Music

The Music curriculum at OLQM School strives to prepare all K-8 students to be musically aware, knowledgeable, literate, and lifelong participants and supporters of music.   In class students are encouraged to express themselves musically and respond to music made by others. The goals of the OLQM Music curriculum provide a strong foundation in music theory, literacy, history, performance and appreciation appropriate to each grade level. 

Students achieve these musical goals through singing, rhythm activities, creative movement, playing instruments, and listening activities. The students at OLQM School perform a Christmas Concert in December each year. In addition to this, students in Grade 4 perform a concert during Michigan Week (May) that concludes their year-long study of Michigan history.  There are also opportunities for students to take part in musical extracurricular activities including instrumental lessons, choir, hand bells and a Middle School musical production.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten the foundation of music learning is being laid.  Kindergarten students learn the musical concepts of a steady beat, fast/slow, short/long sounds, high/low tones and melodies, loud/soft dynamic levels, singing in tune alone and with others, singing and chanting while being accompanied, moving to music, and call and respond exercises. The Kindergarten students also learn how to perform and be part of an audience.

Grade 1

The First Grade music program is designed to expose children to the enjoyment of making and performing music while developing basic musical concepts and skills.   First Grade students sing a variety of songs individually and in groups, play pitched and non-pitched instruments, move to music, relate rhythm patterns to notation, study traditional notation in double meter learning the quarter note/rest and eighth notes, use classroom instruments and body percussion, create melodies, study changes in musical form in addition to being made aware of changes in dynamics. Students will also perform for an audience.

Grade 2

In the Second Grade students develop more fully the concepts of music literacy using solfege notation.  Second Grade students are exposed to more complex musical rhythms including meter in four, tied notes, rests and syncopated rhythms.  Students are exposed to music form as well as singing alone and in groups.  Students are able to identify selected orchestral and folk instruments.   Students will also perform for an audience.  The curriculum is organized to include many opportunities for singing, listening, playing instruments, creating, and moving to music. Emphasis is on the total involvement of students as music specialists focus on age-appropriate, hands-on musical experiences and activities.  Second Graders are introduced to the elements of music, including melody, harmony, form, rhythm, texture, timbre, expressive qualities, and style. They explore the expressive qualities of their voices, learn beginning music reading and vocabulary, and, in simple ways, how to listen to and analyze a variety of music. Through exposure to a wide variety of musical styles, beginning attitudes and values about music are formulated. A public performance is often a highlight of a Second Grader's formal experience with music education.

Grade 3

In the Third Grade students practice their music literacy skills through the playing of recorders.  Third Grade students are exposed to more complex rhythms including sixteenth notes.  Third Grade students are also exposed to the concepts of scales as the building blocks for melody.  Students will be exposed to the concepts of two-part music in canonical form being accompanied by classroom instruments.  Students will also perform for an audience.  In Third Grade, students continue to build upon their musical knowledge base as more complex songs, musical notation, and vocabulary are introduced.  Students actively demonstrate their awareness of the elements of music through their successful use of dynamics, tone color, melody, and harmony in the songs they sing and in the accompaniments and compositions they create. Students deepen their understanding of the world around them and hone their critical-thinking skills by tracing a song's geographic, historical and cultural roots, as well as listening to, analyzing, interpreting, and responding to a variety of songs and musical works.

Exposure to a variety of music allows students to formulate attitudes and values about music. A public performance is often an outcome of the Third Grade curriculum. 

Grade 4

In the Fourth Grade students continue their music reading skills through the playing of classroom instruments.  Students will write their own music using traditional notation on the music staff.  The students will also study composers from the four main musical periods.  Students continue to build upon their past information-base as they refine their understanding of musical elements and concepts.  Musical literacy is stressed as students learn to read and sing standard musical notation, to analyze, move to, and to create more complex songs.

A strong correlation is made among the songs, instruments, and ethnic dances and their geographic, historical and cultural roots.  Students in Grade Four perform a concert during Michigan Week (May) that concludes their year-long study of Michigan history.   

Grade 5

In the Fifth Grade students will demonstrate beginning choral behaviors and skills in group singing.  Students will also continue to develop their music literacy skills through the playing of recorders and other classroom instruments and composition.  Students will also be exposed to more complex rhythms, meter signatures, and musical form.  Students will further begin to identify key signatures by sight.  Students apply their knowledge of the elements of music as they demonstrate correct singing technique, musical interpretation, independence, and the understanding of music in relationship to history and culture; describe musical sounds in terms of instrument identification, rhythm, timbre, texture, and form; use proper technique while playing all classroom instruments; read and write musical symbols; create original compositions while developing respect and value for the creative process and the endeavors of their classmates; and respond to music through appropriate physical movement.

Grade 6

Students will develop their understanding of Western music in relation to history and other arts, studying more in-depth composers from the major musical time periods. In this class, students have the opportunity to study a variety of musical styles, along with basic techniques of voice production and music theory. The class also includes a variety of hands-on musical activities.

Grade 7

In the Seventh Grade students are assigned one hour of music per week for one semester.  Students are introduced to music through a study of world culture and rhythms beginning with primitive instruments continuing through American Jazz, Blues and Pop.

Grade 8

In the Eighth Grade students are assigned one hour of music per week for one semester.  Students are exposed to different styles of music through a music appreciation course that introduces students to musical style and form from Classical to Contemporary.