Music at St. Lawrence School

What do students do in Music Class? Maybe a lot more than you would think! The current New York State Core Arts Standards have shifted the focus from skills to artistic processes. The benefits of these learning processes go beyond the arts themselves! Here are the processes and standards for Music.

CREATE
· Imagine: I can come up with my own musical ideas.
· Plan and Make: I can organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
· Evaluate: I can evaluate, improve, and perform my artistic ideas.

PERFORM
· Understand: I can show I understand musical concepts through my performance.
· Rehearse: I can evaluate and rehearse to improve my performance.
· Convey: I can communicate the meaning of a piece through my performance.

RESPOND
· Select and Analyze: I can select music for a specific purpose and describe how the musical concepts fit that purpose.
· Interpret: I can identify and explain the expressive qualities in music.
· Evaluate: I can evaluate music or a performance to determine if it fit its purpose.

CONNECT
· Connect to Personal Experiences: I can combine and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
· Connect to History and Culture: I can demonstrate and explain how the music relates to history and culture.

So yes, as you would expect, they are singing, playing instruments, moving, listening, and learning to read and write music notation. But they are also:
· developing the areas of their brain related to language and reasoning
· learning to practice to improve their work
· developing motor skills
· finding a sense of achievement
· preparing for success in society
· developing emotionally
· developing an understanding of other cultures
· learning pattern recognition
· improving auditory skills
· developing their imagination and using their whole brain
· learning discipline and how to rise to a challenge
· developing creativity
· practicing teamwork
· building self-confidence
· having fun!

Aside from the New York State Standards, at St. Lawrence School, students in music class are also learning and growing spiritually. Songs based on scripture, songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, or songs of petition are part of each class. We appreciate musical gifts from God in ourselves and in others.