Course Overview

Exploring Music is for the fifth grade aged elementary student who is new to the K12 Music program. This course presents the basics of traditional music appreciation through the singing and the study of music in history and culture. Students begin by studying some of the most important classical composers, and then study traditional music from around the country and around the world. Finally, they learn how to follow the form of a piece of music.

The course opens with the study of composers from the Baroque and Classical periods. Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are all studied with a focus on their lives and the impact of their times on the music they created. Students then study the traditional music of the major cultural regions of the world, Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. Students learn how the music of these cultures fit into the history and daily life of the people, and learn to identify some of the unique instruments in these cultures.

Students then return to their study of composers, studying the lives and music of Romantic and early Modern period composers. They learn about the expansion of emotional expression in the music of composers like Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. They also see how a renewed interest in national culture helped inspire the music of Dvorak, Mussorgsky and Bartok. And they learn about the revolutionary changes in music at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Students then take more time to study the music and cultures of the regions of the United States. They focus on how the history and ethnicity of areas of our country is reflected in its music. Finally, they study five of the most important forms of music, learning to recognize and map the structure of many different pieces of music.