Music
PreK through Fourth Grade
Fayerweather’s PreK through fourth grade curriculum is largely based on the principles
of Dalcroze Eurhythmics:
- Eurhythmics (expressing music through the body)
- Solfege (singing, playing, or listening to music with an understanding of the musical
relationship between the notes)
- Improvisation (using what has been learned to create one’s own music)
In PreK-second grade, students focus on responding to music through the body using
familiar life experiences and engaging stories. Students learn to sing in tune and
to recognize relative pitches through exercises, such as painting pitches in the
air. Students are often invited to invent their own rhythms, tunes and movements
based on the focus of the day.
Third and fourth graders continue to explore music through singing, movement and
playing instruments. Folk dances, traditional songs from other cultures and Brazilian
rhythm and drumming are also key components of the music program. Each year, third
and fourth graders sing and tour Perkins School for the Blind and Neville Place
Assisted Living Facility
Fifth through Eighth Grade
In grades five through eight, the overarching goal of the music program is to create
exciting ensemble playing opportunities and to instill a love of music. In fifth
and sixth grade, classes are split into three components:
- Listening: to discover, explore and discuss variations in musical styles, increase
ability to discern the subtleties of musical tone, color, texture and instrumentation,
and to increase active listening skills.
- Theory: to build knowledge of song form, musical terms and ability to read written
music.
- Performance: devoted to learning a class chosen song to prepare for a school wide
performance.
Much of the curriculum in these grades is organized to allow students to have ownership
of the class performance selections. Students choose a song to learn, and the teacher
develops written music that matches each student’s abilities and teaches
the skills necessary to begin to play a variety of instruments (guitar, keyboard,
bass, drums). These classes also include a survey of music history via listening
and discussion, as well as occasional theory lessons.
Seventh and eight grade music is offered as an elective. These are ensemble-based
classes that culminate in a performance. In addition to continuing the themes presented
in the fifth and sixth grade, the Unit classes have also concentrated on topics
such as songwriting, classical music and jazz.