Middle School Vocal Music (Grade 6)

Student Learnings: What students should know and be able to do 

Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

• Healthy singing (singing alone):
  • Posture
  • Breathing
  • Finding the singing voice
  • Pitch matching
  • Vocal range development
• Group singing (unison, rounds):
  • Maintain vocal independence with or without accompaniment.
  • Interdependence on other singers in group.
  • Awareness of intonation, dynamics, blend, balance, vowel and consonant production.
• Ensemble singing (2 part, 3 part, 4 part):
  • Understands and responds to conducting gestures.
  • Demonstrate appropriate and cooperative behavior for the benefit of the ensemble/class.

Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

• Plays independently and in a group on pitched and unpitched instruments with correct posture and technique:
  • Keyboard
  • Bells
  • Percussion
  • Recorder
  • Guitar

Improvises and creates music

• Improvisation:
  • Improvise a melody within a pentatonic, major scale or blues. scale and a given 8 bar or 12 bar pattern over a given harmonic or rhythmic accompaniment.
  • Call and response.
  • Simple rhythmic variations.
• Composition:
  • Compose a short piece within specified guidelines.
  • Construct a chord progression using as a minimum I, IV, V triads.
  • Use a variety of traditional and non-traditional sound sources when composing.

Reads and notates music

• Reads and notates rhythm:
  • Notes and rests
  • Counting system #'s and "ands"
  • Commonly used meters
  • Tempi markings
  • Syncopation, use of ties
• Reads and notates pitch:
  • Intervals
  • Scales
  • Recognizes pitch letter names, scale numbers and solfége syllables.
• Symbols:
  • For dynamics, articulation and expression.
• Score reading (system):
  • Components of a system.
  • Know where to find their part.
  • Rehearsal letter and numbers.
• Sight reading:
  • Simple melodies and rhythms in both treble and bass clef.
  • Use a variety of sight reading methods.

Listening to, analyzing and describing music

• Aurally identify the elements:
  • Melody
  • Harmony
  • Rhythm
  • Tone color/timbre
  • Form
  • Expressive elements: dynamics, articulation.
• Analyze and describe the elements:
  • In terms of style, history and culture.

Evaluating music and music performances

• Develop criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of music performances and compositions and apply the criteria in their personal listening and performing.
• Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and others' performances, compositions, arrangements and improvisations by applying specific criteria appropriate for the style of the music and offer constructive suggestions for improvement.

Understanding relationships between music, the other arts and disciplines outside the arts

• Compare and contrast characteristics of music within the arts:
  • Visual: painting, sculpture, architecture.
  • Performing: drama, dance, instrumental and vocal.
  • Literary arts.
  • Explore theme, style, history.
• Explore how music connects to and enhances other subject areas:
  • Describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines are inter-related with those of music.
  • Examples include: world languages, math/science, PE/health, reading, language arts, history, social sciences.

Understanding music in relation to history and culture

• Understanding music in an historical context.
• Understanding music in a cultural context:
  • Compare musical characteristics with elements of different cultures, times and places.
• Concert etiquette:
  • Student as performer.
  • Student as audience member.
  • Adults (parent/staff) as audience member.