FALL
Music in sixth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
The through-lines for sixth grade music are Leadership and Voice. We will attend to the musical leaders and how they used their influence to inspire nations, create change, and become part of the fabric of American History.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our throughlines. “Let Your Life Speak” reminds us of how to be an effective leader. The process of cowriting elicits skills of listening, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences or expectations.
Sixth grade will focus on melody this year. As the “leader” of music, melody generally offers the the most accessible entry point to song. We study motifs and themes. We work to understand how the melody tells a story much like a narrator. We write and perform melodies for each other, always supplemented with the practice of offering feedback. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
We have worked on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens one’s relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and free play.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “Lean On Me” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and message. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
Music in sixth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
The through-lines for sixth grade music are Leadership and Voice. We will attend to the musical leaders and how they used their influence to inspire nations, create change, and become part of the fabric of American History.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our throughlines. “Let Your Life Speak” reminds us of how to be an effective leader. The process of cowriting elicits skills of listening, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences or expectations.
Sixth grade will focus on melody this year. As the “leader” of music, melody generally offers the the most accessible entry point to song. We study motifs and themes. We work to understand how the melody tells a story much like a narrator. We write and perform melodies for each other, always supplemented with the practice of offering feedback. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
We have worked on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens one’s relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and free play.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “Lean On Me” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and message. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
WINTER
Since Interim Grades in November, we have focused on our performances for the winter concert, studied music theory, and have been exploring musical history as is pertains to our through-lines. We also continue to attend to the importance of creating a positive, productive, and creative music space. While individual improvement is important, we focus on creating an exciting collaborative environment for music. Many students have begun to branch out and experiment with various instruments.
Revels gave us the opportunity to work together and support each other. “Lean On Me” was an appropriate beginning to Middle School. Knowing when and how to ask for help is a sign of strength and wisdom. With this concert, students also experienced the process of arranging a song for performance. We would move choruses, add introductions, offer moments for the listener to breathe and digest the lyrics, and manipulate the structure and instrumentation to achieve a version that meet our standards. While this can be rather subjective, and elicit many chances to discuss individual preferences, we realized that we must constantly remind ourselves to consider the audience and their experience. We will continue to provide performance opportunities throughout the year.
With the winter performance behind us, our new year has begun with attending to skill development and our social justice through-line. In sixth grade, we are looking at melody as the voice of song. We are including the history of the Blues and its impact on our music today as a way to tie into their social studies topics. The through-line of Positive Leadership and Voice will be our tether to social justice. In addition, we will be practicing “Let Your Life Speak”, an original song, to perform at an All School Meeting this spring. Reminding students that music has a special capacity for creating change is an imperative.
Since Interim Grades in November, we have focused on our performances for the winter concert, studied music theory, and have been exploring musical history as is pertains to our through-lines. We also continue to attend to the importance of creating a positive, productive, and creative music space. While individual improvement is important, we focus on creating an exciting collaborative environment for music. Many students have begun to branch out and experiment with various instruments.
Revels gave us the opportunity to work together and support each other. “Lean On Me” was an appropriate beginning to Middle School. Knowing when and how to ask for help is a sign of strength and wisdom. With this concert, students also experienced the process of arranging a song for performance. We would move choruses, add introductions, offer moments for the listener to breathe and digest the lyrics, and manipulate the structure and instrumentation to achieve a version that meet our standards. While this can be rather subjective, and elicit many chances to discuss individual preferences, we realized that we must constantly remind ourselves to consider the audience and their experience. We will continue to provide performance opportunities throughout the year.
With the winter performance behind us, our new year has begun with attending to skill development and our social justice through-line. In sixth grade, we are looking at melody as the voice of song. We are including the history of the Blues and its impact on our music today as a way to tie into their social studies topics. The through-line of Positive Leadership and Voice will be our tether to social justice. In addition, we will be practicing “Let Your Life Speak”, an original song, to perform at an All School Meeting this spring. Reminding students that music has a special capacity for creating change is an imperative.
SPRING
Our music classes have been filled with collaborative work focusing on the Blues. After studying the history and origin of the genre, building upon our fifth-grade social studies curriculum, we explored lyrical paradigms, the twelve-bar form, chords, and scales. The structure gave students a concrete foundation to which they applied their own creative spirit. In small groups of three to four students, they wrote their own blues song. We used pianos, guitars, ukuleles, and a bass in the ensembles. In order to keep time and adhere to their melody, students wrote lead sheets using an online music software called MuseScore. If needed, this gave them the opportunity to sing along with the automated lead sheet and perform their song for the class. In keeping with our mission, we use these collaborative moments to understand each other, our strengths, our challenges, and how to honor each unique path to a common goal.
As melody as our skill-based through-line, we have been engaged in ear training. Using solfege (do, re, mi, etc.), students are practicing how to recognize melodies and play them back on the pianos. We use call and response as a means to explore and stretch their abilities. The goal is provide students with a nomenclature so they can recall and reproduce melodies they hear. Because music is so prevalent, they have heard so many variations of scales and different melodies. Ear training gives them the opportunity to build confidence in their ability to identify these motifs, intervals, and stepwise motion in melody.
Recently, the grade performed their original song, “Let Your Life Speak” where they encourage positive leadership by connecting to others. This song was born from our beginning-of-the-year collaborative songwriting unit using our social justice through-lines of leadership and positive voice. Performances are critical to establish music as an outlet, platform, and a means to foster self-confidence.
This spring has been filled with projects to further our studies of the Blues. We have studied how Spoken Word has evolved as a genre to express emotions about current issues. The Blues was born as a way to communicate, keep hope, and rise up against systemic racism. Rap and Hip Hop have been born out of similar circumstances and take on issues of social justice, politics, race, and community.
Students were then given the opportunity to use Garageband to record a song including at least a rhythmic track, a melodic component, and an original poem. Students were challenged with the task of creating something unique and honest. They were requested to write about a topic that speaks to them, conjures emotion, and allows students to experiment with original musical serving as accompaniment to their poetry.
Our melodic studies continue to focus on simplicity. Using games, ear training, and full-group playing, our classes have centered around understanding memorable melodies and how they are created. Students have been introduced to solfege (Do, Re, Mi, etc.) and how they are already familiar with sounds, but not yet the nomenclature. We will continue to expand and utilize these skills.
Students will continue to build upon their knowledge and familiarity with Garageband in seventh grade. Understanding the potential of a powerful portable recording software is our goal. It levels the playing field. It makes songwriting and sharing easy and approachable. As the first of their long-term projects in music, this gave students an opportunity to manage their time. The expectation of students working at home on similar projects will increase as they continue in middle school.
Our music classes have been filled with collaborative work focusing on the Blues. After studying the history and origin of the genre, building upon our fifth-grade social studies curriculum, we explored lyrical paradigms, the twelve-bar form, chords, and scales. The structure gave students a concrete foundation to which they applied their own creative spirit. In small groups of three to four students, they wrote their own blues song. We used pianos, guitars, ukuleles, and a bass in the ensembles. In order to keep time and adhere to their melody, students wrote lead sheets using an online music software called MuseScore. If needed, this gave them the opportunity to sing along with the automated lead sheet and perform their song for the class. In keeping with our mission, we use these collaborative moments to understand each other, our strengths, our challenges, and how to honor each unique path to a common goal.
As melody as our skill-based through-line, we have been engaged in ear training. Using solfege (do, re, mi, etc.), students are practicing how to recognize melodies and play them back on the pianos. We use call and response as a means to explore and stretch their abilities. The goal is provide students with a nomenclature so they can recall and reproduce melodies they hear. Because music is so prevalent, they have heard so many variations of scales and different melodies. Ear training gives them the opportunity to build confidence in their ability to identify these motifs, intervals, and stepwise motion in melody.
Recently, the grade performed their original song, “Let Your Life Speak” where they encourage positive leadership by connecting to others. This song was born from our beginning-of-the-year collaborative songwriting unit using our social justice through-lines of leadership and positive voice. Performances are critical to establish music as an outlet, platform, and a means to foster self-confidence.
This spring has been filled with projects to further our studies of the Blues. We have studied how Spoken Word has evolved as a genre to express emotions about current issues. The Blues was born as a way to communicate, keep hope, and rise up against systemic racism. Rap and Hip Hop have been born out of similar circumstances and take on issues of social justice, politics, race, and community.
Students were then given the opportunity to use Garageband to record a song including at least a rhythmic track, a melodic component, and an original poem. Students were challenged with the task of creating something unique and honest. They were requested to write about a topic that speaks to them, conjures emotion, and allows students to experiment with original musical serving as accompaniment to their poetry.
Our melodic studies continue to focus on simplicity. Using games, ear training, and full-group playing, our classes have centered around understanding memorable melodies and how they are created. Students have been introduced to solfege (Do, Re, Mi, etc.) and how they are already familiar with sounds, but not yet the nomenclature. We will continue to expand and utilize these skills.
Students will continue to build upon their knowledge and familiarity with Garageband in seventh grade. Understanding the potential of a powerful portable recording software is our goal. It levels the playing field. It makes songwriting and sharing easy and approachable. As the first of their long-term projects in music, this gave students an opportunity to manage their time. The expectation of students working at home on similar projects will increase as they continue in middle school.