o Phrase – same/different; Call
& response
o AB, ABA and Rondo form,
simple verse & chorus, coda
and intro.
o Review families of
instruments.
o Instruments in the string and
percussion families
o Phrase and basic phrase
qualities – beginning, ending,
shape.
o Basic criteria for evaluating
performances.
o Major vs. minor
chords/tonality
o Characteristics of musical
cultures studied.
o Musical instruments of
Ancient Egypt, China and
Native Americans.
o Related elements between
music, art, dance, literature,
etc.
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Roles of performers in music.
o Ways music can communicate
between cultures.
o Music of Ancient Egypt, China
and Native Americans.
o Discuss and understand the cultural/historical context of a musical example.
o Experience and discuss the role of music in the cultures of ancient China and ancient Egypt.
o Experience and discuss the role of music in Native American cultures.
o Identify, through performing and/or listening, a variety of musical forms or pieces from different communities, times, and
places.
o All Vocabulary
o Describe and discuss the difference between folk/popular music and orchestral music.
Songs for Performance
o Buffalo Gals
o Casey Jones (chorus only)
o Clementine
o Dixie
o Do-Re-Mi
o The Erie Canal
Vocabulary
o Follow the Drinking Gourd
o Good Bye Old Paint
o Home on the Range
o I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
o John Henry
o Old Dan Tucker
o The Star-Spangled Banner
o Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
o This Land Is Your Land
o When Johnny Comes Marching Home
AB form
ABA form
accelerando
accent
allegro
andante
bourdon, bordun
brass
do
downbeat dynamic
level
dynamics
expression
fermata
half note
half rest
pentatonic
pentatonic scale
piano
re
repeast sign
ritardando, ritard round
style
cannon
choir
choreography
chorus (of a song)
coda
crescendo
decrescendo
diction
lyrics
major scale
mezzo forte
mezzo piano musical
alphabet
notate
orchestra
ostinato, ostinati
symphony
tempo
tone color
verse
whole note
whole rest
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
ABA Form
o Rodeo: “Hoe-Down” – Aaron Copland - What do you think of when you hear this music? Which instruments do you hear most? What is the form of this piece?
o Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a: “Dance of the Reed-Flutes” – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - What is the form of this piece? Have you heard this music before? If so, where?
Which two art forms are used to tell this story?
o Mexican Hat Dance – Jesús González Rubio - What are the melodic rhythms you hear in this piece? From which country do you think this music originated? What
instrument plays the melody?
Gradual Changes
o Peer Gynt. Suite No. 1, op. 46: “In the Hall of the Mountain King” – Edvard Grieg - What is the hall of the Mountain King? What gradually changes throughout this
piece? What words would you use to describe how Peer Gynt moves through the hall of the Mountain King?
Ostinato
o Boléro – Maurice Ravel - What is an ostinato? What instrument plays the rhythmic ostinato? What instruments play the melodic ostinati?
Musical Appreciation: Instruments, Composers
THE ORCHESTRA
o Review families of instruments: strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion.
o Become familiar with instruments in the string family—violin, viola, cello, double bass—and listen to
Camille Saint-Saëns, from Carnival of the Animals: “The Swan”
(cello) and “Elephants” (double bass)
o Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
o Become familiar with instruments in the percussion family—for example, drums (timpani, snare), xylophone, wood block, maracas, cymbals, triangle, tambourine—
and listen to Carlos Chavez, Toccata for Percussion, third movement.
KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS
o Recognize that the piano and organ are keyboard instruments, and listen to a variety of keyboard music, including: o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rondo Alla turca from Piano Sonata K. 331
o Ludwig van Beethoven, Für Elise
o Felix Mendelssohn, from Songs without Words, “Spring Song”
COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC
o Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
o Johann Sebastian Bach, Minuet in G major; Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring; Toccata and Fugue in D minor
o Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral): first movement and from final movement, “Thunderstorm” to end.
8
2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
3rd Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic principles of vocal and
SINGING
o Sing a melody with accurate rhythm, pitch (solfege and/or lyrics), dynamics, and tempo.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Exhibit good posture, grade-appropriate diction, breath control, and tone in both head and chest voice.
o Sing melodies from the treble staff, using a wide range of tempi and dynamics with a clear tone quality.
o Sing rounds, partner songs, and ostinato patterns in a two-part ensemble.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
o Perform basic rhythmic patterns in duple and triple meters on non-pitched instruments using proper technique.
o Perform, alone and/or in small or large groups, basic melodies based on a major scale including steps, skips, leaps, and
repeated notes (four-measure minimum).
o Demonstrate an accompaniment in duple and triple meter using basic rhythms on pitched instruments and varying rhythm
patterns on non-pitched instruments.
o Play pitched and non-pitched instruments in two-part ensembles.
o Accompany songs and chants with I and V (V7) chords, using instruments.
o Demonstrate a wide range of tempos and dynamics, using instruments.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise an eight-beat pattern using half notes, quarter notes, paired eighth notes, and quarter rests.
o Improvise, in pairs, a four- or eight-beat question and answer using body percussion or non-pitched instruments.
o Improvise a simple eight-beat accompaniment, vocally or on body percussion or non- pitched instruments within teachergiven parameters.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Create and demonstrate a four-measure rhythmic composition that consists of half notes, quarter notes, paired eighth
notes, and quarter rests.
o Create and demonstrate, vocally or instrumentally, a four-measure melody based on a pentatonic scale, using dynamic
contrast while maintaining a steady tempo.
o Create and demonstrate a short introduction, interlude, and coda to a given melody
o Identify meters (duple and triple), note names on treble clef staff, note values (half notes, quarter notes, paired eighth
notes), and quarter rests.
READING & NOTATING
o Identify and demonstrate dynamic markings and directional markings (e.g., repeat sign, D. C., fine, coda) within a given
music selection.
o Read and notate rhythmic patterns that include sixteenth notes, paired eighth notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, half
notes, half rests, dotted half notes, whole notes, and whole rests.
o Notate melodies, using traditional notation.
o Recognize and explain the functions of music symbols in a musical score, using music terminology.
o Identify melodic movement as step, leap, or repeat.
o Demonstrate pitch understanding of solfege symbols used by the teacher.
LISTENING
o Demonstrate an understanding of different sections of simple forms of music (e.g., AB, ABA) and/or complex music forms
(e.g., rondo, theme and variations) by using listening maps, manipulatives or through movement.
o Express personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways
o Recognize selected orchestral, band, folk, and/or ethnic instruments and classify into families.
o Discuss a listening example through teacher-guided questioning and using teacher-given characteristics.
o Classify the elements of music, using teacher-given vocabulary, for a listening example.
o Classify styles and/or genres of selected music using teacher-given vocabulary.
o Describe ways in which the elements of music are used in the music they perform, listen to, and create.
o Identify common elements in the music of a culture.
o Discriminate between fast and slow; gradually slowing down and getting faster; differences in pitch: high and low; loud and
soft; gradually increasing and decreasing volume.
o Describe the melodic shape (contour) of a musical phrase, including how pitches may move upward, downward, or stay the
same, using music terminology.
MOVING
o Perform dances and games from various cultures, with emphasis on those from ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the
West African empire of Mali.
o Use movement to dramatize songs, stories, and poems, with emphasis on those from ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and
the West African empire of Mali.
o Illustrate form through movement, with emphasis on AB form.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Discuss a music selection or student performance using grade-appropriate music vocabulary and teacher-given criteria.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for growth as musical performers, creators, interpreters, and
audience members.
o Discuss and demonstrate appropriate audience member behavior in a classroom setting and/or performance setting.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Demonstrate how music shares similarities with dance (e.g., movement) and theatre (e.g., dramatization).
o Demonstrate ability to enhance a story with the addition of singing, vocal or instrumental sounds looking for
instrumental performance
including good posture, technique,
position, tone, rhythm, etc.
o Changes in tempo and dynamics.
o Simple melodic ostinato, melodic
patterns using notes of the
pentatonic and C Major scales.
o Articulations - perform
o Single melodic line in unison with
simple accompaniment, bordun
patterns on “mi”, “so”, “la”, and
low “do”.
o Breath support, long/short,
singing vs. speaking/whispering.
o Proper playing technique for
instruments used in class.
o Rhythms, theory and related
vocabulary from other strands
that relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole
note/rest, half note/rest, dotted
half notes, quarter note/rest and
eighth note pairs, single eighth
notes (identify) and sixteenth sets.
o Fast/Slow Tempo – terms.
o Songs & Rhythms in 2/4, 3/4, and
4/4 time.
o Simple melodic patterns using the
notes “mi”, “so”, “la”, and low
“do”.
o Melodic contour – melodic shape
o Dynamic symbols and terms.
o Articulation symbols
o Intervals – step, skip, leap
o Treble clef, names of lines and
spaces in the treble clef.
o Repeat signs and related
markings.
o Elements of music including
melody, harmony, rhythm,
instrumentation, timbre, and
form.
o Phrase – same/different
o AB, ABA and Rondo form, simple
verse & chorus, coda and intro.
o Call & response
o Chords/triads – I and V chords
o Review families of instruments.
o Instruments in the brass &
woodwind families
o Expressive qualities: tempo,
dynamics, articulation.
o Phrase and basic phrase qualities –
beginning, ending, shape.
o Basic criteria for evaluating
performances
o Major vs. minor chords/tonality
o Strong/weak beats with different
meters.
o Characteristics of musical cultures
studied.
o Related elements between music,
art, dance, literature, etc.
o Use of music in various cultures.
2014 – Bayonne School District
9
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Examples of Non-Western
instruments.
o World Cultures of Greece, Rome
and Mali.
o Types and purpose of music in
different cultures including
traditional community, religious, &
cultural celebrations; classical or
art music, and popular music.
o Specific cultural types of music
including Native American, South
American, Gamelan and folk music
from various countries including
China, Mexico, France, etc.
o Vocabulary
commonalities between music and literature
o Describe the literary characteristics of song lyrics.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Identify and describe ways in which music can be used in the community (e.g., to celebrate events, to bring people
together, to dance to, to communicate, to entertain, to help people remember product names or telephone numbers in
advertising, to help people remember concepts)
o Identify, through performing and/or listening, a variety of musical forms or pieces from different communities, times, and
places.
o Distinguish between music of selected cultures using teacher-given parameters.
o Describe music characteristics of selected cultures using teacher-given parameters.
o Discuss characteristics of a selected culture(s) within a musical and/or historical context.
o Experience and discuss the music of world cultures (e.g., in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the West African empire of
Mali).
o Experience and discuss a composer and a music composition from each of four different periods of music history.
o Experience and discuss musical settings of folk tales.
o Experience and discuss examples of non-Western instruments.
Songs for Performance
o Alouette
o America (“My country, ’tis of thee”)
o A Bicycle Built for Two (chorus only)
o Down in the Valley
o He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
o Hey, Ho, Nobody Home (round)
o In the Good Old Summertime (chorus only)
o Li’l Liza Jane
o My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
o Polly Wolly Doodle
o The Man on the Flying Trapeze (chorus only)
o The Sidewalks of New York (chorus only)
o Simple Gifts (“Tis a gift to be simple”)
o This Little Light of Mine
o You’re a Grand Old Flag
improvisation
interlude
jazz
kora
leap
legato
lute
lyre
marimba
measure
melodic shape
meter
scat
sixteenth note
skip
soprano
staccato
staff
step
tambourine
tempo
tenor
tie
timpani
Vocabulary
I–V–I chord
progression
a cappella
accompaniment
adagio
alto
alto/tenor saxphone
bar line
bass
bass clef
bass drum
bassoon
cello
chord
composition
conductor, conduct
djembe
do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
dotted half note
double bass
duple
fortissimo
grand staff
harmony
moderato
motif, motive
movement (form)
pp, p, mp, mf, f,. ff
musical score
oboe
pan flute
partner song
pianissimo
piccolo
reggae
rondo form
treble clef
triple
trombone
tuba
unison
viola
world music
xylophone
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
Instrument Families
o The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, op. 34 – Benjamin Britten - What instruments do you hear? To what families of the orchestra do they belong? Why do
they belong to their respective families? In what order are the instrument families introduced in this piece?
o Gioacchino Rossini, William Tell Overture, finale (trumpet)
o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, selections from the Horn Concertos (French horn)
o Claude Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (flute)
o Opening of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (clarinet)
Triple Meter
o Music for the Royal Fireworks: Menuet II – George Frideric Handel - Does this music make you want to sway or march? Why? When does the tempo change? How
does the tempo change? Which instrument family is featured in this piece?
Orchestral Instruments
o Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin - What kind of musical ensemble plays this piece? What is the melodic direction of the opening instrumental solo? Which
instrument plays this solo? Which style of music inspired this piece?
Tempo, Dynamics
o Toccata in D Minor (BWV 565) – Johann Sebastian Bach - What instrument do you hear? What is the tempo of the opening section of the toccata? What is the
tempo of the second section of the toccata? How do changes in dynamics affect the mood of this piece?
Musical Appreciation: Instruments, Composers
COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC - Teachers: provide brief, child-friendly biographical profiles of the following composers, and listen to representative works:
o Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Suite from Swan Lake
o John Philip Sousa, Stars and Stripes Forever
o Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man; “Hoedown” from Rodeo, “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS - Introduce children to the following in connection with topics in other disciplines:
o Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, part one: “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship”
10
2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
4th Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
o Basic principles of vocal and
instrumental performance including
posture, technique, position, tone
quality, note & rhythmic accuracy.
o Simple melodic ostinato, melodic
patterns using notes of the
pentatonic and C Major scales.
o Single melodic line in unison with
simple accompaniment, bordun
patterns on “mi”, “so”, “la”, and low
“do”.
o Changes in tempo and dynamics.
o Articulations – legato, staccato
o Breath support, long/short, singing
vs. speaking.
o Proper playing technique for
instruments used in class.
o Rhythms, theory and related
vocabulary from other strands that
relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole
note/rest, half note/rest, dotted half
notes, quarter note/rest and eighth
note pairs, dotted quarter & single
eighth notes and sixteenth sets.
o Songs & rhythms in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4
time; duple & Triple meters.
o Tempo terms, changes in tempo.
o Simple melodic patterns using the
notes “mi”, “so”, “la”, and low “do”.
o Meter duple/triple,
o Melodic contour – melodic shape
o Dynamic symbols and terms, changes
in dynamics.
o Articulation symbols.
o Accidentals - sharps, flats, naturals
o Intervals – step, skip, leap
o Treble clef, names of lines and
spaces.
o Repeat signs and related markings.
o Elements of music including melody,
harmony, rhythm, instrumentation,
timbre, and form.
o Phrase – same/different; Call &
response
o Form in music - binary, ternary,
rondo, theme & variations, Verse Refrain, cannon, rounds, intro, coda
o Chords/triads - I, IV & V chords.
o Strong vs. weak beats in different
meters.
o Meters in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time.
o Criteria for assessing performances rhythm & tempo/feel, tone,
intonation, expressiveness (In Time,
In Tone, In Tune, In Touch)
o Expressive qualities: tempo,
dynamics, articulation.
o Phrase and basic phrase qualities –
beginning, ending, shape.
o Review families of instruments:
strings, brass, woodwinds,
percussion.
o Major vs. minor chords/tonality
2014 – Bayonne School District
11
Do
SINGING
o Sing a melody with accurate pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tempo.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Demonstrate, alone, proper posture, grade-appropriate diction, breath control, and tone in both head and chest voice.
o Sing partner songs and rounds and/or canons; simple harmony in small and/or large groups.
o Sing with a clear tone quality and correct intonation.
o Sing with expression; indicated dynamics and phrasing.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
o Perform rhythmic patterns & melodies in duple and triple meters on non-pitched instruments using proper technique.
o Perform melodies based on selected major and/or minor scales.
o Perform an accompaniment on pitched and non-pitched instruments.
o Demonstrate expressive qualities in performance.
o Accompany songs and chants with I, IV, and V (V7) chords, using instruments.
o Play a given melody on recorder or other instrument.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise, on a variety of instruments, an eight-beat melody/rhythm using a prescribed scale.
o Improvise, with a partner, a four- or eight-beat question and answer on pitched instruments (may include recorder).
o Improvise a simple eight-beat accompaniment on non-pitched or pitched instruments within teacher-given parameters.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Create and demonstrate a four-measure melodic composition in ABA form.
o Create and demonstrate a four-measure melody based on a given major or minor scale.
o Compose short melodic and rhythmic phrases within specified guidelines, to enhance literature, tell a story, etc.
READING & NOTATING
o Compare and contrast meters.
o Demonstrate an understanding of treble clef pitches by singing intervals using both solfege and letter names or by
playing on an instrument.
o Identify and demonstrate dynamic markings, tempo markings, and articulation markings within a given music selection.
o Read, notate and perform rhythmic patterns using voice, body percussion, and pitched and non-pitched instruments.
o Read short melodic scale patterns.
o Notate melodies in traditional notation on the treble staff, with emphasis on stepwise progression.
o Identify the functions of the upper and lower numbers of meter signatures with 2, 3, and 4 beats.
o Divide rhythms into measures.
LISTENING
o Identify, through listening examples, teacher-selected instruments, individually and as families.
o Express detailed personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
o Identify the elements used in the music they perform, listen to, and create, and describe how they are used.
o Describe a listening example using correct music vocabulary.
o Analyze teacher-given styles and/or genres of music.
o Recognize a steady beat, accents, and the downbeat; play a steady beat and a simple rhythm pattern.
o Discriminate between fast and slow; gradually slowing down and getting faster.
o Discriminate between differences in pitch: high and low.
o Discriminate between loud and soft; gradually increasing and decreasing volume.
o Understand legato and staccato.
o Recognize harmony; sing simple rounds and canons.
o Recognize verse and refrain; also, introduction and coda.
o Recognize theme and variations.
o Identify instruments from various music ensembles visually and aurally, including instruments from other cultures.
o Distinguish between major and minor tonality.
o Identify and explain rondo form.
MOVING
o Create movement patterns to demonstrate different sections of complex forms of music.
o Perform traditional games and folk dances, with emphasis on those from Virginia history.
o Create movements to illustrate meter.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Discuss how personal beliefs influence responses to music.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for growth as musical performers, creators, interpreters, and
audience members.
o Investigate criteria used to evaluate music.
o Evaluate, in a group, a student or professional performance using student-developed criteria.
o Formulate questions about musical compositions from past or present cultures.
o Evaluate one’s own audience behavior.
o Describe a music composition, using music terminology.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Instruments & ensembles orchestral, pop, jazz, other cultures.
o Characteristics of musical cultures
studied.
o Related elements between music,
art, dance, literature, etc.
o Use of music in various cultures.
o Styles of music including classical,
jazz, pop, folk, etc.
o Composers and compositions from
each period of music history:
Renaissance, Baroque, Classical,
Romantic and 20th Century.
o Vocabulary words
o Perform, combining aspects of music, dance, and theatre.
o Discuss similarities between music and dance and visual art.
o Demonstrate an ability to enhance a story with the addition of singing, vocal or instrumental sounds, and relate it to the
language arts curriculum and/or relate the study of rhythms to the mathematics curriculum.
o Demonstrate the relationship of music to literature, mathematics, science, and/or social studies.
o Describe and discuss the musical activities of composers, arrangers, and lyricists.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Describe music characteristics of selected cultures using teacher-given parameters.
o Demonstrate an awareness, through listening, of the characteristics of musical forms and traditions of diverse times,
places, and communities
o Investigate the role of music in selected periods of New Jersey history, NJ Artists, important NJ Musical/historical events.
o Recognize a composer and a music composition from each of four different periods of music history.
o Describe and catergorize various styles of music, using music terminology.
Songs for Performance
o Auld Lang Syne
o Blow the Man Down
o Cockles and Mussels
o Comin’ Through the Rye
o I Love the Mountains (round)
Vocabulary
I–IV–V7–I progression
accidentals
arranger
articulation
ballad
Baroque
bluegrass
breath control
country music
criteria
critic
critique
Da Capo (D.C.)
Del Segno al fine (D.S.)
dotted note
dotted quarter note
duet
eighth rest
Fine
o Loch Lomond
o My Grandfather’s Clock
o Taps
o The Yellow Rose of Texas
o Waltzing Matilda
o Air Force Song
o Navy Song (Anchors Aweigh)
o The Army Goes [The Caissons Go] Rolling Along
o The Marine’s Hymn
flat
Gospel
hymn
intonation
ledger lines
lyricist
major
minor
musical
scale
sharp
sight read
single eighth note
slur
soprano recorder
spiritual
symphony
syncopation
natural
octave
posture
quartet
rap
Renaissance
rhythm ‘n blues
rock ‘n roll
Romantic
technique
tenor
texture
theme
tie
time signature
tone quality
tonic
trio
upbeat
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
MUSICAL ELEMENTS
o Symphony no. 1 in D Major: third movement – Gustav Mahler - Do you recognize a children’s song in this music? If so, what is it? Is this movement in a major
or minor key? What musical clues did Mahler use to help you make this decision? What instruments do you hear at the beginning of the piece? What
instrument has a prominent solo in the piece? Do the basses and celli play in unison or as a round?
o Jazz Vocal Style - “One Note Samba” – Antonio Carlos Jobim, as performed by Ella Fitzgerald - What style of music is this? Are these real words or nonsense
syllables? Why is the singer using so many different vocal sounds? Which instruments is she imitating? How does this style of music compare to rap?
VOCAL RANGES
o Recognize vocal ranges of the female voice – soprano, mezzo soprano, alto
o Recognize vocal ranges of the male voice – tenor, baritone, bass
THE ORCHESTRA
o Review families of instruments: strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion. Review the orchestra, including families of instruments and specific instruments, by
listening to Benjamin Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
Musical Connections
CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS
o The Planets: “Mars” – Gustav Holst - What are the names of the planets in our solar system? What comes to your mind when you hear this music? What
musical elements support your response? How does this music compare with John Williams’ Star Wars?
o Danse Macabre – Camille Saint-Saëns - Which instrument plays the first notes of this piece? At several points, the dancing skeletons are represented by an
unexpected instrument. What instrument do you hear? How would you describe the mood of the piece? If you were to create a work of art based on this
music, what would be the subject of your artwork? What would be happening in a movie scene if you heard this music?
o Rondo Form - The Carnival of the Animals: “Fossils” – Camille Saint-Saëns - What is a fossil? What instrument opens the piece? To which family does it
belong? Why do you think this composition is entitled “Fossils?”
o Code Song, Oral Tradition - “Follow the Drinking Gourd” – American folk song - What is a gourd? How could it be used for drinking water? What is the
Drinking Gourd? Is there a hidden message in this song? If so, what is it? What was the Underground Railroad? Do you know any other songs that contain
hidden messages? If so, what are they?
COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC
o George Frederick Handel, “Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah
o Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”)
o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Magic Flute, selections, including: Overture; Introduction, “Zu Hilfe! Zu Hilfe!”(Tamino, Three Ladies); Aria, “Der
Vogelfänger bin ich ja” (Papageno); Recitative and Aria, “O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn!” (Queen of the Night); Aria, “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen”
(Papageno); Duet, “Pa-pa-gena! Pa-pa-geno!” (Papageno and Papagena); Finale, Recitative and Chorus, “Die Strahlen der Sonne” (Sarastro and Chorus)
12
2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
5th Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic principles of vocal and instrumental
SINGING
o Sing a melody with accurate pitch, rhythm, and musicality.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Exhibit good posture, grade-appropriate diction, breath control, and tone in both head and chest voice.
o Sing a varied repertoire of songs while demonstrating beginning choral behaviors and skills in ensemble
singing.
o Sing with attention to blend, balance, intonation, and expression.
o Sing melodies written in traditional notation on the treble staff, using indicated dynamics, phrasing, and
other expression.
o Sing in two- and three-part harmony.
o Understand legato and staccato when singing.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
o Perform rhythmic patterns and melodies in duple and triple meters on non-pitched instruments using proper
technique.
o Perform an accompaniment on pitched or non-pitched instruments using an orchestration that includes
varying instrumentation, rhythms, and pitches.
o Demonstrate, through performance, expressive qualities in an ensemble setting.
o Play increasingly difficult accompaniments on instruments, using I, IV, and V (V7) chords.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise, on a variety of instruments an eight-beat melody using a pentatonic scale
o Improvise a sixteen-beat pattern using prescribed rhythms with a steady beat and tempo.
o Improvise, in pairs, an eight- or sixteen-beat question and answer phrase on pitched instruments.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Create and demonstrate, in a group setting, a four-measure instrumental or vocal melody based on a
pentatonic scale with a simple chord accompaniment.
o Compose short melodic and rhythmic phrases within specific guidelines to lead to an original composition.
READING & NOTATING
o Compare and contrast meters (duple and triple); identify note names in treble clef, note and rest values.
o Demonstrate an understanding of treble clef pitches by singing intervals using solfege and letter names and
by notating those pitches.
o Identify and demonstrate dynamic markings, tempo markings, and articulation markings in music selections.
o Identify notes on the bass staff.
o Sight-read melodic patterns, using the diatonic scale and solfege.
o Sight-read rhythmic patterns that include grade specific rhtyhms.
o Notate melodies in traditional notation on the treble staff, with emphasis on skips and leaps.
o Read, notate and perform rhythmic patterns using voice, body percussion, and pitched and non-pitched
instruments.
o Identify the functions of the upper and lower numbers of meter signatures in duple and triple meters.
o Identify and explain theme-and-variations form.
o Identify key signatures.
LISTENING
o Identify and explain, orally and/or written, complex forms of music.
o Express detailed personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
o identify the elements of music in the music they perform, listen to, and create, and describe how they are
used.
o Identify, aurally, teacher-selected orchestral instruments in ensembles.
o Compare and contrast listening examples using correct music vocabulary.
o Analyze styles and genres of music using teacher-given parameters.
o Articulate reasons for preferences among musical compositions, using music terminology.
o Develop personal criteria for determining the value of a musical composition or genre.
o Recognize and identify elements of music in listening examples.
o Discriminate between fast and slow; gradually slowing down and getting faster; accelerando and ritardando.
o Discriminate between differences in pitch: high and low.
o Discriminate between loud and soft; gradually increasing and decreasing volume; crescendo and decrescendo.
o Recognize harmony; sing rounds and canons; two- and three-part singing.
o Identify texture as thick, thin, rough, etc.
o Recognize introduction, interlude, and coda in musical selections.
o Recognize verse and refrain.
o Investigate the production of sound by instruments from various music ensembles, including instruments
from other cultures.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Use student developed rubric to evaluate a music performance.
o Analyze and evaluate music performances and compositions, using music terminology.
performance including good posture, technique,
position, tone, rhythm, etc.
o Simple melodic ostinato, melodic patterns using
notes of the pentatonic and Major/minor scales.
o Single melodic line in unison with simple
accompaniment, bordun patterns on “mi”, “so”,
“la”, and low “do”.
o Changes in tempo and dynamics.
o Articulations - legato/staccato, accents
o Breath support, long/short, singing vs. speaking.
o Strong vs. weak beats in different meters.
o Rhythms, theory and related vocabulary from
other strands that relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole note/rest, half
note/rest, dotted half notes, quarter note/rest
and eighth note pairs (perform/compose), single
eighth notes (identify), sixteenth sets and
sixteenth-eighth sets.
o Songs & rhythms in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time and
compound time –6/8, 9/8 or 12/8
o Phrase – same/different; Call & response; AB,
ABA forms, Rondo forms (ABACABA),
intro/coda/bridge
o Chords/triads - I, IV & V chords.
o Dynamic symbols and terms, changes in
dynamics.
o Tempo terms, changes in tempo.
o Melodic contour – melodic shape
o Articulation symbols.
o Names of notes by letter name and syllables.
o Repeat signs and related markings.
o Tie/slur
o Intervals – step, skip, leap
o Accidentals - sharps, flats, naturals
o Key signs for C Major, F Major, G Major, D Major
and Bb Major
o Elements of music including melody, harmony,
rhythm, instrumentation, timbre, and form.
o Review families of instruments: strings, brass,
woodwinds, percussion.
o Criteria for assessing performances - rhythm &
tempo/feel, tone, intonation, expressiveness (In
Time, In Tone, In Tune, In Touch)
o Music terminology for expressive qualities:
tempo, dynamics, articulation.
o Form in music - binary, ternary, rondo, theme &
variations; Verse - Refrain, cannon, rounds.
o Phrase and basic phrase qualities – beginning,
ending, shape.
o Basic criteria for evaluating performances –
rhythmic accuracy (in Time), note accuracy (in
Tone), basic use of expressive qualities –
dynamics, articulation (in Touch)
o Simple and compound meters.
o Major vs. minor chords/tonality
o Strong/weak beats with different meters.
o Instruments & ensembles - orchestral, pop, jazz,
other cultures.
o Various people, jobs and careers in the field of
music including members of the community.
o A variety of musical styles including pop, rock,
jazz, classical, county, folk music, musical
theater, music for film, etc.
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Music of various cultures and countries from
around the world.
o European art music, American and Latin
American Jazz, East Indian Gamelan, traditional
Latin American, traditional music from the
Middle East, traditional music from China and
Japan,
o Medieval & Renaissance, Classical, and
Romantic periods of music history with
examples from several different nations; 20th
century traditional music from around the
world.
o Specific characteristics of music being studied,
appropriate for grade level, including
description of melody, harmony, rhythm,
instrumentation, texture, dynamics, and form.
o Vocabulary words
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Evaluate the relationship of music to other performing arts in a given performance.
o Compare music to other selected academic disciplines.
o Investigate the science of sound.
o Describe and discuss various professional music careers
o Investigate how people may participate in music within the community as performers, consumers of music,
and music advocates.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Compare and contrast music examples of selected cultures and historical periods.
o Identify and describe some of the key influences of music within contemporary culture
o Discuss representative composers and music compositions from each of five different periods of music
history.
o Compare and contrast a variety of musical styles, using music terminology.
o Place music examples into categories of style, including American folk music, jazz, American musical theater,
and movie/television music.
o Identify characteristics of the music of world cultures.
Songs for Performance
o Battle Hymn of the Republic
o Danny Boy
o Dona Nobis Pacem (round)
o Git Along Little Dogies
o God Bless America
Vocabulary
o Greensleeves
o The Happy Wanderer
o Havah Nagilah
o If I Had a Hammer
o Red River Valley
acoustics
amplitude
arpeggio
balance
blend
blues
flag
frequency
genre
head voice
instrumentation
interval
chest voice
countermelody
descant
doppler effect
dotted eighth note
echo
o Sakura
o Shenandoah
o Sweet Betsy from Pike
o
key
key signature
loudness
monophonic
orchestration
noise pollution
polyphonic
ragtime
repertoire
sequence
shanty
sonic boom
soundtrack
sound wave
speed of sound
staff, staves
theme & variation
vibration
wave length
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
Theme-and-Variations Form
o Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, maman” K. 265 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Do you recognize the theme? If so, what is it called? How many variations do
you hear? Which variation do you like the most? Why? What instrument plays this piece?
o Variations on “America” – Charles Ives - Does this piece begin with the theme? How would you describe the opening section? Does the opening section make
you think of the theme? If so, why? How many variations on America do you hear? How does Charles Ives make the variations different from one another?
What musical elements does he change? Which variation do you like the most? Why?
Contrasting Vocal Styles
o Porgy and Bess: “Summertime” – George Gershwin, as performed by Kathleen Battle - What is this song about? How would you describe Kathleen Battle’s style of
singing? What musical genre does this style represent? To whom would this song be sung? What kind of song is this? What musical elements support your
decision?
o Porgy and Bess: “Summertime” – George Gershwin, as performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - How does the vocal style of Ella Fitzgerald differ
from the vocal style of Kathleen Battle? How would you describe Ella Fitzgerald’s style of singing? What musical genre does this style represent? Do you
prefer one style over the other? If so, why? In which region of the United States do you think this story takes place? (Use the lyrics as a guide.)
Musical Connections
Composers and Their Music
o Teachers: Provide brief, child-friendly biographical profiles of the following composers, and listen to representative works:
o Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
o Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (as orchestrated by Ravel)
Musical Connections
o Introduce children to the following works in connection with topics in other disciplines:
o Music from the Renaissance (such as choral works of Josquin Desprez; lute songs by John Dowland)
o Felix Mendelssohn, Overture, Scherzo, and Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
American Musical Traditions
o Spirituals
Originated by African-Americans, many spirituals go back to the days of slavery. Familiar spirituals, such as:
o Down by the Riverside
o Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
o Wayfaring Stranger
o We Shall Overcome
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6th Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic principles of vocal and instrumental
SINGING
o Sing, alone, a familiar song using correct rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and phrasing appropriate to a selected
genre.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Sing a selected vocal part, within an ensemble,, using correct rhythm, pitch, and expressive qualities.
o Sing melodies written in traditional notation on the treble staff.
o Sing music written in unison or two parts.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
o Play melodies and accompaniments written in traditional notation on the treble staff.
o Play music in a variety of ensembles, using pitched and non-pitched instruments.
o Use Garage Band or another loop application to create and perform a variety of styles and genres of music.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise a non-notated melody within specified guidelines.
o Improvise short melodic and rhythmic phrases & accompaniments.
Use Garage Band or some other sequencer to record improvised melodies and accompaniment parts,
preferably using a MIDI keyboard or some other controller to record musical data.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Experiment, in groups, with speech, rhythm, melody, and form to create simple original compositions or
arrangements of familiars songs using a variety of traditional and non-traditional sound sources.
o Create, individually, a short original composition and/or arrangements using a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources.
o Compose simple melodies and rhythms, using traditional or nontraditional notation.
READING & NOTATING
o Demonstrate knowledge of music notation including rhythm, melody, and symbols of musical expression.
o Sight-sing or play notated music examples including symbols of musical expression.
o Notate rhythmic and melodic music examples applying symbols of musical expression and using standard
notation.
o Perform and notate rhythmic patterns that include whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes,
sixteenth notes and corresponding rests, using voice, body percussion, or instruments.
o Identify/recognize melodic patterns and shapes from written music and MIDI grids/sequencers.
o Identify texture types – monophonic, polyphonic.
o Recognize all diatonic intervals in the major scale.
o Identify the functions of the upper and lower numbers of time signatures.
LISTENING & ANALYZING
o Identify chords [such as I (tonic), IV (subdominant), V (dominant); V7]; major and minor chords; chord
changes; diatonic intervals (third, fourth, fifth)
o Express detailed personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
o Identify the elements of music in the repertoire they perform, listen to, and create, and describe how they
are used.
o Develop and use criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of music performances and
compositions.
o Review as necessary from earlier grades:
the orchestra and families of instruments (strings, wind, brass,
percussion); keyboard instruments
o Review as necessary from earlier grades:
Vocal ranges: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto; tenor, baritone, bass
o List instrumentation for various ensembles including orchestra, wind band, marching band, big band, rock
band, etc.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Explore the importance of the composer’s intent, cultural influences, and historical context for interpretation
of works of music.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for improvement as composers, musical performers,
interpreters, and audience members
o Describe and interpret works of music, using inquiry skills and music terminology.
o The student will describe performances of music, using music terminology.
o Investigate accepted criteria for critiquing musical performances of self and others.
o Describe ways that music can be persuasive.
o Articulate reasons for preferences among works of music, using music terminology.
o Identify ways in which music evokes sensory, emotional, and intellectual responses.
o Investigate aesthetic criteria for determining the quality of a work of music or importance of a musical style.
Demonstrate concert etiquette as an active listener.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Compare and contrast characteristics of art disciplines within a particular historical period or style.
o Describe the correlation between music and two or more other academic disciplines.
o Identify and describe ways in which aware- ness or appreciation of music is affected by culture and the media
performance including good posture, technique,
position, tone, rhythm, etc.
o Sing with solfege, simple melodic patterns based
on major scale.
o Changes in tempo and dynamics.
o Articulations - legato/staccato, accents
o Breath support, long/short, singing vs. speaking.
o Strong vs. weak beats in different meters.
o Rhythms, theory and related vocabulary from
other strands that relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole note/rest, half
note/rest, dotted half notes, quarter note/rest
and eighth notes, sixteenth sets and sixteentheighth sets including simple syncopation and
eighth note syncopation, quarter and eighth
note triplets.
o Rhythms in common time - 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4
time.
o Rhythms in compound time – songs in 6/8, 9/8
or 12/8
o Meter duple/triple, strong vs. weak beats.
o Melodic contour – melodic shape - ostinato
o Staff – treble and bass clef note names, ledger
lines, grand staff.
o AB, ABA and Rondo form, simple verse &
chorus, coda and intro.
o Dynamic symbols and terms, changes in
dynamics.
o More detailed markings for tempo and style.
o Articulation symbols.
o Phrase structure – parallel, contrasting.
o Repeats and musical markings.
o Tied notes and dotted notes
o Accidentals - sharps, flats, naturals
o Chords/triads - I, IV & V chords.
o Elements of music including melody, harmony,
rhythm, instrumentation, timbre, form and
texture.
o Review families of instruments: strings, brass,
woodwinds, percussion, electronic.
o Criteria for assessing performances - rhythm &
tempo/feel, tone, intonation, expressiveness (In
Time, In Tone, In Tune, In Touch)
o Music terminology for expressive qualities:
tempo, dynamics, articulation.
o Form in music - binary, ternary, rondo, theme &
variations; Verse - Refrain, cannon, rounds.
o Phrase and basic phrase qualities – beginning,
ending, shape.
o Phrase structure – parallel, contrasting.
o Meters – simple vs. compound.
o Major vs. minor chords/tonality
o Strong/weak beats with different meters.
o Instruments & ensembles - orchestral, pop, jazz,
other cultures.
o Art discipline characteristics within each
style/period.
o Music technology innovations and
developments that have impacted the industry
including digital recording, the mp3 and music
file compression, digital downloading and P2P
internet applications, the iPod, digital music
sales, etc.
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Various jobs and careers within the music
industry and examples/biographies of people
working within various fields of music.
o Musical instruments including basic orchestral
instruments, and modern instruments including
the guitar, bass, synthesizer, etc.
o Characteristics of Baroque, Classical and
Romantic music and art.
o Musical characteristics of various world cultures.
o Specific composers and musicians from each
period of music studied.
o History of original purpose of copyright law,
public domain, etc.
o Music vocabulary
Songs for Performance
o The Circle Game – Joni Mitchell
o Ramblin’ Boy – Tom Paxton
o Siyahamba
Vocabulary
12-bar blues
advocate
arrangement
augmented
aural
common time
compound meter
copyright
diatonic
diminished
o Investigate and describe various professional music careers, focusing especially on those concerned with
music performance and creation (e.g., instrumentalist, vocalist, conductor, composer, arranger).
o Describe how people participate in music within the community as performers, consumers of music, and
music advocates.
Identify ethical standards as applied to the use of copyrighted materials and investigate the history of copyright
law.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Describe the characteristics of a selected music genre, time period, or culture.
o Compare some aspects of the music of one culture and/or historical period with aspects of the music of
another culture and/or historical period.
o Investigate how inventions and advances in science have influenced music throughout history.
o Report (written or oral) the sources and development of American music genres and correlate with wellknown composers or performers associated with those genres.
o Describe the music of one or more world cultures following teacher provided guidelines.
o Investigate representative composers and works of music from different periods of music history.
o Listen to and describe a variety of musical styles, using music terminology.
Identify characteristics of the music of world cultures.
o You Can Dance – Lisa Atkinson
o Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
o 12-bar blues
diminuendo
elements of music
etiquette
grand staff
grave
o American folk songs
o Percussion songs that feature found sounds,
improvisation, etc.
infringement interpretation
monophonic
notation
perfect (prime,4th, 5th, 8th)
polyphonic
public domain
royalty
texture
tritione
turn-around (blues)
vivace
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
o Various songs/videos from pop, jazz and other modern genres and styles that exemplify specific musical characteristics and elements including rhythm,
melody, harmony, form, call & response, improvisation, texture, etc.
o Various songs /videos that either tell a story or depict a specific mood, feeling, affect, etc. – How does the music convey emotion and/or a story in such a
universal way? What elements of music help convey the story/emotions?
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
Musical Appreciation: Instruments, Composers
Baroque (ca. 1600-1750)
o Counterpoint, fugue, oratorio
o Johann Sebastian Bach: selections from Brandenburg Concertos, selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, selections from the Cantatas such as BWV 80,
BWV 140, or BWV 147
o George Frederick Handel: selections from Water Music, “Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah
Classical (ca. 1750-1825)
o The classical symphony (typically in four movements)
o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 40
o The classical concerto: soloist, cadenza
o Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21
o Chamber music: string quartet, sonata
o Franz Joseph Haydn, String Quartet Opus 76 No. 3, “Emperor”
o Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 (“Moonlight” Sonata)
Romantic (ca. 1800-1900)
o Beethoven as a transitional figure: Symphony No. 9 (fourth movement)
o Romantic composers and works: o Franz Schubert, lieder (art songs): Die Forelle (“The Trout”), Gretchen am Spinnrade (“Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”) o Frederic Chopin: “Funeral March” from Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, “Minute” Waltz, “Revolutionary” Etude in C minor o Robert Schumann, Piano Concerto in A Minor
American Music Genres
o The Blues
o Jazz – Swing - BeBop
o Bluegrass
o Barbershop quartet
o Rhythm & Blues
o Broadway - theater
o Rock & Roll
o Country
7th & 8th Grade
Goals & Performance Tasks
Know
Do
o Basic principles of vocal and instrumental
SINGING
o Sing a varied repertoire of songs while demonstrating appropriate choral behaviors.
o Use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances.
o Sing melodies written in traditional notation on the treble and bass staves, using indicated dynamics,
phrasing, and other expression.
o Sing music of increasing complexity written in two or more parts.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
o Play melodies and accompaniments written in traditional notation on the treble and bass staves.
o Play music of increasing difficulty in a variety of ensembles, using pitched and non-pitched instruments.
o Perform rhythmic patterns that include whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes,
dotted notes, and corresponding rests in duple and triple meters, using voice, body percussion, or
instruments.
IMPROVISING
o Improvise melodic and rhythmic phrases of increasing complexity.
COMPOSING & CREATING
o Compose melodies and rhythms of increasing complexity, using traditional or nontraditional notation.
o Compose using available technology, GarageBand, or any other loop based recording software with specific
guidelines, form, focus on elements, etc.
READING & NOTATING
o Identify melodic patterns containing steps, skips, and leaps.
o Read melodic patterns using the diatonic scale.
o Read rhythmic patterns that include whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes,
dotted notes, and corresponding rests.
o Read and notate rhythmic patterns that include whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes,
sixteenth notes, dotted notes, quarter note and eighth note triplets and corresponding rests in simple and
compound meters.
LISTENING
o Analyze and explain how factors of time and place influence characteristics that give meaning and value to a
work of music.
o Express analytical, personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways.
performance including good posture, technique,
position, tone, rhythm, etc.
o Sing with solfege, simple melodic patterns based
on major scale.
o Changes in tempo and dynamics.
o Articulations - legato/staccato, accents
o Breath support, long/short, singing vs. speaking.
o Strong vs. weak beats in different meters.
o Rhythms, theory and related vocabulary from
other strands that relate to performance.
o Standard notation for whole note/rest, half
note/rest, dotted half notes, quarter note/rest
and eighth notes, sixteenth sets and sixteentheighth sets including simple syncopation and
eighth note syncopation, quarter and eighth
note triplets.
o Meters- 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8; duple
vs. triple; strong vs. weak beats.
o Melodic contour – melodic shape - ostinato
o Staff – treble and bass clef note names, ledger
lines, grand staff.
o AB, ABA and Rondo form, simple verse &
chorus, coda and intro.
o Dynamic symbols and terms, changes in
dynamics.
o More detailed markings for tempo and style.
o Articulation symbols.
o Phrase structure – parallel, contrasting.
o Repeats and musical markings.
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Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
o Tied notes and dotted notes
o Accidentals - sharps, flats, naturals
o Chords/triads - I, IV & V chords.
o Elements of music including melody, harmony,
rhythm, instrumentation, timbre, form and
texture.
o Review families of instruments: strings, brass,
woodwinds, percussion.
o Music terminology for expressive qualities:
tempo, dynamics, articulation.
o Form in music - binary, ternary, rondo, theme &
variations; Verse - Refrain, cannon, rounds.
o Phrase and basic phrase qualities – beginning,
ending, shape.
o Phrase structure – parallel, contrasting.
o Meters – simple vs. compound.
o Major vs. minor chords/tonality
o Strong/weak beats with different meters.
o Instruments & ensembles - orchestral, pop, jazz,
other cultures.
o Art discipline characteristics within each
style/period.
o Music technology innovations and
developments that have impacted the industry
including digital recording, the mp3 and music
file compression, digital downloading and P2P
internet applications, the iPod, digital music
sales, etc.
o Various jobs and careers within the music
industry and examples/biographies of people
working within various fields of music.
o Musical instruments including basic orchestral
instruments, and modern instruments including
the guitar, bass, synthesizer, etc.
o Musical characteristics of various world cultures.
o American Music genres and their impact on our
society – Jazz, Rock & Roll.
o History of music technology – important
inventions including the theremin, Hammond
organ, synthesizer, MIDI, etc.
o Music vocabulary
o Analyze, using musical terminology, ways in which the elements are used in the music that they perform,
listen to, and create.
o Describe personal emotional and intellectual responses to works of music, using music terminology.
o Apply aesthetic criteria for determining the quality of a work of music or importance of a musical style.
o Investigate the roles of music in societies throughout history.
o Summarize the value of musical performance to the community.
Demonstrate good concert etiquette as an active listener.
EVALUATING & CRITIQUING
o Explain the importance of the composer’s intent, cultural influences, and historical context for interpretation
of works of music.
o Identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for improvement as composers, musical performers,
interpreters, and audience members.
o Analyze, interpret, and evaluate works of music, applying accepted criteria using inquiry skills and music
terminology.
o Evaluate works of music, applying accepted criteria.
o Critique musical performances of self and others, applying accepted criteria.
o Analyze ways that music can be persuasive and evoke emotion.
o Evaluate ethical standards as applied to the use of copyrighted materials.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
o Investigate ways culture and technology influence music and styles.
o Analyze the influences of music and the media on the development of personal and cultural identity.
o Investigate and describe various professional music careers, focusing especially on those concerned with the
business and technical aspects of music (e.g., music producer, music/arts administrator, artists manager,
music-business attorney, recording engineer, sound engineer).
o Describe how people who participate in music as performers, consumers of music, and music advocates
impact the community.
o Explain how music technology has impacted industry.
o Investigate significant innovations in the history and development of musical instruments.
o Investigate ways sound is manipulated through the use of technology.
o Investigate the history and development of recorded music.
o Investigate technology used to create music.
o Investigate musical opportunities for performance and advocacy within the community.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
o Compare and contrast representative composers and works of music from different periods of music history.
o Analyze some historical, cultural, and technological influences on style, genre, and innovation in music.
o Analyze some of the social, political, and economic factors that affect the creation of music.
o Listen to and compare and contrast a variety of musical styles, using music terminology.
o Compare and contrast musical characteristics of world cultures.
o Compare and contrast music from the past and present.
Investigate the historical significance of music as an agent of social change.
Vocabulary
amplify
amplification
electronic music
filter
innovation
loop
MIDI
mixer
mp3
music piracy
Musique Concrete
oscillator
pan
portamento
quantize
sample
sample rate
sequencer
stereo
synthesizaer
theremin
track
wave shape
Rhythms
Music Appreciation: Elements of Music
Listen and Discuss works that:
o Focuses on one or two elements of music.
o Depicts and represents a specific movement or social issue.
o Depicts a specific emotion or feeling.
o Depicts or tells a musical story.
o Range in genres and styles, with and (mostly) without lyrics including classical, romantic, 20th century, jazz, rock & roll and electronic music.
o Whenever possible, watch performances on video – discuss performers, setting, etc.
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Musical Appreciation: Instruments, Composers
Electronic Music
o Recordings/videos of Theremin performances
o Wendy Carlos, Switched on Bach
o Mussorgsky, Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Pictures at an Exhibition
o Recordings and videos of musique concrete
o John Cage – Electronic Music for Piano
o Examples of Musique Concrete
Blues
o Evolved from African-American work songs and spirituals
o Twelve bar blues form
Jazz
o Terms: improvisation, syncopation, solo and soloist
o Ragtime: works of Scott Joplin (such as “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”) Louis Armstrong: early recordings such as “Potato Head Blues,” “West End
Blues,” or “St. Louis Blues”
o Duke Ellington: “Caravan,” “Take the ‘A’ Train” [by Billy Strayhorn]
o Miles Davis: “So What”
o Influence of jazz on other music: George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
History of Rock & Roll
o Connections to civil rights movement, history and impact of music on society. o Rhythm & Blues – Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry
o Rockabilly – Elvis Presley Blue Suede Shoes, Heartbreak Hotel, Jerry Lee Lewis Great Balls of Fire, Bill Haley & The Comets Rock Around the Clock
o Doo Wap – The Platters, The Great Pretender
o British Influence – The Beatles
o Dance influences through different decades
American Musical Theater
o Composers and popular songs:
o Irving Berlin, “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Blue Skies”
o George M. Cohan, “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy”
o Cole Porter, “Don’t Fence Me In,” “You’re the Top”
o Broadway musicals: selections including
o Jerome Kern, Showboat: “Ole Man River”
o Rodgers and Hammerstein, Oklahoma!: “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “Oklahoma”
o Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story: “Maria,” “I Feel Pretty”
Vocabulary – All Grades
Vocabulary
Pre-K
accent
beat
clap
echo
fast
high
instrument
loud
low
music
pat
silence
sing
singing voice
slow
soft
sound
speak
speaking voice
speed
steady beat
stomp
voice
whisper
choppy
chorus (ensemble)
compose
composer
eighth note
instrumentalist
introduction
jumpy
long
lullaby
march
movement
musician
nursery rhyme
pattern
pulse
quarter note
repeat
Rest
rhythm
short
singer
smooth
snap
solo
song
thick
thin
title
Kindergarten
band
bumpy
call
call-and-response
chant
choir
2014 – Bayonne School District
19
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
1st Grade
accompany
applause
audience
ballet
beam
body percussion
brass
circle dance
clarinet
Classical
concert
conductor
cymbal
dance
drum
ensemble
flute
folk music
form
forte
guitar
half note
horn
improvise
instrument families
instrumental
Jazz
la
largo
line dance
melodic rhythm
melody
mi
mood
non-pitched
note
note head
opera
ostinato
percussion
percussion
perform
performance piano
(soft)
piano (inst.)
piece of music
pitch
phrase
poetry
presto
quarter rest
refrain
sol
solfege
stem
strings
timbre
trumpet
unaccompanied
verse
violin
volume
woodwind
cannon
choir
choreography
chorus (of a song)
coda
crescendo
decrescendo
diction
do
downbeat dynamic
level
dynamics
expression
fermata
half note
half rest
lyrics
major scale
mezzo forte
mezzo piano musical
alphabet
notate
orchestra
ostinato, ostinati
pentatonic
pentatonic scale
piano
re
repeast sign
ritardando, ritard
round
style
symphony
tempo
tone color
verse
whole note
whole rest
bassoon
cello
chord
composition
conductor, conduct
djembe
do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
dotted half note
double bass
duple
fortissimo
grand staff
harmony
improvisation
interlude
jazz
kora
leap
legato
lute
lyre
marimba
measure
melodic shape
meter moderato
motif, motive
movement (form)
pp, p, mp, mf, f,. ff
musical score
oboe
pan flute
partner song
pianissimo
piccolo
reggae
rondo form scat
sixteenth note
skip
soprano
staccato
staff
step
tambourine
tempo
tenor
tie
timpani treble clef
triple
trombone
tuba
unison
viola
world music
xylophone
critic
critique
Da Capo (D.C.)
Del Segno al fine (D.S.)
dotted note
dotted quarter note
duet
eighth rest
Fine
flat
Gospel
hymn
intonation
ledger lines
lyricist
major
minor
musical
natural
octave
posture
quartet
rap
Renaissance
rhythm ‘n blues
rock ‘n roll
Romantic
scale
sharp
sight read
single eighth note
slur
soprano recorder
spiritual
symphony
syncopation
technique
tenor
texture
theme
tie
time signature
tone quality
tonic
trio
upbeat
chest voice
countermelody
descant
doppler effect
dotted eighth note
echo
flag
frequency
genre
head voice
instrumentation
interval
key
key signature
loudness
monophonic
orchestration
noise pollution
polyphonic
ragtime
repertoire
sequence
shanty
sonic boom
soundtrack
sound wave
speed of sound
staff, staves
theme & variation
vibration
wave length
common time
compound meter
copyright
diatonic
diminished
diminuendo
elements of music
etiquette
grand staff
grave
infringement
interpretation
monophonic
notation
perfect (prime,4th,
5th, 8th)
polyphonic public
domain
royalty
texture
tritione
turn-around (blues)
vivace
2nd Grade
AB form
ABA form
accelerando
accent
allegro
andante
bourdon, bordun
brass
3rd Grade
I–V–I chord
progression
a cappella
accompaniment
adagio
alto
alto/tenor
saxphone
bar line
bass
bass clef
bass drum
4th Grade
I–IV–V7–I
progression
accidentals
arranger
articulation
ballad
Baroque
bluegrass
breath control
country music
criteria
5th Grade
acoustics
amplitude
arpeggio
balance
blend
blues
6th Grade
12-bar blues
advocate
arrangement
augmented
aural
20
2014 – Bayonne School District
Elementary Music Curriculum Handbook
7th & 8th Grade
amplify
amplification
electronic music
filter
innovation
loop
MIDI
mixer
mp3
music piracy
Musique Concrete
oscillator
pan
portamento
quantize
sample
sample rate
sequencer
stereo
synthesizaer
theremin
track
wave shape
fermata
fine
fingerings
flam
flam-tap
flat
forte
fortissimo
half note
head voice
interval
intonation
key signature
largo
ledger lines
legato
lento
measure
melody
mezzo forte
mezzo piano
moderato
multiple bounce
natural
pick-up
phrase
posture
presto
quarter note
rebound
release
repeat
rest
rudiment
scale
segno
sharp
slur
soli
solo
staccato
sticking
stroke
tempo
tie
time signature
tone quality
tonic
unison
whole note
divisi
dolce
dotted half
dotted quarter
double bar
dynamics
eighth note
embouchure
enharmonics
espressivo
fingerings
flat
fortepiano
grace note
grave
half note
head voice
interval
intonation
key signature
ledger lines
legato
maestoso
marcato
measure
molto
natural
paradiddle
Pick-up
poco a poco
poco piu mosso
posture
prestissimo
quarter note
rallentando
release
repeat
ritardando
scale
sforzando
sharp
simile
slur
sordino-muted
staccato
stringendo
subito
syncopation
Tempo I
tenuto
tie
time signature
tone quality
tonic
tutti
whole note
Beginning Band/Choir
accent
accidentals
adagio
allegro
andante
arpeggio
articulation
attack
bar line
breath control
chest voice
clef
coda
crescendo
critique
Da Capo (D.C.)
decrescendo
Del Segno al fine (D.S.)
diction
dotted half
dotted quarter
double bar
dynamics
eighth note
embouchure
Advanced Band/Choir
5-stroke roll
9-stroke roll
a tempo
accelerando
accent
accidentals
anacrusis
animato
arpeggio
articulation
attack
audiate
balance
bar line
blend
breath control
cesura
chest voice
chromatic
con
concert pitch
crescendo critique
Da Capo (D.C.)
dead stroke
decrescendo
Del Segno al fine (D.S.)
diatonic
diction
diminuendo
2014 – Bayonne School District
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