Fourth Grade Music Class
The fourth grade students receive music instruction once a week for 50 minutes. One of the highlights of the fourth grade music curriculum is the playing of recorders. This is a very exciting time for the students because for many students, this is the first opportunity they have to learn how to play a musical instrument.
The main concepts being taught during fourth grade include: Texture/Harmony, Music Theory, Recorder Instruction, and The Blues.
The main concepts being taught during fourth grade include: Texture/Harmony, Music Theory, Recorder Instruction, and The Blues.
What's Happening in Fourth Grade Music?
Listed below are the concepts covered and a brief description of our lessons in music class over the course of the school year. This section will be updated as we cover new topics!
September
The fourth grade students started the year by composing their own original composition using the instruments in groups. These compositions are going to be used throughout the year to show student growth by having the students reflect on what they hear in their pieces. As the year progresses, the students should be able to identify and explain more musical concepts in their pieces based on their learning in class.
October-November
Unit 1: Texture
In music, texture refers to the way multiple voices (or instruments) interact in a composition. To begin our unit, we learned three fun songs: "One Bottle of Pop", "Don't Throw Your Junk in my Backyard", and "Fish and Chips". We learned these songs to use to start learning how to arrange small group texture compositions to present to the class. In these compositions the students used the three songs, xylophone bass line, recorder melody, and rhythm instruments to show different layers of texture throughout their piece. To wrap up our unit on texture, we listened to the Spanish carol "Riu Riu Chiu" and discussed the different elements of texture used to perform the piece of music.
December-February
Unit 1: Music Theory Introduction
In preparation for playing the recorder, students are introduced to the basics of music theory. Being able to read the recorder music properly when they start their recorder unit is essential for successful instrument playing.
The students start the unit by learning the names of the lines and spaces in the treble clef and being able to identify and properly label them in different musical examples. We use different activities such as note naming games, mystery song activities, and drills to get the students comfortable with the letter names of the lines and spaces.
After the students are comfortable with the note naming concept, we then move on to learning about rhythm. The students are introduced to the time signature and how it can help tell them how many beats are in a measure. We then learn about the quarter, whole, half, and eighth notes and rests and how much each note is worth in duration. The students then learn to clap and count rhythms in 4/4 time using these symbols. We use various activities such as group clapping and counting activities and rhythm baseball to help students feel comfortable with the basics of rhythm.
Here are some links to fun online games to help reinforce music theory concepts at home:
Note Name Invaders
Word Warrior Treble Clef
Rhythm Quiz Show
Rhythm Term Scramble
March-May
Unit 2: Recorder Instruction
During this unit, the students are introduced to the basics of playing an instrument. We use an instructional method called "Recorder Karate" to help the students learn and develop their recorder playing skills. This highly recommended method of instruction keeps students motivated and wanting to learn more skills as they earn "belts" for their recorder to show mastery of different skills. For more information about the "Recorder Karate" program, please visit this web site.
For students interested in using the streaming audio songs to practice with at home, visit the link below and click on "streaming audio in the top box on the left hand side of the screen. You will need to see Mrs. Simms for a copy of the user name and password.
http://www.musick8.com/rkdojo/rkdojo.php