Explore and build foundational musical skills with Spotlight on Music from McGraw-Hill. This course offers a variety of learning activities that include singing, dancing, virtual instruments, listening maps, authentic sound recordings and playing the recorder. Six units in the course are organized into four sections: Spotlight on Concepts, Spotlight on Music Reading, Spotlight on Performance, and Spotlight on Celebrations. Students learn about these musical elements: duration, pitch, design, tone color, expressive qualities and cultural context. Students explore beat, meter, rhythm, melody, harmony, tonality, texture, form, tone color, dynamics, tempo, articulation, style, and music background.

Course Outline

Unit 1

Section 1 Spotlight on Concepts

· Beat/Meter – rhythm 4/4 meter, tempo

· Rhythm – whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest, rhythm patterns using eighth notes, quarter note, and quarter rest

· Melody – scale, pentatonic, pentatonic scale, range

· Harmony - octave

· Tonality – tonal center, C and G pentatonic

· Texture – two parts, combination of instrumental sounds, difference in texture between two pieces of Native American music

· Form/Structure – Two-part form, AABA, theme, theme and variations

· Tone Color – vocal range, timbre, fiddle and mandolin in bluegrass music, xylophone, glockenspiel, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, string bass, banjo, Native American flute

· Dynamics – ff, f, mf, mp, p, pp, crescendo, diminuendo

· Tempo – tempo markings

· Articulation – slur, accent

· Style/Background – Spiritual, Colombian, Swing, Folk, Gospel, Classical, Dixieland, Bluegrass, Native American, Jazz

Section 2 Spotlight on Music Reading

· Do, re, mi

· Eighth, quarter and half notes

· Melodic contour of a do-re-mi song

· Compose a pentatonic melody

Section 4 Spotlight on Celebrations

· Hispanic Heritage Month

· Chusok

Unit 2

Section 1 Spotlight on Concepts

· Beat/Meter – 3/4, triple meter, 2/4, duple meter, 4/4

· Rhythm – dotted note rhythms, dotted quarter note, tie, dotted quarter note and eighth note pairs, syncopation with and without ties, eighth rest, eighth note quarter note and eighth note pairs, eighth notes, quarter note, quarter rest

· Melody – transpose, fa, low B below ledger line

· Harmony – vocal harmony

· Tonality – G pentatonic, D pentatonic, G to F pentatonic transposition

· Texture – Echo, antiphonal, tutti, unison, three/four-parts, part singing, accompaniment

· Form/Structure – D.S. al Coda, two-part, AB

· Tone Color – Bodhrán, percussion ensemble, ornamented vocal style, jing, kkwaenggwari, chngko, puk, good intonation, trumpets, guitar, vihuela, guitarrón, gangkogui, atoke, axatse, kidi, sogo

· Dynamics – crescendo, decrescendo

· Tempo – ritard, accelerando

· Articulation - slur

· Style/Background – Irish, jig, Korean, semachi rhythm, ornament, Israeli, klezmer, hora, Chinese, Italian popular style, opera, aria, Mariachi, Ghanaian, nongak, samulnori, South African

Section 2 Spotlight on Music Reading

· Rhythm ostinatos

· Create a rhythm ostinato with syncopation

Section 4 Spotlight on Celebrations

· Diwali

· Halloween

Unit 3

Section 1 Spotlight on Concepts

· Beat/Meter – 6/8, compound meter, changes of meter

· Rhythm – dotted quarter note, triplet, quarter note, eighth notes, dotted quarter and eighth note pairs, compound duple meter

· Melody – Pitches: C D E F G A B C E, Tempo, sequence, fa, ti, major scale, half step, whole step, countermelody, dominant and tonic pitches, diatonic, accidental, sharp, flat, natural, pentatonic and diatonic scales

· Harmony – descant, third, two parts

· Tonality – F-major and C-major scales, G pentatonic, tonal center, C major

· Texture – Arrangement, fugue, thirds, two-part harmony, three parts

· Form/Structure – medley, cadenza, AB form

· Tone Color – Orchestra, mute, good intonation, breath control, roll

· Dynamics – crescendo, mf, f

· Tempo – poco allargando, adagio, allegro, moderato, Italian tempo terms, largo, accelerando, ritardando, rubato, fermata, a tempo

· Articulation – staccato, legato expression, articulation, accent

· Style/Background – Gospel, Calypso, Minuet, waltz, English folk, symphony, distinctions between hymn, symphony, and contemporary styles, Nationalism

Section 2 Spotlight on Music Reading

· Read, sing, and compose with fa

· Read, sing, and play a major scale

· Read fa and ti in 6/8

Section 4 Spotlight on Celebrations

· Seasonal Songs

· Sankta Lucia

· Hanukkah

· Christmas

· Kwanzaa

Unit 4

Section 1 Spotlight on Concepts

· Beat/Meter – 4/4, 2/4, cut time, 3/4

· Rhythm – sixteenth notes, sixteenth note and eighth note combinations, dotted eighth note, repeated notes

· Melody – minor scale, skips, leaps

· Harmony – distinction between major and minor triads, chord, triad, root, F-major triad

· Tonality – minor key, relative minor, relative major, difference between major and minor scales, E minor

· Texture – a capella, partner songs, three parts

· Form/Structure – AB form, composed song, variations

· Tone Color – four adult vocal ranges, scat syllables

· Dynamics – mp, mp, ff, decrescendo

· Tempo – a tempo, rallantando, fermata, allegro

· Articulation – tenuto, slur

· Style/Background – Turkish, African American, spiritual, ballad, opera, Japanese, ballet Maori, folk songs and variants

Section 2 Spotlight on Music Reading

· Sixteenth-note patterns

· Low so, low la

· Minor

· 6/8

· Minor and major

Section 4 Spotlight on Celebrations

· Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Unit 5

Section 1 Spotlight on Concepts

· Beat/Meter – 4/4, 2/2, 2/4, 3/4

· Rhythm – syncopated rhythms

· Melody – blues scale, blue notes

· Harmony – primary chords, tonic, dominant, subdominant, I, IV, V, common tones, root position, inversion, I, IV, V with 7ths, writing triads/chords in F and B-flat

· Tonality – C major, G major, F major, B-flat major, 12-bar blues in F major, and B-flat major

· Texture – vocal harmonization, chordal accompaniment, two-part harmony, unison

· Form/Structure – 12-bar blues, phrase, section, tag, AABA, AB, suite, partner songs

· Tone Color – arco, pizzicato, orchestral instrumental tone colors, South African singing style, choral arrangement, trained adult soprano and younger treble voice, breathing exercises, ululation

· Dynamics – mp, f, mf, p, diminuendo, crescendo

· Tempo

· Articulation – legato, accents

· Style/Background – Cuba, Israeli, hora, spiritual, blues, hip-hop, jazz, popular song, Mexican, Scandinavian, South African

Section 2 Spotlight on Music Reading

· I-V chord roots in a major key

· I-IV-V blues progression

Section 4 Spotlight on Celebrations

· Carnav