Music Standards


Statements of Philosophy, Definitions, Purpose, and Other Defining Characteristics

Music Standards

Standard 1:     

Singing
alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

Standard 2:

Playing
alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

Standard 3:

Improvising
music

Standard 4:

Composing
and arranging music

Standard 5:

Reading
and notating music

Standard 6:

Analyzing
and describing music

Standard 7:

Evaluating
music and music performances

Standard 8:

Making Connections
with music to all arts and disciplines

Standard 9:

Relating
music to history and world culture

 

 

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Intent of Music Education

Definition:

Music is one of the essential parts of human existence. It is the translation of ideas, feelings, and experiences into audible expression. Through the simple elements of rhythm, form, melody, timbre, harmony, texture, and expression, people from the earliest recorded history have created music. When people perform music composed by another, they interpret the composer's work in a personal way using those elements. One of the most revealing ways that people share their culture is through the arts. They radiate the lifestyle of the people who created them. Music is as varied as the cultures which create it. The different types of music define what this country is as a nation.

Purpose:

Music gives balance to human existence and helps it survive. Charles Fowler, a nationally renowned music educator, said that music in all its vast variety speaks to the heart of humankind. It is one of the ways we represent and communicate our humanity. It is a means to convey emotional reactions to the people and the life around us. Music permits people to express who they are and what they feel about the world they live in. With it, people's identity is established in a particular place at a particular time. "Music puts us in touch with our own humanness and with the humanness of other people. By probing the mysteries of our existence -- our uncertainties, our hunger, our excitements, and our dreams -- music provides a portrait of the inner being. That is why it is such an important means of communication within and among all human societies. Through music we can find our roots as global human being members of the human race. The real wonder of it all is that these rewards can be ours for a lifetime." (Fowler, 1994, p. 537.)

Fowler pointed out further that in a world of cold technology, facts, and information, music brings people back to their basic humanness. It is one of the fundamental ways people have invented to search for life's meaning and to express their human essence in this world. It is a means of caring for and preserving the life of our spirit.

"Goals 2000: Educate America Act" established the arts as core subjects among the disciplines in which every American should demonstrate competence. Music is studied for itself, as well as for the important role it plays in developing the abstract thinking skills necessary in reading and in mathematics. The music curriculum and past practices of instruction have been expanded from singing, performance on musical instruments, and listening to greater understandings and applications. Additionally, the study of music assists consumers in making wise choices as they respond to the marketing of one of the nation's largest businesses, the entertainment industry.

Mission:

The mission of arts education in South Carolina is to provide every child a quality education in dance, drama, music, and/or the visual arts. The primary goal is to promote the development and implementation of appropriate curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on the South Carolina Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum Standards 2003 . The curriculum should include comprehensive, sequential instructional units that integrate and balance all standards in all four arts areas-as they are outlined in the South Carolina Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum Standards 2003 .

These music standards provide unified expectations for students and inform the community of what a musically literate person knows and is able to do at each level of their development.

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Music Standards

Standard One:     

Singing
Sings alone and with others a varied repertoire of music.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Sings accurately and with good breath control throughout their singing ranges, alone and in small and large ensembles.
  2. Sings with expression and technical accuracy a large and varied repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 5, on a scale of 1 to 6.
  3. Sings music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.
  4. Sings in small ensembles with one student on a part.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Sings accurately and with good breath control throughout their singing ranges, alone and in small and large ensembles.
  2. Sings with expression and technical accuracy a repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 4-5, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory.
  3. Sings music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.
  4. Sings music written in four parts, with and without accompaniment.
  5. Demonstrates well developed ensemble skills.

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Music Standards (cont'd)         

Standard Two:     

Playing
Plays alone and with others a varied repertoire of instruments.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Plays with appropriate dynamics and timbres.
  2. Performs with expression and technical accuracy, a varied repertoire of instrumental literature with a level of difficulty of 5. (Instrumental Ensemble Classes)
  3. Performs music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.
  4. Plays by ear simple melodies on a melodic instrument and simple accompaniments on a harmonic instrument.
  5. Performs an appropriate part in an ensemble, demonstrating well-developed ensemble skills.
  6. Performs in small ensembles with one student on a part.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Plays with appropriate dynamics and timbres.
  2. Performs with expression and technical accuracy, a varied repertoire of instrumental literature with a level of difficulty of 4-5. (Instrumental Ensemble Classes)
  3. Performs music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.
  4. Plays by ear simple melodies on a melodic instrument and simple accompaniments on a harmonic instrument.
  5. Performs an appropriate part in an ensemble, demonstrating well developed ensemble skills.
  6. Performs in small ensembles with one student on a part.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Three:     

Improvising
Improvises music.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Improvises stylistically appropriate harmonizing parts in a variety of styles.
  2. Improvises simple rhythmic variation and simple melodic embellishments of familiar melodies.
  3. Improvises original melodies, in a variety of styles, over given chord progressions, each in a consistent style, meter and tonality.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Improvises stylistically appropriate harmonizing parts.
  2. Improvises simple rhythmic variation and simple melodic embellishments on familiar melodies.
  3. Sings with expression and technical accuracy, a varied repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 4-5, including some songs performed from memory.
  4. Improvises original melodies over given chord progressions, each in a consistent style, meter and tonality.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Four:     

Composing
Composes and arranges music.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Composes music demonstrating imagination and technical skill in applying the principles of composition.
  2. Arranges pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written in ways that preserve or enhance the expressive effect of the music.
  3. Composes and arranges music for voices and various acoustic and electronic instruments demonstrating knowledge of the ranges and traditional usages of the sound source.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Composes music in several distinct styles, demonstrating creativity in using the elements of music for expressive effect.
  2. Arranges pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written in ways that preserve or enhance the expressive effect of the music.
  3. Composes and arranges music for voices and various acoustic and electronic instruments demonstrating knowledge of the ranges and traditional usages of the sound source.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Five:     

Reading
Reads and notates music.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Reads whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and dotted notes and rests in 2/4 3/4 4/4 6/8 3/8 and alla breve meter signatures.
  2. Reads at sight simple melodies in both the treble and bass clefs, in major and minor modes.
  3. Demonstrates the ability to read a full instrumental score by describing how the elements of music are used and explaining all transpositions and clefs.
  4. Uses standard notation to record their musical ideas and the musical ideas of others.
  5. Interprets nonstandard notation symbols used by some twentieth-century composers.
  6. Sight reads, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 4, on a scale of 1 to 6. (Choral and Instrumental Ensemble Classes).

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Reads whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and dotted notes and rests in 2/4 3/4 4/4 6/8 3/8 and alla breve meter signatures.
  2. Reads at sight simple melodies in both the treble and bass clefs, in major and minor modes.
  3. Demonstrates the ability to read an instrumental or vocal score of up to four staves by describing how the elements of music are used.
  4. Uses standard notation to record their musical ideas and the musical ideas of others.
  5. Sight reads, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6. (Choral and Instrumental Ensemble Classes)

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Six:     

Analyzing
Analyzes and describes music. 

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Identifies simple music forms when presented aurally and visually.
  2. Demonstrates the ability to perceive and remember music events by describing in detail significant events occurring in a given aural example.
  3. Analyzes aural examples of varied repertoire of music, representing diverse genres and cultures, by describing the uses of elements of music and expressive devices.
  4. Demonstrates extensive knowledge of the technical vocabulary of music.
  5. Identifies the sound of a variety of instruments including many orchestral, band, and various cultural instruments, as well as male and female adult voices.
  6. Describes selected prominent music characteristics or specific music events while listening to music.
  7. Compares ways in which musical materials are used in a given example relative to ways in which they are used in other works of the same genre or style.
  8. Analyzes and describes uses of the elements of music in a given work that make it unique, interesting, and expressive.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Identifies simple music forms when presented aurally and visually.
  2. Describes specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology.
  3. Analyzes aural examples of varied repertoire of music, representing diverse genres and cultures, by describing the uses of elements of music and expressive devices.
  4. Demonstrates extensive knowledge of the technical vocabulary of music.
  5. Identifies the sound of a variety of instruments including many orchestral, band, and various cultural instruments, as well as male and female adult voices.
  6. Describes selected prominent music characteristics or specific music events while listening to music.
  7. Identifies and explains compositional devices and techniques used to provide unity, variety, tension, and release in a musical work, and gives examples of other works that makes uses of these devices and techniques.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Seven:     

Evaluating
Evaluates music and music performances. 

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Refines criteria for making informed, critical evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations and applies the criteria in one's personal listening and performing of music.
  2. Explains, using appropriate music terminology, their personal preferences for specific musical works and styles.
  3. Evaluates a performance, composition, arrangement, or improvisation by comparing it to similar or exemplary models.
  4. Evaluates a given musical work in terms of its aesthetic qualities and explains the musical means it uses to evoke feelings and emotions.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Refines criteria for making informed, critical evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations and applies the criteria in one's personal listening and performing of music.
  2. Explains, using appropriate music terminology, their personal preferences for specific musical works and styles.
  3. Evaluates a performance, composition, arrangement, or improvisation by comparing it to similar or exemplary models.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Eight:     

Making Connections
 Connect music to all other arts and disciplines.

 

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Compares the uses of characteristic elements, artistic processes, and organizational principles among the arts in different historical periods and different cultures.
  2. Explains how the roles of composers, performers, and others involved in the production and presentation of music are similar to and different from other arts.
  3. Compares characteristics of two or more art forms within a particular historical period of style and cites examples from various cultures.
  4. Explains ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines outside the arts are interrelated with those of music.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Explains how characteristic elements, artistic processes (such as imagination or craftsmanship), and organizational principles (such as unity and variety or reputation and contrast) are used in similar and distinctive ways in the various arts and cites examples.
  2. Compares characteristics of two or more art forms within a particular historical period of style and cites examples from various cultures.
  3. Explains ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines outside the arts are interrelated with those of music.

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Music Standards (cont'd)

Standard Nine:     

Relating
Associates music to history and world cultures.

Elective:

Advanced Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Classifies by genre, style, historical period, and culture unfamiliar but representative aural examples of music and explains the reasoning behind their classifications.
  2. Classifies by genre, style, historical period, composer and/or title a variety of exemplary musical works and explains why each is considered exemplary.
  3. Identifies sources of American music genre, traces the evolution of those genres, and cites well known musicians associated with them.
  4. Identifies/describes music genres or styles that show the influence of two or more cultural traditions, identifies the cultural source of each influence and traces the historical conditions that produced the synthesis of influences.
  5. Identifies various roles that musicians perform, cites representative individuals that make certain music suitable for each use.
  6. Identifies various roles that musicians perform, cites representative individuals who have functioned in each role, and describes their activities and achievements.
  7. Demonstrates audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed.

Proficient Performance Standards - Grade 12:

  1. Classifies by genre, style, historical period, and culture unfamiliar but representative aural examples of music and explains the reasoning behind their classifications.
  2. Classifies by genre, style, historical period, composer and/or title a variety of exemplary musical works and explains why each is considered exemplary.
  3. Identifies sources of American music genre, traces the evolution of those genres, and cites well known musicians associated with them.
  4. Identifies/describes music genres or styles that show the influence of two or more cultural traditions, identifies the cultural source of each influence and traces the historical conditions that produced the synthesis of influences.
  5. Identifies various roles that musicians perform, cites representative individuals that make certain music suitable for each use.
  6. Identifies various roles that musicians perform, cites representative individuals who have functioned in each role, and describes their activities and achievements.
  7. Demonstrates audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed.

 

High School Choral Music Vocabulary

Term

Chorus

High-Value

Standards

agitato

H

 

5

allargando

H

 

5

allegretto

H

 

5

andantino

H

 

5

animato

H

 

5

appassionato

H

 

5

appoggiatura

H

 

5

atonal

H

 

4

augmentation

H

X

4

bar

H

X

4

basso continuo

H

 

4

bel canto

H

 

1

blend

H

X

1

cambiata

H

 

1

cantata

H

 

8,9

canticle

H

 

6

chanson

H

 

8,9,6

chantey

H

 

9

chorale

H

 

6,9

chord

H

X

5,6

con

H

 

5

con brio

H

 

1,5

con calore

H

 

1

con intensita

H

 

1

con moto

H

 

1

con spirito

H

 

1

concertato

H

 

6

contralto

H

 

1

contrapuntal

H

 

6

deceptive cadence

H

 

4,6

degree

H

X

6

delicato

H

 

1

diminished

H

X

4,5

dolcissimo

H

 

1

doloroso

H

 

5

dominant

H

X

5

double flat

H

 

5

double fugue

H

 

4

double sharp

H

 

5

duplet

H

 

5

etude

H

 

6

festivo

H

 

1

grandioso

H

 

1

harmonic minor

H

 

5

inversion

H

 

5

larghetto

H

 

5

larynx

H

 

1

leading tone

H

 

1,5

leggiero

H

 

5

linear

H

 

4,5

liturgical

H