Music

The elementary music program serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Each class has music for 30 minutes, twice a week. D54 schools have their own music curriculum, common assessments and use many instructional resources, such as Quaver Music. Through singing, listening, moving, creating, playing and reading music, students develop and refine their skills in the music concepts of duration, pitch, tone color, expression, design and cultural context. These concepts connect directly with the Fine Arts Learning Standards for the State of Illinois. Students learn about the inclusivity and diversity of music around the world! Each school provides different types of musical performance opportunities for their students.

The general music program at our junior high schools includes full-year and partial-year electives, such as composition, basic piano skills and music technology.

All of our junior high schools also offer a full-year chorus program.

Students entering fifth grade are eligible to begin instrumental music instruction in band or orchestra. The program contains two main parts – weekly group lessons at the elementary school and weekly orchestra and band rehearsals at the assigned junior high beginning in October (fifth-grade students meet on Tuesdays and sixth-grade students meet on Thursdays). Students in seventh and eighth grade band or orchestra rehearse daily during school hours, and participate in a variety of performance opportunities. Click here to visit the District 54 Instrumental Music page.

The Early Instrumental Music program is an opportunity for kindergarten through third-grade students to begin learning to play the violin. All children enrolled in the program attend Dooley School for academic classes as well as violin classes. This program is a Suzuki-based curriculum. The Suzuki philosophy is centered around the “mother tongue” approach, where children learn music the same way they naturally acquire language skills.

Students will:

• Sing and chant, with a group and individually.
• Play simple rhythms.
• Read representations of rhythm, pitch and design.
• Create vocal and instrumental responses.
• Listen and respond to musical elements.
• Move rhythmically and expressively to a variety of music

Duration:
Students will:

• Demonstrate a steady beat

Pitch:
Students will:

• Identify high and low pitches and melodic direction
• Perform a simple melody using a singing voice

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Distinguish between singing, speaking, shouting and whispering voices
• Identify tone colors of classroom instruments

Design:
Students will:

• Demonstrate call and response singing

Expression:
Students will:

• Identify music that is fast/slow and loud/soft

Cultural Context:

Students will:

• Distinguish between music of various purposes, such as marches and lullabies

Duration:
Students will:

• Perform simple rhythm patterns using quarter, paired eighths, and quarter rest

Pitch:
Students will:

• Label line/space notes on the music staff
• Read and sing simple solfege using mi, so, and la

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Visually identify familiar instruments by name and category

Design:
Students will:

• Distinguish between same/different sections in a simple song

Expression:
Students will:

• Compare and contrast tempo and dynamics in musical examples

Cultural Context:

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between audience and performer
• Perform traditional American singing games and folk dances

Duration:
Students will:

• Distinguish between rhythm and beat
• Perform and write whole, half, quarter, and paired eighths notes and quarter rests

Pitch:
Students will:

• Label repeated notes, steps, skips and leaps in a melody
• Demonstrate the ability to sing a simple song in tune
• Read and sing simple solfege using do, re, mi, so, and la

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Aurally distinguish between a typical singing voice of a man, woman, or child

Design:
Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of round/canon, ostinato, and ABA through singing, playing, creating, listening or moving
• Distinguish between phrases that are identical, similar and different

Expression:
Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the common terms for tempo, dynamics, and articulation through performance

Cultural Context:
Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between the musical roles of composer, conductor and performer
• Perform singing games and folk dances representative of a variety of cultures

Duration:
Students will:

• Perform and write rhythm patterns with whole, dotted half, half, quarter, eighth, beamed sixteenth notes and quarter rests in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meter

Pitch:
Students will:

• Read basic pitch notation on a music staff
• Perform a simple melody on recorder, keyboard, harmonica, or mallet instrument alone or in an ensemble

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Visually and aurally identify orchestral instruments and categorize as brass, woodwind, string or percussion
• Identify by sight and/or sound an orchestra, band or chorus

Design:
Students will:

• Apply knowledge of round/canon, ostinato, verse/refrain, ABA, and rondo forms by singing, playing, moving, or creating

Expression:
Students will:

• Analyze the use of tempo, dynamics, and articulation in music

Cultural Context:

Students will:

• Develop an understanding of significant composers and masterworks

Duration:
Students will:

• Perform and write rhythm patterns with whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth notes and whole, half, quarter rests in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meters

Pitch:
Students will:

• Label and define clef, meter signature, key signature, sharp, flat, bar line, and measure on a music staff
• Sing a simple song independently

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Classify world music and instruments by culture or characteristics

Design:
Students will:

• Analyze music as a round/canon, ostinato, verse/refrain or rondo

Expression:
Students will:

• Classify standard Italian expressions for tempo, dynamics, and articulation

Cultural Context:
Students will:

• Memorize and understand the first verse of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”
• Describe how people use music, such as folk songs, in their own culture

Duration:
Students will:

• Read and write rhythm patterns with whole, dotted half, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth notes and whole, half, quarter, eighth rests in various meters

Pitch:
Students will:

• Distinguish between a unison melody with or without accompaniment and a melody with harmony
• Differentiate between major and minor tonalities
• Play a melody or accompaniment on hand chimes, ukulele, dulcimer, world percussion or mallet instruments

Tone Color:
Students will:

• Identify voice classifications of soprano, alto, tenor and bass

Design:
Students will:

• Recognize the function of introduction, coda, repeat sign, 1st and 2nd endings, D.C., D.S. and Fine

Expression:
Students will:

• Apply knowledge of dynamics, tempo, and/or articulation qualities by
  describing a selected music example

Cultural Context:
Students will:

• Distinguish between concert, musical, opera, ballet and play
• Identify musical styles such as jazz, rock, rap, country and classical
• Perform singing games and folk dances representative of a variety of cultures

Creating

Students will:

• Compose rhythmic, melodic and harmonic phrases
• Select, organize, develop and document musical ideas that use compositional techniques and expressive intent
• Present, revise and evaluate work(s) applying teacher and student developed criteria

Performing

Students will:

• Demonstrate and analyze the structure, expressive qualities and context of a varied repertoire of music.
• Apply criteria to critique performances.
• Perform music with technical accuracy, stylistic expression and performance decorum.

Responding

Students will:

• Use knowledge of context to identify, describe and explain music of genres, cultures and historical periods.
• Use evidence to identify and support the meaning of musical works.
• Students will apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Connecting

Students will:

• Demonstrate how interests, knowledge and skills relate to personal choices when creating, performing, and responding to music.
• Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines and daily life.

• Perform with a grade-level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hands on instrument
• Perform with correct articulation
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest length duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform the first five notes of the Bb Scale

• Perform with a grade level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hand on bow
• Perform with correct placement of left hand on instrument
• Perform with correct bow arm motion
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform the D major scale

• Perform with a grade-level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hands on instrument
• Perform with correct articulation
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform the concert Bb scale

• Perform with a grade level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hand on bow
• Perform with correct placement of left hand on instrument
• Perform with correct bow arm motion
• Perform with correct bow speed, weight, and contact point
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform the D Major scale; Identify and perform notes on the G string

• Perform with a grade-level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hands on instrument
• Perform with correct articulation
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform simple time signatures
• Identify notes on ledger lines above and below the staff
• Demonstrate an understanding of key signatures
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform concert Bb, Eb, Ab and F major scales

• Perform with a grade level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hand on bow
• Perform with correct placement of left hand on instrument
• Perform with correct bow arm motion
• Perform with correct bow speed, weight, and contact point
• Perform with two different finger patterns
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest length duration in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform simple time signatures
• Identify and perform notes on ledger lines above and below the staff
• Demonstrate an understanding of key signatures
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform D, G, F and C major scales

• Perform with a grade-level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hands on instrument
• Perform with correct articulation
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform simple and compound time signatures
• Identify notes on ledger lines above and below the staff
• Demonstrate an understanding of key signatures
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform concert Bb, Eb, Ab, F, G, and C major scales and the chromatic scale

• Perform with a grade level appropriate tone
• Perform with correct posture
• Perform with correct placement of hand on bow
• Perform with correct placement of left hand on instrument
• Perform with correct bow arm motion
• Perform with correct bow speed, weight, and contact point
• Perform with two different finger patterns
• Perform basic shifting
• Demonstrate correct instrument care
• Identify and perform the notes taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform the symbols for note and rest duration taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform music using symbols and terminology taught in the method book and assigned music
• Identify and perform simple and compound time signatures
• Identify and perform notes on ledger lines above and below the staff
• Demonstrate an understanding of key signatures
• Demonstrate rehearsal and performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for the context, venue, genre, and style.
• Apply teacher provided and established criteria and feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of ensemble and personal performances.
• Perform D, G, F, C, A and B-flat major scales