Arts & Music
Music education supports student success across many areas, including math, reading, cognitive development, critical thinking, and verbal skills. Just as importantly, it fosters motivation, focus, confidence, creativity, and teamwork. For these reasons and more, music is a vital part of a well-rounded, high-quality educational program—and we are proud to provide music instruction for all students in the Cypress School District.
General Music Program
All students participate in weekly general music classes taught by credentialed music teachers during the school day. Lessons include foundational concepts such as pitch, rhythm, melody, and tempo. Teachers draw on the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods to help students develop listening skills and musical understanding. Instruction also includes singing, playing instruments, basic choreography, and performance etiquette.
Each spring, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their growth and talent in a culminating concert. Whether or not students go on to study music more formally, the general music program helps build cultural literacy and a lifelong appreciation for the art of music.
Following is an overview of the music program’s instructional scope and sequence.
Preschool
Students engage with simple songs (e.g., nursery rhymes and folk songs) through listening and participation. They use body movements, instruments, and props to explore basic musical concepts. Activities
include vocal echoing and coordinating movement or instrument playing with the music.
TK/Kindergarten
Students engage in a variety of musical and movement activities, including singing games and the use of props. Students sing and identify high and low pitches as well as move to the music in a steady
beat. Students also learn how to play small unpitched percussion instruments.
Grade 1
Students are introduced to basic notation such as lines and spaces of the staff; solfege pitches Mi, Sol, and La; and rhythm notes (ta, titi) and rests. Students practice recognizing and notating Sol and Mi on the
staff and distinguishing the direction of lower or higher melody in a song. Students also engage in musical singing games that focus on echo songs and songs that include Sol, Mi, and rhythmic elements.
Grade 2
Using different manipulatives, such as whiteboards and scarves, and instruments, such as drums, rhythm sticks, and xylophones, students practice the skills of listening, notating, and identifying solfege,
rhythmic notations, musical forms, and dynamics. Students recognize Mi, Sol, La, and Do visually and aurally, notating them on a music staff. Students learn how to sing partner songs, rounds, and ostinatos and
incorporate movement.
Grade 3
Music literacy focuses on melodic and rhythmic notation, meter, and dynamics, as well as defining and performing different tempo markings. Students are introduced to basic form analysis (rondo, ABA, AB)
and simple ostinato (harmony). Students learn the pentatonic scale (Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La) through listening and singing. Students also learn to create, improvise, and perform simple rhythmic and melodic patterns on
pitched percussion instruments, such as the xylophone. Activities include movement to music, including choreography.
Grade 4
Students learn to identify treble clef and absolute pitch names. They reinforce their music literacy skills by reading and performing simple rhythmic patterns and melodies on the recorder instrument. Other
basic musical concepts are reviewed such as dynamics, meter, and form. Students learn to create, improvise, and perform pentatonic songs on the xylophone and rhythmic patterns on unpitched percussion
instruments. Stage performance preparation includes choreography, singing, and performing recorder pieces in rounds and two-part harmony as a group.
Grade 5
Students continue to develop their music literacy skills by reading music and performing simple rhythmic patterns and melodies on the recorder instrument. They learn additional notes on the recorder and perform in unison and harmony. They sing partner songs, two-part harmonies, and rounds. They also identify and sight-sing Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, high Do, low Sol, low La, and low Ti. Music literacy skills continue to focus on notation (treble clef and pentatonic solfege), creating, improvising, and performing music on pitched instruments, such as the xylophone/metallophone. Students review and analyze the form of songs and identify and perform a melodic/rhythmic ostinato. Through different examples of songs and instrumental works, cultural and/or historical contexts are explored to understand the influence and role of music in society. Stage performance preparation continues.
Grade 6
Music instruction focuses on instrumentation as described below.
- Orff Instruments – Students use Orff instruments (xylophones, metallophones, etc.) to explore music composition, rhythm, and melody through interactive, hands-on instructional experiences.
- World Drumming – Students learn the basics of African drumming, singing, and movement. They learn how to play an African drum ensemble using proper techniques for producing a high/low tone on tubano drums and other unpitched instruments, which include the shekere, gankogui, and bells. Students learn about West African music and explore different techniques, such as call and response, to create and perform rhythmic patterns in a drum circle. In addition, students review basic rhythmic notation, melodic notation, and dynamic markings, reinforcing prior musical knowledge.
- Ukulele – Students grow an appreciation for the ukulele by learning the history of the instrument, basic strumming techniques, and how to play songs that are made of four chords (C, C7, F, and G7). They also learn how to play together in group settings, performing for other grade levels. These performances also include singing and choreography.
- Singing – Students continue their vocal development through a variety of singing activities in the classroom and during public performances. They refine their vocal technique, pitch accuracy, and emotional expression through song.
Choir and Band Programs
Fifth and sixth-grade students may choose to participate in after-school choir and band programs, which are offered at each school site in addition to weekly general music instruction. These programs provide opportunities for public performance and are designed to deepen students’ musical engagement and enjoyment. Choir students build on the vocal techniques developed in the general music program and hone their skills of singing with musical expression, and in two-part harmonies. Band students are matched with instruments that include the flute, clarinet, trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone, baritone, and tuba. The district also offers a Band II program for sixth-grade students who were in the Band program during their fifth-grade year. Students apply to participate in Band II, a more advanced ensemble. Band II students form a single ensemble representing all six schools.
Participation in choir or band fosters a strong sense of community and teamwork. As students work together toward shared performance goals, they experience the rewards of collaboration and learn how their individual contributions support the success of the total ensemble.
Proposition 28 - Arts & Music in Schools
On November 8, 2022, California voters approved Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act. The measure required the state to establish a new, ongoing program supporting arts instruction in schools beginning in 2023/24.