CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE Archdiocese of St. Louis Cardinal Rigali Center 20 Archbishop May Drive St. Louis, Missouri 63119-5738 314-792-7300 314-792-7350 (fax) www.archstl.org August 2009 Dear Principals, Music education is an essential part of the elementary school curriculum, concerning itself with truth, goodness, and beauty, which have always been pursued by Catholic schools. As a universal language, music can be interpreted and understood by all children. Through music education, teachers and students can come to identify their talents and gifts, and respond to the beauty of God s world. They can learn to appreciate the creative talents of artists in many places, cultures, and times. It is important that every child have the opportunity to learn and experience the world of music. It is also important that in experiencing music, students are creating projects and gaining knowledge that fulfill the best practice in the field of music and is in line with the national standards set forth for music education. In an effort to maintain high quality music education, the following packet has been assembled to especially help schools without a music specialist create lessons for all the students that are best practice and meet the music education national standards. Included in this packet is a synopsis of the eight essential elements of music that should be included in all lessons; the national standards for music education; and a list of resources in print, on-line and in the community that can be used to reach the goal of quality music education. Please remember that this is just a sample of ideas and resources that are available to you. In 2000, the Catholic Education Office published a resource guide for music instruction that is still available at no charge. Please contact me if you need copies for your school. This resource guide includes many lesson plans and ideas that meet the national standards. I would also like to extend myself as a resource to you and your staff. Especially if you are a school without a music specialist, I can present at a faculty meeting the basic elements and ideas of how to create successful music lessons. Please contact me if you are interested in this service. Thank you, Kenneth Lederle Director of Fine Arts klederle@archstl.org (314) 792-7324
The Essential Elements of Music The following are the eight essential elements of music. Most music that will be listened to, performed, or sung in class or church will include these elements. The use of these elements together creates a quality piece of music or song. For a quality lesson plan, include some aspect of all eight of these elements. Meter Meter is a result of the periodic effect of pulse (or beat) in music. Music does not require a pulse (or beat) to be music. Music that does have pulse (or beat) always has beats that receive emphasis by being louder or longer than other surrounding beats. To get a sense of how meter is created, clap a steady beat with your hands. Begin clapping louder on one beat, and softer on the following beat. Repeat this pattern again and again. Try clapping two softer beats after the louder one. The process of patterning beats with a stressed, accented beat (a louder and/or longer sound in comparison to other surrounding sounds) followed by a series of weaker beats is called meter. The stronger accented beat of a pattern (the louder or longer one) is called the downbeat. Meter is counted with numbers. Count one is known as the downbeat. Two patterns of two-beat meter (duple meter) are counted 1-2 1-2. Three patterns of three-beat meter (triple meter) are counted 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3. Four patterns of four-beat meter (quadruple meter) are counted 1-2-3 4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4. Melody Melody may be defined as a series of individual pitches, one occurring after another in order so that the order of pitches constitutes a recognizable entity. A melody as a "recognizable entity" implies that a well written melody does not wander aimlessly, but seems to stand by itself as an idea or subject and can be remembered. Repetition of pitch and rhythm patterns is an important factor in any melody. Melodic pitches are not randomly ordered, but are subject to basic principles of design.
Harmony Harmony in music is the simultaneous use of different pitches to make chords, and the system by which one chord follows another chord in time. A chord may be defined as a combination of two or more different tones sounding at the same moment in time. Form The term musical form is often used to refer to particular musical genres or style. In the vocabulary of music, however, it has a more extended meaning, referring to the type of "architectural" structure on which the music is built. The form refers to the repetition or contrast of musical ideas in lines. For example, in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the first two lines of the song are the same melody and the second two lines are a different melody. This would be labeled as AABB form. The first two lines are similar and the next two lines are similar. Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky. A A B B Instruments/ Voice Musical instruments and the voice of singers are the colors to the music, and the source of sound that the listener hears. The family of instruments include: woodwind, string, brass and percussion. Timbre Timbre, or tone color, refers to the quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. Certain descriptive words may be used to express the effect of musical timbre or tone color, such as: dark - brilliant; opaque - transparent; rich - mellow; fuzzy - clear; dull - sharp; complex - simple, etc. As a metaphor, musicians consider sound in the same manner that painters consider "color" (hence the term tone color) and respond to the mixing of sound sources much the same as a painter responds to the mixing of oils. Music timbre contributes greatly to the effect of mood in music.
Dynamics Dynamics refer to the degree of loudness or softness of a piece of music. Dynamics also refer to the volume of a piece of music. Specific terms used to explain dynamics are: Sign In Italian Definition pp pianissimo very soft p piano soft mp mezzo piano moderately soft mf mezzo forte moderately loud f forte loud ff fortissimo very loud Tempo Tempo identifies the rate of speed of the beat of music and is measured by the number of beats per minute. The tempo indicates how fast or slow a composition or a portion of a composition should be performed. Specific terms used to explain tempo are: Word accelerando adagio allegro andante largo moderato presto Definition play faster play slowly play fast and lively play moderately slow play very slow play at a moderate speed play fast and lively
Resources for the Music Teacher in All of Us The following lists useful websites and resources that can be used for free or for a small cost to create music lesson plans that meet both best practice and the national standards. Many of the resources listed below can also be used to integrate music into other subjects to create cross-curricular lesson plans. Professional Music Educator Websites Music Educators National Conference www.menc.org MENC is the definitive site for information on teaching music. Located on the site are the national standards and the newest research on music education. Missouri Music Educators Association www.mmea.net The Missouri branch of MENC has information on the upcoming convention and information on local district representatives. Resources from Local Professional Organizations Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra www.slso.org The Saint Louis Symphony offers many opportunities for your students. The Symphony produces student concerts, programs like Link Up! that teaches students to play the recorder, in-school demonstrations, and online resources. The in-school demonstrations are free. At their web site, you can find descriptions of all the music that will be performed at the symphony in a given season, and many examples you can listen to. On-line are videos of the in-school demonstrations that can be viewed by your students. Jazz St. Louis www.jazzstl.org Jazz St. Louis offers many education programs for free. These can include in-school concerts, clinics, and programs at Jazz at the Bistro. Opera Theatre St. Louis www.opera-stl.org Opera Theatre St. Louis offers many education programs including artist in residence and their Opera on the Go! program. Opera on the Go! is a one day program for your school that introduces opera. Opera Theatre also offers student operas and tickets to dress rehearsals of main stage productions. Opera on the Go! is offered on even numbered school years. The Sheldon Concert Hall www.sheldonconcerthall.org The Sheldon produces many different education shows at their hall. The prices for the concerts are low and each show lasts one hour. Shows include the topics of jazz, blues, musicals, and folk music.
Springboard www.springboardstl.org Springboard provides programs in the fine arts, cultures, humanities, and sciences to schools and community organizations. These programs inspire their audiences to embrace knowledge and new experiences that broaden their horizons. Springboard has many hands-on workshops and residency. COCA www.cocastl.org COCA s School and Community Programs bring visual, literary and performing arts programs to your school or community. COCA offers in-school residency programs and after school programs that are designed to fit your needs. Lesson Plan Ideas Kennedy Center ArtsEdge http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org ArtsEdge, sponsored by the Kennedy Center, has an large library of lesson plans in art, music and theater, organized by grade level and national standard. These are all multi-lesson projects. The American Folk Song Collection http://kodaly.hnu.edu/home.cfm Holy Names University in California has collected hundreds of American folk songs. The site includes downloadable music, games and dances to go with many of the songs, and recordings of the music. All songs include a history and the origin of the songs. PBS Teachers Art http://www.pbs.org/teachers/arts/ PBS Teachers has numerous lesson plans on all music and art subjects for grades pre K- 12. Many of the pages are also linked to other compressive web pages and programs that have aired on PBS. Other Resources Smithsonian Global Sound www.smithsonianglobalsound.org This site contains listening examples of practically every type of music in the world. The site includes worldwide radio stations and videos. There are also many lessons and activities about the world of music. San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Kids www.sfskids.org The San Francisco Symphony has created a conducting mascot on their kids web site that will guide students through games and information on composing, and the instruments of the symphony. The site includes music that is being currently performed by the San Francisco Symphony, with examples of all the instruments of the symphony.
Ricci Adams Music Theory www.musictheory.net Ricci Adams has created a site of on-line PowerPoint presentations on how to read musical notes, rhythms, and musical symbols. The site has interactive games to test students knowledge with written music theory and aural theory. New York Philharmonic Kidzone www.nyphilkids.org This interactive web site is great for students to surf independently. The site contains music games, including composition games and games on creating instruments. The site includes virtual rooms where students can learn about famous composers and soloists that have performed with the New York Philharmonic. Carnegie Hall www.carnegiehall.org Carnegie Hall s web site offers listening adventures. This interactive site takes students through complete compositions through pictures and stories. Each composition includes downloadable worksheets and activities. Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids www.dsokids.com The Dallas Symphony has created a very colorful, fun, and interactive site for teachers and students. The site is split in half, and looks like either a classroom or a teacher s lounge. On the student side, students can learn about the instruments and listen to music from the orchestra. On the teacher side, teachers can get lesson plans and resources. Teoria www.teoria.com Teoria is an interactive music theory web page. The site includes interactive tutorials, writing and aural quizzes and articles about music theory and music history, and a music dictionary. Nebo School Department of Fine Arts http://nebomusic.net/onlinerecorder.html The Nebo School has created a very interactive site to teach recorder. Visit the many pages on recorder fingering, and examples for students playing and listening to the recorder. There is a virtual recorder to play on-line and many interactive music games. Music Tech Teacher http://www.musictechteacher.com/index.htm Music Tech Teacher was created for the Central Park School music department in Birmingham, Alabama. The site has many online interactive games that teach all aspects of music including rhythm and note reading. Teachers can also download worksheets, quizzes, and other useful handouts. The site includes music lessons integrating technology.
Federal Resources for Education Excellence www.free.ed.gov/index.cfm FREE offers links to exceptional web pages on artists and the visual arts. All the sites are interactive allowing students to see and hear music examples. The site offers on-line videos on many visual art topics. In Tune Monthly Magazine http://www.intunemonthly.com/ In Tune Monthly is the only magazine written exclusively for music making students in grades 7-12 and their teachers. Used by teachers as an in-classroom text, the magazine focuses on enriching and broadening the traditional music curriculum in middle and high schools and appeals to the independent player as well. The web site also includes lesson plans, and CDs of examples mentioned in the magazine Music K 8 magazine http://www.musick8.com/welcome.php Music K 8 has created a unique magazine full of new music, information, and other valuable resources that you will start using with your students from the first day you receive it. They have designed this to be a "hands-on" magazine packed with usable, accessible material. Each new issue of Music K - 8 includes eight or more, never-before published works with full rights for you to photocopy them for use with your students. In fact, the magazine has averaged more than eight songs per issue, including one complete musical revue per year! Accompaniment CDs can also be purchased. The web site includes many other songs and plays to purchase. Music K 8 does produce other magazines that includes topics on the recorder and boomwackers Music Express magazine http://www.musicexpressmagazine.com/ Music Express magazine supplies the educator and students with five new songs a month, activities and teaching strategies, and current issues in the music world and music education. The magazine is in full color and has been a parent s choice winner for three years straight. The web site includes downloadable worksheets, lessons and activities, and many other free resources. Activate! http://www.lorenz.com/subscription.aspx?sub=act Activate! is designed for all educators working with elementary students K - 6. Published bimonthly during the school year, each of the five jam-packed issues of Activate! include: songs to help students discover their voices; opportunities to utilize classroom instruments, from the traditional to the creative; folk dances and other movement activities; and pencil-to-paper games and activities addressing a variety of music concepts. The subscription price includes lesson plans and a CD with numerous complementary recordings.