Note that unit concepts are cumulative. For example, rhythm lessons for “Level C” will always repeat and reinforce rhythm concepts from all previous levels (A & B).

Rhythm

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Keep a steady beat
• Notes can move evenly or unevenly.
• Music can have long sounds, short sounds, and silences.
• Rhythm can have strong and weak beats.
• Long and short rhythms can be grouped in rhythm patterns.
• Basic rhythms can be identified as “ta”, “ti ti” and “rests”.
• Learn to recognize how basic music notation looks.
• Rhythm patterns can accompany a melody.
• Rhythm patterns are made up of “beat” and “divisions of the beat”.
• Beats can be grouped by a musical accent.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Understanding note duration can be extended by a dot, a tie, or a fermata.
• Beats can be grouped into 2s, 3s, and 4s.
• Recognizing that some music does not have a steady beat.
• What is a time signature? It tells how beats are grouped in a measure.
• Sounds and silences have specific duration - for example, quarter note (ta), eighth note (ti–ti) with the corresponding rests.
• Learning that meter changes may occur within a piece of music.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Note and rest duration concepts are extended to include dotted notes and combinations of patterns.
• The syncopation of notes means accents may fall on beats that are usually unaccented.
• Understanding how rhythm is created by combining beat, tempo, patterns, meter, and duration.
• Explore basic kinds of rhythm like march, waltz, tango.
• Learning that there are numerous rhythm patterns associated with different types of music.

Melody

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Sounds may be high or low.
• Sounds are also in the middle.
• A sequence of sounds may move from low to high, high to low, or stay the same.
• A melody is made up of sounds organized in patterns.
• Melodies are based on scales: major, minor and pentatonic (5-tone).
• Printed symbols in music show the direction of the melody.
• Sounds that move up or down by steps or half steps within the octave are called scales.
• Melodies may move by scale steps or move by leaps.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• What is a home note or tonic? A melody may have an ending home tone.
• An interval is the space between 2 sounds.
• An interval may be changed by accidental.
• Intervals give shape or contour to a melody.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Melodies may be based in any key. Explore major scales, and their related minors.
• A melody is changed when it's rhythm is changed.
• Melodies may be based on other scales like whole tone, diatonic, chromatic, pentatonic.

Harmony

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Two or more sounds can occur simultaneously.
• Melodies may be accompanied by harmony.
• Some sounds seem to belong together and are called chords.
• Major and minor chords have different sounds.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Two or more melodies can occur simultaneously like rounds, canons.
• The I and V7 chords may be used to accompany melodies.
• Pitched percussion instruments can be combined to make harmony.
• Tuned instruments can combine to make harmony.
• Melodies having the same harmonic structure may be combined. (Partner songs).

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Voices with different pitch ranges can be combined to create harmony.
• The notes of a chord may be performed in different patterns to accompany a melody.
• Understand that there is an ending point to a musical phrase (cadence).
• Chords other than major and minor may be used to accompany melody; e.g., E7, E9, E dim.

Form

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Music can be organized into sections, similar or different.
• A section may be repeated (verse, chorus).
• Music is organized into phrases.
• A whole piece of music may be comprised of a number of sections.
• Sections may be identified by letters; e.g., AB, ABA, ABAB
• There may be an introduction, an interlude and an ending.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Musical phrases may be short or long.
• Music may be accompanied by a repeated pattern (ostinato).
• More complicated sections identified by the letters ABACA (Rondo).
• First and second endings with repeat signs are found in music.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Exploring that improvisation is part of many forms of music.
• Repetition and contrast give cohesion and interest to form in music.
• Learn basic music forms including AB, ABA, rondo, canon, theme and variations.
• Learn about larger forms of music such as the concerto, opera, and symphony.

Expression

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• The beat in music may be fast or slow (tempo).
• Music may be soft (p) or loud (f), dynamics.
• Music can express our feelings.
• Musical instruments have different sounds.
• The human voice has different sounds.
• Music can reflect our feelings about holidays, seasons, our country and cultural heritage
• Words (lyrics) of a song are very important to understanding the song.
• Music can be fast or slow.
• Music may change from one to the other suddenly or gradually (tempo).
• Music dynamics may change suddenly or gradually.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Changes in dynamics add to the effect of music.
• Musical instruments make sounds by being blown, bowed, plucked, strummed, struck, scraped, or shaken.
• Introduction of musical terms such as ritardando, accelerando, allegro, legato and staccato.
• Musical instruments are grouped into families.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• New sounds may be created using instruments in new ways, by inventing new instruments or by electronic methods.
• The human voice, as an instrument, can have different colour qualities.
• The lyrics and meaning of a song may be enhanced by the vocal interpretation as well as by its instrumental accompaniment.
• Continue to explore many different musical styles including jazz, rock, country, and classical.

Listening

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Identify environmental sounds: school, home, weather, animals, machines.
• Identify and compare musical and non-musical sounds; eg. high–low, loud–soft, short–long.
• Identify voice sounds.
• Distinguish among the sounds of common musical instruments.
• How to be a good member of an audience.
• Understand and appreciate the effect of music that is high–low, loud–soft, short–long, slow–fast, up–down.
• Follow the storytelling of a song’s lyrics.
• Identify “similar” and “different” patterns in music.
• Respond to phrases in music.
• Identify male, female, and children’s singing voices.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Detect the shape of melody.
• Identify differences in tempo, timbre and dynamics.
• Identify the difference between major and minor keys.
• Identify repetition and contrast.
• Identify (AB) and (ABA) forms.
• Recognize the instruments of the four families of the orchestra: string, woodwind, brass, percussion.
• Identify a tonic chord. (Home chord).
• Recognize music of some famous composers.
• Identify various sections in music (introductions, instrumental, chorus etc).
• Identify major and minor chords.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Identify the human voice categories: soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
• Match names, sounds, and pictures of many instruments.
• Identify chord changes by ear.
• Identify the difference between band, orchestra, instrumental duet, trio, quartet, and ensemble.
• Identify some of the following: theme and variations, jazz, classical.
• Identify different vocal groups including; vocal duet, trio, quartet and ensemble.

Moving

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Mimic animals, machines, and other sounds.
• Move to the beat in music through walking, running, stomping, and skipping, as appropriate to the student’s age and ability.
• Respond to beat through action and simple body percussion.
• Perform simple action songs and singing games.
• Improvise movement for high–low, loud–soft, short–long, slow–fast.
• Respond to music through movement in an individual manner.
• Improvise movements to poems, stories, and songs.
• Move to form in music, like phrases, and unlike phrases.
• Show awareness of changes in tempo, dynamics, and mood.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Perform rhythmic patterns in music.
• Move to round or canon form.
• Use planned body movements to illustrate rhythmic and/or melodic patterns.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Move differently to illustrate phrase, repetition, contrast, introductions, interludes, and endings.

Singing/Solfege

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Distinguish between children’s speaking and singing voices.
• Respond to tone matching and echo games
• Respond to so–mi hand signals.
• Respond to hand signals for Do-Re-Mi.
• Sing in tune with many rhythmic and melodic songs, singing games and action songs.
• Experience singing alone and, in a group.
• Sing accurately in unison.
• Extend the use of solfege training with hand signals to include “Sol” and “La”.
• Respond to tone matching with other voices and instruments.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Sing ostinato patterns with songs.
• Sing two-part rounds.
• Continue vocal development: sing with expression and good enunciation.
• Continue vocal development (legato and staccato).
• Sing with various instrumental accompaniments.
• Participate in singing alone or in a group, a capella.
• Sing partner songs.
• Extend the use of solfege training with hand signals to include “Fa” and “Ti”.
• Sing 2- & 3-part rounds and drones.
• Respond to changes in tempo, dynamics, and mood while singing.
• Develop musical interpretation; awareness of the meaning of a song through its words (lyrics).

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Use solfege skills in reading music and sight singing.
• Sing three & four-part rounds, and songs with two-part harmony.
• Extend vocal development to include phrasing, enunciation, and expression.
• Sing songs written in a variety of scales.
• Extend vocal development to include the importance of singing in tune.

Playing Instruments

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Explore the sound of various musical instruments.
• Play a steady beat using rhythm instruments.
• Discover that some instruments play low notes and some play high notes.
• Echo rhythm patterns.
• Accompany singing with appropriate body percussion and movement (beat, accent, rhythm patterns) and transfer these to instruments.
• Play simple rhythm patterns.
• Follow simple rhythm scores.
• Play rhythmic patterns to accompany songs.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Use pitched instruments to play tone-matching games.
• Latin American instruments - use to accompany Latin-American songs. Observe syncopation and particular rhythm patterns for this music.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• If these instruments are available for home/school use, demonstrate skills on as many as possible of the following instruments: Orff Instruments, Resonator Bells, Autoharp, Recorder, Latin Instruments, Ukuleles, Handbells, Strings.

Reading and Writing

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Recognize “ta” and “ti–ti” rhythm patterns.
• Recognize and follow rhythm patterns.
• Echo clap and chant written rhythm patterns.
• Draw simple rhythm patterns on paper.
• Respond to simple instrumental scores on large charts.
• Respond to hand signals and staff notation of “Do-Re”, “Do-Re-Mi”.
• Build “Do-Re-Mi” patterns on a simple staff.
• Follow notation from left to right while singing and playing.
• Recognize quarter, eighth notes.
• Recognize the music staff and treble clef sign.
• Recognize “like” and “unlike” phrases.

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Recognize rests.
• Recognize the dotted half note, the concept of the dot, and the fermata.
• Recognize 4/4-time signature.
• Continue sol–fa training to include “Sol” and low “La”.
• Extend the use of sol-fa training to include “Fa” and “Ti”.
• Recognize the following notes and rests (16th notes and 16th notes rests).
• Develop skill in writing rhythm patterns.

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Develop the ability to read parts while singing; e.g., soprano, alto.
• Recognize syncopated rhythms.
• Recognize the following chord progressions: I, IV, V, and V7.
• Recognize ties, slurs, and accidentals ( sharp, flat, natural).
• Review of musical terms that refer to dynamics.
• Interpret the following symbols of dynamics and tempo: f, p, ff, pp, mf.
• Identify major and minor scales.
• Understand the function of key signatures.
• Show further development in the ability to write music.

Creating

(Level A – grades 1 & 2)

• Use suitable sound effects for poems and songs.
• Use instruments to create sounds of high–low, loud–soft, slow–fast, short–long, up–down.
• Create singing “conversations” (tone matching).

(Level B – grades 3 & 4)

• Create movement to demonstrate form in music.
• Improvise, using instrumental and/or singing activities.
• Create rhythmic and melodic ostinato for poems and songs.
• Create introductions and interludes songs.
• Notate and perform original compositions (does not have to be formal notation).
• Create new music in a known form (AB, ABA).

(Level C – grades 5 & 6)

• Add original harmony and descants to songs.
• Use a variety of scales to create new melodies.