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General Music Curriculum

Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade

Cabrini students study and perform both secular and sacred music. The importance of music in the Mass is instilled through their preparation for worship. It is important that students understand the place of music in the church. It is also important that students know how to express their faith through music and they are given the opportunity to grow spiritually through music.

Throughout the year students have opportunities to share music at school assemblies. Some highlights of the year are the all-school Christmas program and our performance at Grandparents’ Day. As an extension of the general music curriculum, the 7th and 8th grade students may be a part of bell choir, a junior high elective class which meets year-round. The bell choir performs at monthly liturgies and on other special occasions throughout the year.

In PreKindergarten, the student will…

• sing a repertoire of grade level, action and traditional songs.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• echo simple rhythmic patterns.                                                       
• listen and respond to fast and slow tempo in music.

In Kindergarten, the student will…

• sing a repertoire of grade level, action and traditional songs.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• echo simple rhythmic patterns.
• listen and respond to fast and slow tempos, high and low sounds, and fast and slow beats in music.
• identify orchestral instruments by name.
• identify by sight quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, and half notes and can read these rhythms.
• perform basic dances with the group, moving body to beat in certain patterns.
• sing on pitch Sol-Mi patterns and can vary singing voice using dynamics.

In the 1st Grade, the student will…

• sing a repertoire of, action and traditional songs, including songs in AB form.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• expand his/her ability to echo longer, more difficult rhythmic patterns, and demonstrate musical independence through solo responses in singing, movement, and playing instruments.
• read quarter note, quarter rest, half note, eighth note rhythm patterns and read rhythms and understand bar lines and measures.
• sing on pitch Do, Re, Mi, and Sol-Mi.
• identify notes by sight and sound that go up, down, skip, and repeat.
• study Peter Tchaikovsky’s work “Peter and the Wolf,” learn orchestral instruments names and categorize them into instrument families.

In the 2nd Grade, the student will…

• sing a repertoire of action and traditional songs, rounds and songs in AB and ABA form.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• expand his/her ability to echo longer, more difficult rhythmic patterns.
• use instruments to play ostinato rhythms while singing or speaking.
• read rhythmic patterns using quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, and half notes; read rhythms and understand bar lines and measures, and the musical alphabet.
• sing the solfege scale using Kodály hand signs.
• create own music instruments and learn about the science of sound.
• learn a variety of action, and traditional songs.
• study “Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saëns and “Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra” by Benjamin Britten, as a means to further learn the instruments of the orchestra.

In the 3rd Grade, the student will…

• sing a repertoire of folk, action and traditional heritage songs.
• sing rounds and two part harmony; songs in AB and ABA form.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• expand his/her ability to echo longer, more difficult rhythm patterns.
• identify all space and line notes on the treble clef.
• read rhythms with quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter, half, and whole rests.
• identify by sound 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures.
• identify and sing the solfege scale using Kodály hand signs.

In the 4th Grade, the student will…

• demonstrate ability to sing two part harmony, rounds, ABA form, rondo, and canon form.
• sing folk songs from the United States and other countries.
• learn songs centered on Washington state history.
• echo longer, more complicated rhythmic patterns using clap, snap, tap and stomp.
• play ostinatos with simple rhythm instruments or body percussion.
• understand basic theory and is able to compose a small piece; learn to write and read three-, four-, and five-line scores.
• read rhythms and notes on the treble clef; understand 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time; read rhythms with quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter, half, and whole rests.
• write a report about a musical instrument.
• learn to play the soprano recorder, playing melodies and duets in solo and small ensembles, focusing on note reading, good tone quality, and composure while performing.

In the 5th Grade, the student will…

• sing grade level songs and traditional, cultural, folk and United States history songs.
• demonstrate, physically or with simple rhythm instruments, the steady beat (pulse) in music.
• demonstrate ability to sing, play or speak two or three-part rounds, ostinatos and descants.
• recognize basic notation (rhythmic and tonal) on the treble clef.
• write simple compositions.
• study the orchestra in preparation for their field trip to the Tacoma Symphony.
• understand 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 time signatures, and syncopated rhythms.
• study rondo, canon, theme and variation, and chance music.

In the 6th Grade, the student will…

• sing cultural, folk and camp songs.
• demonstrate ability to sing, play or speak two or three-part rounds, ostinatos and descants.
• learn about composers of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern era.
• write a report about a specific composer.
• compose short compositions.
• understand basic music theory and basic music vocabulary.
• study, compare and contrast music of various styles and forms.
• understand syncopation and reads rhythms and notes on the treble clef.

Students in the Junior High Bell Choir will…

• understand and be able to read musical notation.
• play a variety of secular and sacred music.
• perform with the group throughout the year.
• learn how to work in a group setting.
• develop confidence and poise through performing.

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