GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS - MUSIC CURRICULUM - 2011

OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS

(Established Content Standards)
MAKING MEANINGFUL
EXPRESSION/PERFORMING

EXPRESSING PERSONAL IDEAS/CREATING

OVERARCHING ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

Students will understand that
The arts express ideas, feelings, and human
experience.
Artistic choices are influenced by personal
experience and human development.
Creating in the arts uses imagination, selfdiscipline, problem-solving and experience.
Process impacts product.

RESPONDING TO THE ARTS

Artistic expression can be analyzed, described,

and evaluated, both intellectually and
emotionally, in a variety of ways.
Responding to the arts enhances ones life and
influences ones personal expression.

INTERPRETING SYMBOLIC
EXPRESSION/LITERACY

Each arts discipline is a language unto itself,

communicated through a unique system of
symbols and terms.
Literacy in the arts is valuable in facilitating the
transfer of artistic expression.
The arts connect to other disciplines, personal
experiences, and daily life.
There are similarities and differences in the arts
produced among cultures and across time.

MAKING CONNECTIONS TO AND THROUGH

THE ARTS

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do the arts express ideas, feelings, and experiences?
What makes artistic expression meaningful?
How does working in a group influence expression?
Why is it important to express myself through the arts?
What inspires or moves me to be creative?
How do my creative choices best express my idea and intent?
How does my artistic work impact myself and/or others?
How do you know when the creative process is complete?
How do we perceive, interpret, and engage with art?
How does knowledge and experience influence interpretation?
How do style/genre/subject matter/media influence how you feel
about the work?
How do artists determine the value of their own work?
How does responding to works of art enrich my life and influence
my work?
How can we read and interpret a work of art?
Why do I need to be literate in my chosen art form?
What does having a common system of symbols and terms for the
arts allow us to do, and why is this important?
How does art reflect as well as shape culture?
How do artists from different eras and cultures explore and express
similar themes?
In what ways do artists have a responsibility to their audiences and
to society?
What can artworks tell us about a society?
What would our world be like if we didnt have the arts?
How does my artistic work connect to other subjects I study?
How is my artistic work influenced by personal experiences and the
world around me, and vice versa?

GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUSIC CURRICULUM

K-12 MUSIC
OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS
(Established Content Standards)
PERFORMING

OVERARCHING ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
The arts express ideas,
feelings, and human
experience.
Artistic choices are influenced
by personal experience and
human development.

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How do the arts express ideas,
feelings, and experiences?
What makes artistic expression
meaningful?
How does working in a group
influence expression?
Why is it important to express
myself through the arts?

COURSE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Singing and playing an
instrument are means of
communication, capable of
expressing feelings and
emotions that surpass the
spoken language.
Humans are born with an
instrument for making
musicthe voice.
Playing an instrument allows a
musician to express musical
ideas that exceed the range,
timbre, and dynamics of the
voice.
Singing a text imbues the
words with emotional weight
and meaning.
Performing involves
interpretive decisions.

COURSE ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
In what ways are making
music a more effective form of
communication than
speaking? In what ways are
speaking a more effective
form of communication than
making music?
In what ways are singing
easier than playing an
instrument? In what ways are
playing an instrument easier
than singing?
How does having an audience
impact the performers? Is the
audience an essential
component of a performance?
How is making music in a
group different than making
music by oneself? In what
ways are making music by
oneself more fulfilling than
making music with a group?
In what ways are making
music with a group more
fulfilling than making music by
oneself?

GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUSIC CURRICULUM

K-12 MUSIC
OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS
(Established Content Standards)
CREATING

OVERARCHING ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Creating in the arts uses
imagination, self-discipline,
problem-solving and
experience.
Process impacts product.

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
What inspires or moves me to
be creative?
How do my creative choices
best express my idea and
intent?
How does my artistic work
impact myself and/or others?
How do you know when the
creative process is complete?

COURSE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Improvisation expresses ideas
and feelings in the moment.
Composition requires
imagining, planning, creating,
evaluating, and refining ones
musical ideas.
Composition results in a work
that can be performed and
replicated.
Improvisation and composition
involve guidelines and
structure, which may be
amended during the creative
process.

COURSE ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How does improvisation differ
from composition? How are
improvisation and
composition similar?
How is composing more
satisfying or less satisfying
than performing works of
other composers? How is
performing my own
composition more satisfying
or less satisfying than
performing works of other
composers?
How do I express my ideas,
feelings, or mood through
music?
How can I use the elements of
music (e.g. melody, harmony,
rhythm, timbre, texture, and
expressive devices) to convey
my ideas and intent?

GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUSIC CURRICULUM

K-12 MUSIC
OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS
(Established Content Standards)
RESPONDING

OVERARCHING ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Artistic expression can be
analyzed, described, and
evaluated, both intellectually
and emotionally, in a variety
of ways.
Responding to the arts
enhances ones life and
influences ones personal
expression.

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How do we perceive, interpret,
and engage with art?
How does knowledge and
experience influence
interpretation?
How do style/genre/subject
matter/media influence how
you feel about the work?
How do artists determine the
value of their own work?
How does responding to works
of art enrich my life and
influence my work?

COURSE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
The depth of musical
knowledge one possesses
impacts how, and to what
degree, one analyzes,
describes, and evaluates
music.
The music to which one has
been exposed influences
ones musical preferences.
People listen to music for a
variety of reasons (e.g. to be
energized, to gain focus, to
enhance or alter a current
emotional state, to entertain).
Listening to music evokes
emotions, whether or not one
has chosen to listen to it.

COURSE ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
Why do we listen to music?
Why do we like the music we
like? How can we be open to
liking music we do not
understand?
How does familiarity with a
piece of music affect how we
respond?
How does the addition of
music to other art forms (e.g.
dance, theater, movies, TV
shows, commercials, video
games) affect how we
respond?

GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUSIC CURRICULUM

K-12 MUSIC
OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS
(Established Content Standards)
LITERACY

OVERARCHING ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Each arts discipline is a
language unto itself,
communicated through a
unique system of symbols
and terms.
Literacy in the arts is valuable
in facilitating the transfer of
artistic expression.

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How can we read and
interpret a work of art?
Why do I need to be literate in
my chosen art form?
What does having a common
system of symbols and terms
for the arts allow us to do, and
why is this important?

COURSE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Notational literacy empowers
independent musicians.
Notation gives permanence to
a composition.
Standard music notation
includes symbols that visually
represent sounds, and a
universal set of terms that aid
understanding.
Since music is an aural art
form, aural literacy (e.g.
listening critically) is an
important component of being
musically literate.

COURSE ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
Why do composers use
standard notation?
Is notation music?
What is the value in becoming
musically literate?
What would change if we didnt
have a system of written
music notation?

GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUSIC CURRICULUM

K-12 MUSIC
OVERARCHING BIG IDEAS
(Established Content Standards)
CONNECTIONS

OVERARCHING ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
The arts connect to other
disciplines, personal
experiences, and daily life.
There are similarities and
differences in the arts
produced among cultures and
across time.

OVERARCHING ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How does art reflect as well as
shape culture?
How do artists from different
eras and cultures explore and
express similar themes?
In what ways do artists have a
responsibility to their
audiences and to society?
What can artworks tell us
about a society?
What would our world be like if
we didnt have the arts?
How does my artistic work
connect to other subjects I
study?
How is my artistic work
influenced by personal
experiences and the world
around me, and vice versa?

COURSE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Music connects us to the past,
present, and future.
Historical events have inspired
musicians to create.
Studying the music of a time
period can provide insight into
the emotional climate and
historical and cultural milieu.

COURSE ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How does music express
similar themes and ideas as
art and literature from the
same period?
How has music inspired other
types of artists to create?
Why is some music timeless?