West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District String Orchestra Grade 9

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District String Orchestra Grade 9

Grade 9 Orchestra Content Area: Visual and Performing Arts Course & Grade Level: String Orchestra Grade 9 Summary and Rationale Orchestra is an academic subject with its own body of knowledge and skills, which has its unique way of developing critical thinking. It is an integral part of other curricular areas. Music creates a bridge between the school and the community. Musicianship is knowledge based and developed through practicing, critical listening and performing. Orchestra fosters creative growth and cultivates self confidence and self discipline. This creative art form allows use of the whole brain and promotes self expression through performance, composition, and the use of technology. Orchestra provides many opportunities for all students, at all levels and abilities, to participate and excel while building teamwork. By teaching students to develop musical abilities in ensemble and solo settings, we provide them with skills that encourage lifelong learning. Orchestra offers students the opportunity to engage in the process of becoming musicians and connoisseurs of music. As self learners, students learn to work as a team in creative endeavors, developing the necessary skills and abilities to broaden their perspectives and become life long music enthusiasts. Students will acquire the critical thinking to assess the music they hear and perform, responding with a music vocabulary and an understanding of the creative process. The skills students learn in orchestra will prepare them for future courses in the visual and performing arts as well as other content areas. Instructors, as well as students when appropriate, will evaluate students work. Most of the assignments and projects are performance based; therefore, preparation and delivery are equally weighed in distributing grades. Classroom participation is integral to the productivity of the course, and is also included in all grading and evaluations. The elements of this curriculum are designed to maintain consistency with other courses. The learning objectives, questions and understandings are taught and learned interdependently. Occurring on a regular basis, music education results by connecting all elements. In Grades 9 12, students and teachers will build on the knowledge and experience accumulated from the lower grades curricula. The competencies of the 21 st century, learned as individuals, will come together to focus on developing the sensitivity to an aesthetic. This is created by the group and is necessary for the orchestral experience. At this level, the orchestra experience constitutes a human expression that includes competency learning from the affective domain. Recommended Pacing 144 Days (Ensemble) 32 Days (Group Lessons) State Standards Standard 1.1 The Creative Process: All students will demonstrate an understanding of the elements and principles that govern the creation of works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art. 1.1.12.B.1 Examine how aspects of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions are

1.1.12.B.2 organized and manipulated to establish unity and variety in genres of musical compositions. Synthesize knowledge of the elements of music in the deconstruction and performance of complex musical scores from diverse cultural contexts. Standard 1.2 History of the Arts and Culture: All students will understand the role, development, and influence of the arts throughout history and across cultures. 1.2.12.A.1 Determine how dance, music, theatre, and visual art have influenced world cultures throughout history. 1.2.12.A.2 Justify the impact of innovations in the arts (e.g., the availability of music online) on societal norms and habits of mind in various historical eras. Standard 1.3 Performance: All students will synthesize those skills, media, methods, and technologies appropriate to creating, performing, and/or presenting works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art. 1.3.12.B.1 Analyze compositions from different world cultures and genres with respect to technique, musicality, and stylistic nuance, and/or perform excerpts with technical accuracy, appropriate musicality, and the relevant stylistic nuance. 1.3.12.B.2 Analyze how the elements of music are manipulated in original or prepared musical scores. 1.3.12.B.3 1.3.12.B.4 Improvise works through the conscious manipulation of the elements of music, using a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources, including electronic sound generating equipment and music generation programs. Arrange simple pieces for voice or instrument using a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources or electronic media, and/or analyze prepared scores using music composition software. Standard 1.4 Aesthetic Responses & Critique Methodologies: All students will demonstrate and apply an understanding of arts philosophies, judgment, and analysis to works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art. CPI # 1.4.12.B.1 1.4.12.B.2 1.4.12.B.3 Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI) Use contextual clues to differentiate between unique and common properties and to discern the cultural implications of works of dance, music, theatre, and visual art. Speculate on the artist s intent, using discipline specific arts terminology and citing embedded clues to substantiate the hypothesis. Develop informed personal responses to an assortment of artworks across the four arts disciplines (dance, music, theatre, and visual art), using historical significance, craftsmanship, cultural context, and originality as criteria for assigning value to the works. Evaluate how exposure to various cultures influences individual, emotional, intellectual, and kinesthetic responses to artwork. Formulate criteria for arts evaluation using the principles of positive critique and observation of the elements of art and principles of design, and use the criteria to evaluate works of dance, music, theatre, visual, and multimedia artwork from diverse cultural contexts and historical eras. Evaluate how an artist s technical proficiency may affect the creation or presentation of a work of art, as well as how the context in which a work is performed or shown may impact perceptions of its significance/meaning. Determine the role of art and art making in a global society by analyzing the influence of technology on the visual, performing, and multimedia arts for consumers, creators, and performers around the world.

Enduring Understandings Aesthetics foster artistic appreciation, interpretation, imagination and recognition of the significance and value of music. Music elicits personal meaning, emotional responses and creativity. Creativity is grounded in technical knowledge and personal experience. Music promotes and supports creativity, problem solving, discipline, cooperative learning, team building, character and presentational skills. Instructional Focus Essential Questions Why do we value music? How can we develop a lifelong appreciation of music? How do I use the elements of music to express my ideas, experiences and feelings? How do I express myself within the structure of the composition? How does creating and performing music differ from listening to music? There is a definitive sequence to music making. What sequence is used in learning theory? The more technical skills one masters, the broader the capacity as a musician. How does this technical knowledge affect one s musical understanding and strength as a performer? Musical performance builds bridges to How does sharing music bring the community community, which promotes understanding and together? support. Music consists of duration, pitch, timbre, form and intensity. How does the understanding of these elements affect my musicianship? Duration gives us rhythm Form gives us structure Pitch gives us melody Timbre gives us color Intensity gives us variety of emotion The elements of music are taught through the medium of ensembles such as band, orchestra and choir. The critical process of listening, performing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluation leads to informed judgments regarding musical performance. Critique strengthens development both as a performer and as a listener Stylistic characteristics in music are inherent to historical periods and diverse cultures. Technology affects the creation and preservation of music. Knowing the context of the music influences one s understanding of the music. Objectives Students will: Stand and sit with proper posture Hold instrument with proper position How do the elements and principles guide the creation of music? Why critique music? What constitutes excellence in performance? How does culture shape music? Does music cross cultural boundaries? How does technology impact the creative process? What is the historical and cultural source of the music?

Hold bow correctly Follow a conductor Display proper orchestral conduct 9 th grade: Refine bow control and sound quality Play with the collé bow stroke Use appropriate bowing styles for different periods Play three octave major scales with tonic arpeggios: violins A flat, B flat, C; violas & cellos E flat, E, F Recognize leading tones and tritones Enhance intonation by listening to 3rds and 6ths in ensemble Basses read treble clef Core Text: Suggested Resources: Resources