Introduction
The music program is intended to provide experiences that will be
meaningful to
the student and lead to development of the following:
- musical imagination (the ability to imagine sounds)
- musical understanding (the ability to grasp musical
concepts)
- musical participation (experiences in creating,
listening and
performing).
In order to develop the above, both the classroom
program and
performance-oriented programs must facilitate problem-solving and
interpretive
decision-making by the students.
The music program will give students opportunities to:
- develop their abilities as creators and performers of music
- express their ideas through creation of their own sound
compositions
- value their own work as worthy artistic endeavour and
understand that music
making is accessible to everyone
- realize the functions of music in their own communities and
daily lives
- develop an understanding of the music of various
cultures through
participation and critical reflection
- further their understanding of music by studying music and
musicians (past
and present) and their roles in cultures and societies (local,
national and
global).
These opportunities are provided through guided exploration
and structured
activities designed so that students experience success. In
this curriculum,
music experiences are based on a "sound before symbol" approach to
encourage the
development of sound awareness, sound discrimination and sound
sensitivity. The
music that students are exposed to should include a broad range,
from classical
to traditional to popular music in the mass media.
The music curriculum is organized into three required units and
one optional
unit:
The three components of the Arts Education program are to be
integrated within
these units. Creating sound compositions, solving problems,
singing, discussing
and listening to music, and
learning about the role of musicians and composers in cultures
and societies
can all be undertaken within each unit. The following
describes the three
components:
The creative/productive component
- making
- doing
- experiencing
- reflecting
The cultural/historical component
- role of the arts
- arts in the community
- arts and culture
- past and present
The critical/responsive component
- viewing and listening
- reacting and describing
- talking about
- thinking
- understanding
- life long involvement
More detailed information about the three components can be found
on page 8.
Instrumental and Vocal Instruction in the Music
Curriculum
The foundational objectives encompass the required content
of the music
curriculum. Activities provided in this document are
suggestions only.
Teachers may design their own activities to meet the foundational
and learning
objectives.
Instrumental and vocal instruction may be the means that
teachers choose to
achieve many of the music objectives. Therefore, teachers of
instrumental and
vocal programs should analyse the objectives to identify those
that are being
met in their existing programs. Teachers may find that they need
to supplement
their existing instrumental and vocal programs to achieve
the remaining
objectives.