Music
Grade 4 Music: Students explore time signatures and meter, discover the basics of harmony, develop instrument technique, and survey major periods in Western music history.
Music Theory and Notation
Time Signatures and Meter
Students learn to read and conduct in common time signatures including 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, understanding beats per measure and note values. They compose short rhythmic pieces in different meters.
Harmony and Chord Basics
Students are introduced to harmony as two or more pitches sounding simultaneously. They listen for consonance and dissonance, explore I, IV, and V chords through Orff instruments and ukulele or recorder, and add chord accompaniments to familiar songs.
Music Reading and Solfege
Students learn to read notes on the treble clef staff, identify notes on lines and spaces, use ledger lines, and apply the solfege system (Do-Re-Mi) for sight-singing and melodic dictation.
Performance and Music History
Instrument Technique
Students develop technique on recorder, classroom percussion, and beginner strings or keyboard, focusing on tone quality, posture, breath control or bow technique, and ensemble playing.
Vocal Production and Part Singing
Students develop healthy vocal technique including posture, breath support, and diction. They explore two-part singing through rounds and partner songs, and apply dynamics and phrasing to expressive performance.
Music History Periods
Students survey the major periods of Western music history — Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern — learning about key composers including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Stravinsky, and connecting listening examples to historical context.