2nd Grade

Quarter 3:

Music Listening:

The 2nd graders will be learning about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven. We will discuss how he was a very gifted child musician and travelled all over Europe. He studied with the famous Joseph Haydn, who was also a mentor to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Beethoven lost his hearing at a young age. We will listening to several pieces including, "Fur Elise", "Moonlight Sonata", "Symphony No. 5", and "Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy)". It is amazing how even though Beethoven had lost the ability to hear, he was still able to compose some of the most beautiful and famous music ever written.

 

Music Theory:

This quarter, the 2nd graders will focus on identifying line notes vs. space notes and identifying them with the correct note name. Similar to math facts, this takes time and practice. Words and phrases like: "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" for the line notes and "FACE" for the space notes are tried and true tricks to help kids remember the names of the notes on the treble staff. 

In the second half of the quarter, the 2nd graders will begin identifying the names of the notes in the bass clef. Bass clef notes are NOT the same as treble clef. Musically speaking, treble clef notes are for instruments/voices that are high and bass clef notes are for instruments/voices that are low. The phrase to help students remember the order of the bass clef lines is "Great Burritos Don't Fall Apart" and the bass clef lines is "All Cows Eat Grass". 

Sight-Reading:

The students continue to identify the notes of the C pentatonic scale in random orders using the solfege hand sign method.

Concert Prep:

Our spring concert will be held on Wednesday, May 7 in the CPA gym. More details TBD.

 

Quarter 2

Weeks 1 and 2:

Music Theory: Review Treble Clef note names and the identification of steps vs. skips

 

Music Listening: 

Identify instruments of the "Keyboard Family": piano, harpsichord, organ

Concert Prep: Rehearse, memorize, and polish concert songs for performance on December 11.

Weeks 3 and 4:

Music Theory: 

Treble Clef Lines and Spaces

Music Listening: 

Dalcroze/Orff Movement Piece: "Let's Take a Walk" 

Edvard Grieg: "In the Hall of the Mountain King", J.S. Bach: "Tocatta and Fugue in d minor"

"Monster Mash" Boomwhackers

Concert Prep: Rehearse, memorize, and polish concert songs for performance on December 11.

Weeks 5 and 6:

Music Theory: Treble Clef Lines and Spaces Continued

 

Music Listening: 

Peter Tchaikovsky's Biography and "Overture" to The Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky's "March" from The Nutcracker

 

Concert Prep: Rehearse, memorize, and polish concert songs for performance on December 11.

Weeks 7 - 9:

Concert Prep: Rehearse, memorize, and polish concert songs for performance on December 11.

Weeks 10-11:

Reflect on Concert and Play Music Games, Listen to remaining movements of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker"

Quarter 1

Weeks 1 and 2:

• Notation/Melody – 

• Week 1: Review Sol and Mi using the song “Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands”; sight-read the song “Bluebird” using pictures, then music notes on a music staff, and finally perform on boomwhackers.

• Week 2: - Continue review sol and mi, add la in Mystery Melody.

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• Week 1: Review ta, ti-ti-, and sh (quarter note, pair of eighth notes, and quarter rest) with claps and mystery rhythm. 

• Week 2: “We’re Goin’ Back to School”, ta’s and ti-ti’s (quarter notes and pairs of eighth notes)

• Theory – 

• Week 1: “Music Alphabet”, pg. 1, identify 2 and 3 black key patterns on the keyboard.

• Week 2: “Music Alphabet”, pg. 2, introduce lines/spaces of treble clef notes on the staff

• Boomwhackers/Science of Sound:

• Week 1: Introduce music staff with boomwhackers, “Boombox”: perform twelve, eight-beat “boxes” of patterns with the boomwhackers.

• Week 2: Identify high/low sounds due to the size of the instrument

• Music Listening:

• Week 2: Strings Family, Listen to “Pizzicato Polka” by Johann Strauss

Weeks 3 and 4:

·        Continue working on Sol-Mi-La patterns in our daily Mystery Melodies. 

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• “We’re Goin’ to the Zoo” and “We’re Goin’ to the Pet Store”: Ta’s (quarter notes), Ti-Ti’s (pairs of eighth notes), and Sh (quarter rests) using animal themes. 

• Daily Mystery Rhythms – continue to practice ta’s, ti-ti’s, quarter rests, and ti-ri-ti-ri’s (groups of four sixteenth notes).

• Students clap rhythms or play them on classroom percussion instruments. 

• Theory – 

• Week 3: “Rhythm”, pg. 3

• Week 4: “Stem Rules”, pg. 4

• Boomwhackers/Science of Sound:

• Identify term “vibration”.

• Play “Sound Partner Game” to identify correlating sounds. 

• Music Listening:

• Week 3: Woodwind Family, Listen to “Little Fugue in G Minor”, by J.S. Bach

• Week 4: Brass Family, Listen to “Fanfare for the Common Man”, by Aaron Copland

Weeks 5 and 6:

·        Continue working on Sol-Mi-La patterns in our daily Mystery Melodies. 

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• “We’re Goin’ to Ocean” and "We're Goin' to the Farm": Ta’s (quarter notes), Ti-Ti’s (pairs of eighth notes), and Sh (quarter rests) using animal themes. 

• Daily Mystery Rhythms – continue to practice ta’s, ti-ti’s, quarter rests, and ti-ri-ti-ri’s (groups of four sixteenth notes).

• Students clap rhythms or play them on classroom percussion instruments. 

• Theory – 

• Week 5: “Stem Rules”, pg. 4

• Week 6: "Stem Rules continued", pg. 5

• Science of Sound:

• Identify term "pitch", "volume", and "ribbon waves"

• Music Listening:

• Week 5: Percussion Family, Listen to "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", by Benjamin Britten

• Week 6: Keyboard Family, Listen to “Pathetique" by Ludwig van Beethoven

• Concert Preparation:
• Continue to work on our Holiday and Winter music for our big concert on December 11!

Weeks 7 - 10:

• Notation/Melody – 

• Sol, Mi, La

• Students to sight-read varying patterns of the SML pattern.

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• Daily Mystery Rhythms include of variety of the following rhythmic symbols: quarter note, pair of eighth notes,  and quarter rest.

• Theory – 

• "Step/Skip" pg. 7 (Read the book "Step and Skip")

• "Treble Clef Note Names", pg. 8

• "Fun Sheet" (Review), pg. 9

• Music Listening:

• Keyboard Family: Listen to "Aria and Variation" by Bach (harpsichord), "Fur Elise" by Beethoven (piano) and "Toccata and Fugue in d minor" by Bach (organ)

• Orchestra Family Jeopardy

• Watch "Peter and the Wolf"

• Science of Sound:
• Identify the terms;
• Pitch
• Volume
• Sound Waves
• Concert Preparation: Continue to practice our holiday and winter songs for our concert on December 11!