FINE ARTS - MUSIC
Scope & Sequence
Eighth Grade
I. Perform / II. Create / III. Analyze / IV. Analyze in Context / V. Analyze and Make Connections /1. Apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
· Sing and play, with expression and technical accuracy, a diverse repertoire of vocal and instrumental literature, with and without notation, including selections performed from memory. (ART.M.I.8.1)
- Voice
« Vocal timbres: proper singing voice in the appropriate tessitura
« Singing correct pitches, syllables, rhythms, and intonation
« Choose selections appropriate to the MSVMA class rating and ability levels
« Display in tune and out of tune pitches, point out the wave that occurs when two tones do not match
« Discuss interpretation and allow students to make some interpretative choices
« Introduce, label, and practice how to be expressive
- Instrument
« Choose selections appropriate to the MSBOA class rating and ability levels
« Play accurate pitch and rhythms, intonation
« Display in tune and out of tune pitches, point out the wave that occurs when two tones do not match
« Discuss interpretation and allow students to make some interpretative choices
« Introduce, label, and practice how to be expressive
- Perform from memory
« Process for group memorization: start at the end, sing/play an 8 – 16 bar section that is a musical phrase, repeat several times while looking at the music, attempt a few times without music while checking the written music for mistakes (make sure to memorize expression and articulation with the notes). Once the group is comfortable with this section, work your way backwards to the beginning of the piece in the same manner linking 16 bar sections together as you go
« Lots of repetition and time spent on the piece will help with memorization, the goal being that students learn it aurally
· Sing an ostinato. (ART.M.I.8.2)
- Sing
« Sing in the appropriate tessitura
« Sing with proper breath support
« Inspire confidence in your group
- Melodies
« Accurate pitches
« Check for aural understanding of the melody line
- Sing an ostinato
- Review what an ostinato is. Teach an ostinato by rote. Students continue to sing the ostinato while the teacher sings a well-known melody over the ostinato. Experiment with having two or three separate ostinati at a time
· Sing and play accurately as a soloist and in both small and large ensembles, with appropriate technique and breath control. (ART.M.I.8.3)
- Soloist
« Select large group repertoire in which a soloist is featured
« Select a concerto or solo piece accompanied by a large ensemble to perform at a concert. Encourage the student to perform at the solo & ensemble festivals
- Small groups
« When rehearsing your ensemble, select a small group to sing/play a difficult section asking the other students to evaluate and analyze the small group’s performance
« Encourage small groups to perform at solo & ensemble festivals
- Technique
« Teach and monitor technique appropriate for this level
- Breath control
« Teach proper breath support and breathing choices throughout the piece (e.g. at the end of a phrase)
« Make breathing exercises a regular part of your day (breath from the diaphragm; indicators of poor breath are shoulders rising, chest expanding, and hearing a breath sound)
· Use technology in a variety of ways in musical performance. (ART.M.I.8.4)
- Technology
« Select compositions that utilize technology/ recorded sounds
« Encourage students to use Sibelius, Finale, ProTools, GarageBand, etc. to create their own music and integrate it with a performance
« Create a song as a class using GarageBand or similar software to record the students performing on typical instruments or invented sound sources. Make musical decisions as a class and give students a choice. Guide them and look for teachable moments
« As a class, analyze the form of a popular song that has a school appropriate music video. Create a music video to the same song that follows the form that was found by the class
· Sight read basic melodies in treble and bass clefs, using combinations of whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and dotted notes and rests; in simple, compound, and alla breve (cut-time) meters. (ART.M.I.8.5)
- Sight read
« Strategies: direct attention to the meter and key before looking through the piece, look through the piece top to bottom for meter and/or key changes, look for challenging areas and work through it
« Instrumental strategy: do the aforementioned strategy and then hiss and finger rhythms through the piece while fingering the notes. (The hissing should match the dynamics and be articulated as written) / 1. Apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
· Improvise basic harmonic accompaniments. (ART.M.II.8.1)
- Improvise
« Teach a unison melody with a simple harmonic progression. Identify tonic, dominant, and possibly sub-dominant throughout the melody. Develop a visual cue. Define the appropriate notes to use within each chord. Take turns improvising an accompaniment to the melody. Be sure to discuss what worked and why
· Improvise melodic embellishments and basic rhythmic and melodic variations on given pentatonic melodies, and melodies in major keys. (ART.M.II.8.2)
- Embellish pattern
« Display an example of embellishing a melody; explain that it does not change the whole melody idea but alters it slightly by adding a little or omitting a little. Take turns having students embellish the melody over an ostinato
· Improvise short melodies unaccompanied and over given rhythmic accompaniments, each in a consistent style, meter, and tonality. (ART.M.II.8.3)
- Improvise
« Set up a simple, ostinato, take turns improvising melodies. Give struggling students notes that will be safe to use. Monitor for appropriate style, meter, and tonality
« Take a section from a piece you are rehearsing and allow students to improvise using the written melody as a starting point
· Compose short pieces to communicate ideas and/or stories within defined parameters and using standard notation. (ART.M.II.8.4)
- Communicate ideas
« Discuss how styles, tonalities, articulations, etc. can communicate an idea or set a mood/feeling
« Form small groups, write a short story/use a short story or decide on a mood/feeling you would like to portray and create a piece portraying your choice. Notate the composition traditionally. Perform the composition for the group OR hold a composition concert performing all compositions, name a winner at the end of the concert
· Arrange simple pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which pieces were written. (ART.M.II.8.5)
- Arrange
« Select a folk song and arrange it for your voice/instrument
« Take a section of a current repertoire and assign a voice/instrument to arrange to your voice/instrument
· Use a variety of traditional, nontraditional, and electronic sound sources when composing, arranging, and improvising. (ART.M.II.8.6)
- Compose
« Group project detailing that students are to use traditional and nontraditional instruments and sound sources.
- Arrange
« Using GarageBand or similar software, outline an arranging project in which students arrange pre-recorded or pre-created loops or segments of music to arrange and organize in generation of a new piece/song
- Improvise
« Make an improvisation exercise a part of your everyday exercises in which students get an opportunity to improvise. Encourage students to use and bring in non-traditional instruments or sound sources (elaborate what this means) / 3. All students will analyze, describe, and evaluate works of art.
· Identify and describe specific musical elements and events in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology. (ART.M.III.8.1)
- Musical element identification
« Play a recording of a selection, sing, or have students sing/play a selection or portion of music and ask students to identify musical elements and where they lie on the continuum (tempo: largo-moderato-presto)
« Tempo, dynamic, instruments (identify by timbre), tonality (major/minor), chord functions (I & V), phrasing (beginning and ends of phrases), rhythm (meter, duple or triple, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8)
· Analyze the uses of musical elements in aural examples from diverse genres and cultures. (ART.M.III.8.2)
- Musical element identification
« Tempo, dynamic, instruments (identify by timbre), tonality (major/minor), chord functions (I & V), phrasing (beginning and ends of phrases), rhythm (meter, duple or triple, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8)
« Play/sing/listen to diverse genres and identify and describe the above music elements
· Demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions through analysis. (ART.M.III.8.3)
- Meter
« Practice identifying beats per measure based on macro beat and how the first beat of a measure is usually stressed more than others
« Discuss and explore the sub-division in each meter
- Intervals
« Use solfege to assist in singing
« Half step and whole step must be taught and understood (aurally and visually) as a class (alternately, one could use minor 2nd and major 2nd)
« Give mnemonic devices to aurally identify intervals (P4= “here comes the bride”; M6=“NBC”
- Harmonic progressions
« Students should have a basic aural understanding of tonic, sub-dominant, and dominant and the solfege notes that are in each chord. Practice identifying the function of a chord in context of the melody
· Develop criteria based on musical knowledge and personal reflections to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of music performances. Apply these criteria as self-evaluation when performing and creating. (ART.M.III.8.4)
- Develop criteria
« Students should already have experience in evaluating performances and in identifying musical elements
« Form groups and give each group an element to create a rubric for evaluating their performance or composition. Each element should have a continuum of success (e.g. Intonation, poor=ensemble in tune none of the time, Good=ensemble in tune with each other some of the time, etc.)
- Evaluate your own performance
« Students listen to a performance and use the created criteria to evaluate. Each student shares what they have with their group; each group shares what they have with the class
· Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of one’s own and others’ musical performances and creations by applying specific and appropriate criteria, and offering constructive suggestions for improvement. (ART.M.III.8.5)
- Evaluate using criteria
« Perform for each other in class and evaluate using criteria
« Watch/listen to own recording and evaluate with criteria
- Offer constructive suggestions
« After evaluating, discuss how the performance could have been better and what the performers could have done in preparation to improve
« Have a positive model to offer suggestions (e.g. compliment – suggestions – compliment something else) / 4. Understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their historical, social, and cultural contexts.
· Describe distinguishing characteristics of representative music genres and styles from a variety of cultures. (ART.M.IV.8.1)
- Identify
« Identify timbres of instruments distinctive to certain cultures
« Describe the tonalities, forms, and tendencies of music of certain cultures
· Classify by genre and style (and, if applicable, by historical period, composer, and title) a varied body of exemplary musical works and explain the characteristics that cause each work to be considered exemplary. (ART.M.IV.8.2)
- Classify genres and styles
« Describe specific characteristics that make music distinctive to their respective genres, styles, and time periods
« Play/sing/listen to selections and decide the genre based on distinctive characteristics
· Compare, in several cultures of the world, functions music serves, roles of musicians, and conditions under which music is typically performed. (ART.M.IV.8.3)
- Functions of music/ when music is performed
« Watch/listen to recordings of music and explore the purpose of the music and conditions under which it is usually performed (e.g. celebratory, dance, enjoyment, art, ceremony, etc.)
« Compare and contrast the functions of music among similar and vastly different cultures
« Describe and discuss the roles of the musicians
· Describe the impact of technology on music and culture. (ART.M.IV.8.4)
- Impact and roles of technology in music
« Discuss and display various uses of technology in music (accompaniment, creation, arrangement, mixing, featured instrument, etc.)
« Listen to selections that utilize technology and identify the role of technology
« How has technology changed music? Culture? / 5. Recognize, analyze, and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines; between the arts and everyday life.
· Compare how the characteristic materials of each art can be used to transform similar events, scenes, emotions, or ideas into works of art. (ART.M.V.8.1)
- Compare the arts
« Identify and describe characteristics of other art forms
« Take an event, scene, emotion, or idea and analyze how each art form may turn it into art. For instance, 9/11 can be analyzed how each art form took the event and reacted to it and made art work based on the events of 9/11
· Analyze ways in which music is related to the principles and subject matter of other disciplines. (ART.M.V.8.2)
- Connection of musical elements
« Discuss how musical elements connect to other disciplines (e.g. melody/music line can be connected to a line in visual art)
« Collaborate with teachers of other subjects to find thematic units that music can assist in
· Describe artistic applications of current technology in music. (ART.M.V.8.3)
- Technology in music
« Discuss how technology is used in music
« Bring examples of technology of music
Auto-tune
Explore current music produced, mixed, and exported (genres)
Eighth Grade Music Scope & Sequence – May 2012 1