Sixth grade students who do not sign up for a performing group will have one semester of General Music and one semester of either Art or Keyboarding class. General music students receive an overview of the elements of music. Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Expression, Form, Timbre, and Style. We play drums and other percussion instruments, compose and learn about different aspects of music through a variety of activities and games.

To be successful in General Music, students need have either a spiral notebook or a section of their binder dedicated to music. We will be taking notes and doing some written assignments - having a specific place to keep class work of this type is vital. Students need to bring their notebook, Warrior Planner and a pencil to class every day.

A large portion of a general music student's grade is participation points, earned by participating in class every day. If you have missed more than a couple days of school, you may wish to do an extra credit assignment to earn some of the points lost. Here are some extra credit opportunities for you to explore.

For information on grading policies and other details, please refer to the Class Expectations (PDF) letter that went home for parent signature at the beginning of the semester.

Check out these online crossword puzzles and quizzes for general music students! More coming soon! Treble Clef Notename Quiz Blues Vocabulary Crossword Name that note! (Rhythm) Name that rest!

We will be using Finale NotePad music notation program in class. It is a simple program that allows users to notate and play back their own music. If you wish to use this program at home, visit: http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/ and with your parent’s permission, download and install either the Windows or the Mac version. It is absolutely FREE.