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First Grade Music
A. MUSICAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS
• Composers: Know that a composer is someone who writes music. Become familiar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a composer who wrote what is known as classical music, and listen to the Allegro (first movement) from A Little Night Music (Eine kleine Nachtmusik).
• Orchestra: Become familiar with the families of instruments in the orchestra: strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion. Know that the leader of the orchestra is called the conductor. Listen to Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf.
B. MUSIC CAN TELL A STORY
• Opera: Understand that opera combines music, singing, and acting. Listen to selections from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel: “Brother, Come Dance with Me,” “I Am the Little Sandman,” “Children’s Prayer.”
• Instrumental Music: Listen to Paul Dukas, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
• Ballet: Understand that ballet combines music and movement, often to tell a story. Listen to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.
Teachers: Familiarize children with other types of dance, such as square dancing and tap dancing.
C. AMERICAN MUSICAL TRADITIONS
• Jazz Understand that jazz is a kind of music that developed in America, with African and African American roots, and that jazz musicians improvise. Recognize Louis Armstrong as a great early jazz musician.
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