Music Education Integrates Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards will be incorporated into all aspects of our curriculum. In goal setting for the year, our music teacher identified both math and language arts skills that are part of her music instruction.

Mathematical Core Standards:
1) Attend to precision
2) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
3) Look for and make use of structure.
4) Provide students with a solid foundation in whole numbers...division and fractions.

Students in the fourth grade will learn how to read music, and they will learn how to play the recorder. Practicing the instrument at home will be a requirement. An incentive program based on the karate-belt system will be used, with "belts" given for mastery. Students will learn how to be his or her own critic - identifying when musical sounds or rhythms are not precise. To achieve precision, students will be taught how to review measures that are more difficult and not yet precise, until mastery is achieved. The structure of music will be taught such that students can identify when the musical patterns repeat, and when they change. Knowing the structure of the music will aid in learning to play the music with precision. Students will also learn to read musical notation; they will learn the relationship between different lengths of notes (fractions), and how these notes divide and complete a measure (adding fractions).

Language Arts Core Standards:
1) Speaking and Listening: Flexible communication and collaboration
2) Language: Effective use of new vocabulary

Students will be required to play both in small ensembles and with the entire class. They will also perform in front of the class and for larger audiences in the community. To play effectively in an ensemble, students must listen to the music around them. They must listen to each other, and adapt their own playing (sound and speed) to meet the needs of the larger group. Students will also learn to speak about music, using new musical vocabulary to communicate thoughts and meaning about the musical language.

There are additional academic benefits embedded in learning a musical instrument. Musical intelligence may be a new area of competence for a student, separate from abilities in other areas. Musical performance helps students gain self-confidence, particularly when performing in public or in front of friends. Learning to play the recorder provides a solid foundation for further musical competency. Fingerings on the recorder are similar to those on the flute, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, and bagpipes. Note reading skills are also applicable to string, brass, percussion, and piano.

In addition to classroom instruction, our school has a band (Klez Kids) for those who want additional development of ensemble and performance skills.