Mr. Baum - Music
Grading Policy45% Effort
(15% Preparation 15% Participation 15% Conduct) 20% In class work 20% Homework/Projects 15% Assessments Music classes will receive a number grade on report cards |
Course DescriptionIn music class, students will experience music through a multi faceted approach to help address all of the New York State educational standards for music as well as enrich the school’s dedication to addressing the Common Core Learning Standards. It is my goal to make music an effective supplement to the school wide curriculum in order to prepare our students with the skills needed to succeed in the real world. I believe music education provides opportunities to develop creative thinking, teamwork, self-confidence and an understanding of what makes us both unique and alike as members of a global community. Music also fits in well to the Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Model which focuses on helping each student to develop his or her own unique set of talents.
For in-classroom instruction, we will be exploring a variety of topics to broaden students understanding of what music is. We will learn that music is not just a subject in and of itself, but can be looked at through the scope of several other disciplines such as science, math, history, social studies, language arts and more. This approach aims to help contribute to the school’s instructional goals of engaging students in high quality discourse to improve their performance in both written and oral responses. In addition, students will be learning to play the guitar. They will learn basic musical elements, how to read basic sheet music, performance techniques and develop a diverse repertoire in line with their ability level. They will also be given the chance to explore composition, arranging and improvisation in a supportive learning environment. |
Contact email - lbaum@thebellacademy.com
JupiterEd.com
Homework, assignments and upcoming assessments will be posted on the calendar page the day they are assigned.
Contact via email for any questions or concerns.
Contact via email for any questions or concerns.
WHats going on in class
Unit 3 - Melody
Melody - Expressive Listening Assignment (See jupitered.com for specific due dates)
Task: Create a scenario based on the expressive qualities of a piece of music which uses a Major or Minor scale.
Melody - Expressive Listening Assignment (See jupitered.com for specific due dates)
Task: Create a scenario based on the expressive qualities of a piece of music which uses a Major or Minor scale.
| expressive_melody_project.docx |
Unit 2 - Pitch
We already know that.....
- All sound is caused by a vibration
- The size of a vibration affects the volume
- All sound can be visually represented as a wave
What causes sounds to have different pitches?
Cycle - When a wave goes up and down one time
The more cycles per second the faster the wave is vibrating
We already know that.....
- All sound is caused by a vibration
- The size of a vibration affects the volume
- All sound can be visually represented as a wave
What causes sounds to have different pitches?
Cycle - When a wave goes up and down one time
The more cycles per second the faster the wave is vibrating
We already know that.....
- All sound is caused by a vibration
- The size of a vibration affects the volume
- All sound can be visually represented as a wave
What causes sounds to have different pitches?
Cycle - When a wave goes up and down one time
The more cycles per second the faster the wave is vibrating
We already know that.....
- All sound is caused by a vibration
- The size of a vibration affects the volume
- All sound can be visually represented as a wave
What causes sounds to have different pitches?
Cycle - When a wave goes up and down one time
The more cycles per second the faster the wave is vibrating
Frequency - The speed at which a wave vibrates
Fast Vibration = High Pitch Slow Vibration = Low Pitch
Remember! - Amplitude does not affect pitch, it affect volume
Amplitude = Loud/Quiet Frequency = High/Low
Hertz (Hz) - A unit of measurement for the frequency of a soundwave.
1 Hertz = 1 Cycle per second
Fast Vibration = High Pitch Slow Vibration = Low Pitch
Remember! - Amplitude does not affect pitch, it affect volume
Amplitude = Loud/Quiet Frequency = High/Low
Hertz (Hz) - A unit of measurement for the frequency of a soundwave.
1 Hertz = 1 Cycle per second
The waves shown above are:
Top - 20 Hertz
Middle - 40 Hertz
Bottom - 80 Hertz
The higher the hertz = the faster the frequency = the higher the pitch
Range
The human ear can hear between 20 Hertz and 20000 Hertz.
This is called the range of hearing.
Range - From the lowest pitch to the highest pitch
Go to this link to listen to different frequencies:
http://plasticity.szynalski.com/tone-generator.htm
assignmentWhat can cause changes in frequency in an object which produces sound?
The 6th grade conducted lab research experiments to determine what can affect changes in pitch in different objects. This is the result of their research.
The 3 L's of pitch:
1.) The Larger something is = The lower the pitch
2.) The Longer something is = The lower the pitch
3.) The Looser something is = The lower the pitch
Categories of Instruments based on what causes vibrations
Category Vibration Examples
Chordophone Strings Guitar, Violin, Harp
Aerophone Air Trumpet, Flute, Saxophone
Membranophone Membrane Snare drum, Conga, Timpani
Idiophone Itself Claves, Xylophone, Gong
Top - 20 Hertz
Middle - 40 Hertz
Bottom - 80 Hertz
The higher the hertz = the faster the frequency = the higher the pitch
Range
The human ear can hear between 20 Hertz and 20000 Hertz.
This is called the range of hearing.
Range - From the lowest pitch to the highest pitch
Go to this link to listen to different frequencies:
http://plasticity.szynalski.com/tone-generator.htm
assignmentWhat can cause changes in frequency in an object which produces sound?
The 6th grade conducted lab research experiments to determine what can affect changes in pitch in different objects. This is the result of their research.
The 3 L's of pitch:
1.) The Larger something is = The lower the pitch
2.) The Longer something is = The lower the pitch
3.) The Looser something is = The lower the pitch
Categories of Instruments based on what causes vibrations
Category Vibration Examples
Chordophone Strings Guitar, Violin, Harp
Aerophone Air Trumpet, Flute, Saxophone
Membranophone Membrane Snare drum, Conga, Timpani
Idiophone Itself Claves, Xylophone, Gong
The Vegetable Orchestra assignment (Check Jupitered.com for specific due dates)
This orchestra makes all its instruments out of vegetables.
Watch this video and determine which categories of instruments these vegetables are in
The Vegetable Orchestra assignment (Check Jupitered.com for specific due dates)
This orchestra makes all its instruments out of vegetables.
Watch this video and determine which categories of instruments these vegetables are in
Unit 1 - Defining Music
Students made lists of everything they think is need in order to have music. In groups, they then formed sentences to define music.
As a class, we looked at all the sentences and looked for similar terminology. from there we came to a final definition of music:
Definition of music
Music is sound purposefully arranged over time.
Using this definition, we examined several examples to determine if they could be considered music or not.
Assignment - Analyzing examples based on our definition (See Jupitered.com for specific dates)
Task - Watch the following two examples and answer the following question:
Which example better fits our definition of music?
Provide evidence from the piece and justify how that evidence supports your answer
Make sure your evidence is connected to the definition of music
Students made lists of everything they think is need in order to have music. In groups, they then formed sentences to define music.
As a class, we looked at all the sentences and looked for similar terminology. from there we came to a final definition of music:
Definition of music
Music is sound purposefully arranged over time.
Using this definition, we examined several examples to determine if they could be considered music or not.
Assignment - Analyzing examples based on our definition (See Jupitered.com for specific dates)
Task - Watch the following two examples and answer the following question:
Which example better fits our definition of music?
Provide evidence from the piece and justify how that evidence supports your answer
Make sure your evidence is connected to the definition of music
| music_definition_analysis.docx |
Example #1 = Wind Chimes
Example #2 - Imaginary Landscape No. 4
Note: This example use 12 Radios.
Note: This example use 12 Radios.
Unit 2 - Dynamics
Three things needed in order to have sound
1. A Vibration
2. A medium for the vibration to pass through (air, water, solid)
3. Someone to hear it
Sound is visually represented as a wave
Three things needed in order to have sound
1. A Vibration
2. A medium for the vibration to pass through (air, water, solid)
3. Someone to hear it
Sound is visually represented as a wave
Amplitude - The size of a sound wave
The bigger the amplitude, the louder the sound is
Intensity - The amount of molecules moved around by a vibration
Small Amplitude = little amount of intensity = Quiet sound
Big Amplitude = large amount of intensity = Loud sound
The bigger the amplitude, the louder the sound is
Intensity - The amount of molecules moved around by a vibration
Small Amplitude = little amount of intensity = Quiet sound
Big Amplitude = large amount of intensity = Loud sound
The Intensity of a sound is measured by Decibels.
Decibels: The unit of measurement for the intensity of a soundwave.
Decibels are written as a number value (example = 80dB)
Decibels: The unit of measurement for the intensity of a soundwave.
Decibels are written as a number value (example = 80dB)
Dynamics
Dynamics is the musical term used when talking about volume.
Studies have shown that popular music today does not have many changes in dynamics. Hundreds of years ago, popular music also did not change in volume. This was because certain instruments at the time were not capable of playing at different dynamic levels.
Harpsichord
Dynamics is the musical term used when talking about volume.
Studies have shown that popular music today does not have many changes in dynamics. Hundreds of years ago, popular music also did not change in volume. This was because certain instruments at the time were not capable of playing at different dynamic levels.
Harpsichord
This all changed with invention of an instrument called the Pianoforte which in Italian means the "quiet loud"
This instrument was capable of playing at loud and quiet volumes, even within the same song, which was not something people we used to at the time it was invented. Now composers could use dynamics to add expression to their music.
Today we call this instrument the "Piano"
Go to this link to see Google Doodle about the inventor of the piano and how it works
http://www.google.com/doodles/bartolomeo-cristoforis-360th-birthday
Musical Expressive terms
All expressive musical terms are in Italian. A long time ago, musicians all over Europe who were composing similar music agreed that Italian would be the common language for writing expressive terms in music. This way a person from Germany could play music written by someone from France or Spain. All musicians had to learn these musical terms in Italian.
Dynamic terms and markings
Key -
Piano = Quiet
Forte = Loud (strong)
Mezzo = Medium
-issimo (suffix) = very
Musical Vocabulary for different dynamic levels
This instrument was capable of playing at loud and quiet volumes, even within the same song, which was not something people we used to at the time it was invented. Now composers could use dynamics to add expression to their music.
Today we call this instrument the "Piano"
Go to this link to see Google Doodle about the inventor of the piano and how it works
http://www.google.com/doodles/bartolomeo-cristoforis-360th-birthday
Musical Expressive terms
All expressive musical terms are in Italian. A long time ago, musicians all over Europe who were composing similar music agreed that Italian would be the common language for writing expressive terms in music. This way a person from Germany could play music written by someone from France or Spain. All musicians had to learn these musical terms in Italian.
Dynamic terms and markings
Key -
Piano = Quiet
Forte = Loud (strong)
Mezzo = Medium
-issimo (suffix) = very
Musical Vocabulary for different dynamic levels
Expressiveness
Music can be used to express emotions, feelings, ideas, scenarios, opinions etc
Musicians use many different elements to make their music expressive.
Examples - dynamics, harmony, rhythm, tempo, lyrics
Expressive Listening Assignment (See Jupitered for specific due dates)
Explain how the dynamic changes in a piece of music help express the scenario of the piece.
Assignment Sheet
Music can be used to express emotions, feelings, ideas, scenarios, opinions etc
Musicians use many different elements to make their music expressive.
Examples - dynamics, harmony, rhythm, tempo, lyrics
Expressive Listening Assignment (See Jupitered for specific due dates)
Explain how the dynamic changes in a piece of music help express the scenario of the piece.
Assignment Sheet
| expressive_listening_assignment.docx |
Choose one of the following two songs for the assignment
The Moldau - Bedrich Smetana
The Moldau River begins as two small mountain springs, one warm and one cold. The water from the springs then combines to become a mighty river. It enters a large forest where there are several hunters involved in a hunt. The river then leaves makes its way out of the forest.
The Moldau - Bedrich Smetana
The Moldau River begins as two small mountain springs, one warm and one cold. The water from the springs then combines to become a mighty river. It enters a large forest where there are several hunters involved in a hunt. The river then leaves makes its way out of the forest.
In The Hall Of The Mountain King - Edward Grieg
Peer Gynt is tip-toeing out of the halls of the mountain (He told the king of the trolls he would marry his daughter, but changed his mind) He is trying to escape without being seen. He is spotted by the troll guards and they begin to chase him. More trolls join in. He is finally stopped by the King who picks him up and throws him out of the castle.
Peer Gynt is tip-toeing out of the halls of the mountain (He told the king of the trolls he would marry his daughter, but changed his mind) He is trying to escape without being seen. He is spotted by the troll guards and they begin to chase him. More trolls join in. He is finally stopped by the King who picks him up and throws him out of the castle.