Allegheny-Clarion Valley Music Department

Mr. DiTullio

Director of Bands

724 -659- 4661

Class: 7^th Grade General Music

Class Periods: 1 and 3

Purpose

General music class is a required class for all seventh graders. The class meets daily for one semester.  An environment is established in which each student will be brought into contact with music, giving them the knowledge and skills to appreciate the art of music by understanding its origins and background, and to become active, well-rounded adults as they progress through life.  You will participate in a wide range of musical activities, such as writing, performing, listening, and creating.  The lessons learned from this course will give you a good start on future musical endeavors.

Grading

Grades will be determined by the number of points accumulated during the semester, divided by the total number of points possible.  These points will be earned through quizzes, daily assignments, exams, written reports, projects and in-class participation.  The percentage and grade system works as follows:

A = 93%-100%

B = 85%-92%

C = 75%-84%

D = 65%-74%

F = 64% - 0%

I = Incomplete

“I” for Incomplete will be given only when work was missed because of excused absence from school.  Assignments not completed for reasons other than excused absences will become zeros in the teacher’s grade book.  Students are reasonable for arranging to make up missed work within a reasonable time limit established by teachers involved. 

Notebook:

All students will keep a daily notebook throughout the semester. You must bring your notebook and a writing tool with you everyday.  If you are absent, you must make arrangements with Mr. DiTullio to get your notes up-to-date.  Notebooks will be checked during each unit and then collected and graded at the end of the semester.

Unit Schedule (The dates are tentative and subject to change if needed.)

Unit 1:  The National Anthem Project.  This unit introduces you to The United States of America’s National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.  In this unit, you will learn the history of The Star Spangled Banner of The United States Flag, and creating a flag that represents your family.  We will be doing many in class activities and interactive lessons in class, to demonstrate your understanding of the National Anthem. 

Unit 2: Music Elements and Styles of Music.  This unit introduces you to the elements that make up music.  You will learn aspects such as rhythm, timbre, dynamics, harmony, form, and others.  We will be doing many in-class exercises to demonstrate the musical aspects listed above. The Styles of Music will introduce the class to the different periods of music and the different styles of music, such as: Classical, Pop, Rock and Roll, Vocal, Instrumental, Marching Band, and Jazz.

Unit 3:Instruments of the Orchestra.  This unit introduces you to the instruments of the orchestra.  You will learn the different families of instruments and what makes each one special.  We will tour the elements of a professional orchestra and participate in an internet discovery web quest.  In this unit, we will also be creating our own musical instruments for class.  We will be doing many in-class exercises to demonstrate the musical aspects listed above.

Unit 4: The History of Music.  This unit will give you a brief synapses of the history of western music.  We will start with music in the middle ages.  We will review the great composers of the renaissance, baroque, classical, and romantic periods through listening and reading examples.  We will be watching “Beethoven lives upstairs” and the award-winning movie “Amadeus”, about the life of Mozart.   

Unit 5:  Music Careers.  This unit will illustrate the careers available in music.  We will discuss careers in theatre, radio, performance, and education. 

Unit 6: Musicals.  In this unit we will cover the many aspects musicals.  How they are created, the cost for one show to be put together, etc.  We will watch musicals throughout this unit, to understand how they happen.

Unit 7: Theme Parks.  In this unit, we will discuss and examine how theme parks are created.  In groups, you will create a theme park and present it to the class.  The final project will include the many musical aspects that we have talked about with class time.