Music

General Music

The music program aims to develop students understanding and enjoyment of all aspects of music. The pedagogy of Orff Schulwerk is a fundamental foundation of the program providing students with a music education that is active and dynamic. Carl Orff, a german composer developed this approach along with Gunild Keetman, a pioneer in music education for children. It is a holistic approach, entering the world of music aurally, visually, and kinesthetically. Students make music with their voices, singing or chanting rhymes. They make music with their bodies, clapping, stomping, or learning a folk dance. Students also make music on the xylophones and metallophones, playing melodies and accompaniments or drumming out rhythms on the bongos and tubanos. Through the process of imitation, exploration, improvisation, and finally, visualization, students experience and understand the elements of music.

Music is an integral part of the curriculum as well. Students not only develop skills and experiences specific to music, but also build academic skills. The Fourth and Fifth grade explore the mathematical structures of music, relating their studies of fractions in class with the fractions that exist in musical notation. The Fourth Grade also performs a "Gold Rush Musical" as part of their classroom study. They work extensively learning songs and dances from the time period and incorporate these skills into a production. As they study music, students also continue to develop important social and interpersonal skills by working in cooperative groups, sharing ideas, respecting and listening to other’s opinions, and all the while, creating something together.

Choral Music

Performing with a choir gives students an opportunity to sing with a large group. They develop stronger musicianship skills and experience reading a score, singing in rounds, singing in 2-parts, and eventually, singing more complex harmonies. It creates an environment in which students can extend their singing skills as well as their aural skills. Since its start in 1999, the Choral Music program has grown in size and interest as well as skill level allowing for higher expectations including a more sophisticated repertoire. As a result, we have successfully added two more choirs* in the Middle School, giving us five choirs:

• Primary Choir (Kindergarten-2nd Grade)
• Upper Elementary Choir (3rd-5th Grade)
• Middle School Choir
• *Middle School Select Choir (audition-only choir that sings SSA music)
• *Men’s Choir (5th-8th Grade Boys)

The Winter and Spring Choral concerts provide a venue for students to share their work. Students are introduced to a wide variety of repertoire as each concert focuses on a particular style of music with a focus around the school wide theme. Students have performed Jazz, Blues, Folk, Classical, and Multicultural Music in the respective languages. The Choirs have also successfully taken on a more visible role in the surrounding community in the past few years. Starting in the 3rd grade, the choirs perform with Music in the Parks at Disneyland. Students sing for judges and get feedback and awards for their performance. The choirs have placed first within their choral category as well as Best Overall. The Upper Elementary and Middle School Choirs have also been awarded the Espirit de Corps Award several times. This award is given to the school that best exemplifies respect for the art, other participants in the competitions, support for one another, and demonstrates an all around positive attitude.

Electronic Music

Starting in the 3rd grade, students head to the electronic music lab once a week to compose original music using Garageband. Students create with virtual instruments in the electronic music lab to explore musical elements such as rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, and musical articulation. Through teacher-guided projects, students create songs by building a foundation and additively layering various instruments. They learn the fundamentals of song writing and develop melodies, lyrics, and song form. Projects are often integrated with the classroom curriculum. In the Fourth Grade, students write a story about their California animal and chose an instrument they feel best represents that animal. Using the chosen instrument, students create a song that tells their story. Other instruments are used to enhance and ‘narrate’ their tale. In Middle School, students can choose electronic music as an elective, and at the end of the course, all students receive a mastered CD of their music composed throughout the year.