Elementary General Music Curriculum Progression

For the Kodaly Inspired Classroom

Kindergarten
● Key concepts: Four Voices, Comparatives, Beat
Progression
1. Four voices ( 4-5 lessons)
a. Speak
b. Sing
c. Whisper
d. Shout
e. ***Bonus: Magic Music Lips
i. When you put them on, no sound is allowed to come out of your mouth, but you
hear the song inside your head. In music we call this Audiating
2. Fast/Slow (4-5 lessons)
a. Start with big tempo distinctions, then move to smaller ones.
b. Introduce f/s as vocabulary word “Tempo”
3. Loud/Soft (4-5 Lessons)
a. Start with large dynamic distinctions, then move to smaller ones.
b. Introduce L/S as vocabulary word “Dynamics”
i. Introduce vocab words “Piano” and “Forte”
4. High Low (4-6 Lessons)
a. Start with octaves when singing and opposite ends of the piano when playing, then narrow
it down to smaller intervals, like a 5th.
b. Introduce Vocabulary word “Pitch”
5. Steady Beat (4-6) *You should work on this throughout the K Curriculum
a. Keeping steady is comparable to your heartbeat or an analog clock.

First Grade
● Key concepts: Beat, Rhythm, Quarter Note (ta), Paired Eighth Notes (ti-ti), Minor Third interval (Sol
and Mi), Quarter rest, and Time Signature (4 beat meter)
Progression
1. Review Kindergarten concepts (1 lesson)
a. Beat, Comparatives, Voices
2. Beat vs. Rhythm (4-6 Lessons)
a. Review Steady Beat and talk about the difference between beat and “the way the words
go”
i. AKA Word Rhythm
3. Ta & Ti-Ti (Minimum 4 lessons)
a. Called “long” and “short short” in the preparation stage to solidify the difference between
1 long sound and 2 short sounds.
i. Long is represented by a dash and short-short is represented by 2 dots.
b. Remind them that “Word Rhythm” IS ta and ti-ti. Rhythm describes how the words go.
c. Ta is one sound on one heartbeat. This is called a quarter note.
d. Ti-Ti is two sounds on one heartbeat. These are called eighth notes.
i. Cookie on a plate metaphor:
1. Ta is a whole cookie on one plate.
2. Ti-Ti is two halves of a cookie on a plate.
3. Either way it’s one cookie. You just eat the second one in 2 parts.
4. Sol and Mi (Minimum 6 Lessons)
a. Bring back high and low comparative, but keep intervals to a Minor third.
b. During preparation, Refer to it as High and low
c. Solfege Street
i. Sol and mi are best friends that moved into houses on pitch hill that are one space
away from each other.
ii. If Sol is on a line, then Mi is on the Line below
iii. If Sol is in a space, then Mi is in the space below.
d. Sol is a skip away from Mi. That means they have room next to each other on the music
staff.
e. Use a 2 line staff to write during prep, then move to the full staff:

5. Quarter Rest (4-6 lessons if time allows)

a. Called “silent spots” in the preparation phase.
b. Silent spots and quarter rests both have 0 sounds on 1 beat.
i. We don’t just get to skip over it, we must leave an empty space for it.
ii. Using the “cookie on a plate” metaphor, rest would be no cookies on a plate.
c. Emphasize that rest is silent
 i. Tap your shoulders or make the “shh” sign to represent rest.
ii. Rest NEVER makes any sound. It doesn’t Say “Shh” or “ch” or “hm.” Rest is a
pause in the sound.
6. 4 beat meter (2-4 lessons usually taught simultaneously with Quarter Rest)
a. Review target vocabulary
i. Measure
ii. Barline
iii. Staff
iv. Time signature
b. Time signature and meter allows us to organize our music so it’s easier to read.
i. Measures are like sentences. 4 beat measures have 4 rhythms per sentence.
ii. Barlines are like punctuation.
c. Spend time having students organize rhythmic components into groups of 4
i. First with stick notation, then with staff notation.
ii. They should only organize the rhythms they know and are comfortable with.

Second Grade
● Key concepts: Quarter Rest, Major 2nd interval (Sol La), 2/4 time signature, Major 3rd interval
(Mi-Do), Perfect 5th interval (Sol-Do)
Progression
1. Review previously covered melodic and rhythmic concepts (2-4 Lessons)
a. Rhythmic: ta, ti-ti, (rest)
b. Melodic: sol, mi
c. Concept of rhythm vs. Melody
i. I refer to ta and ti-ti as rhythms, and Pitches as Notes
2. Quarter Rest (4 lessons if not covered last year, if covered, review during step 1)
a. If ta is one sound on one beat, and ti-ti is 2 sounds on one beat, then rest is no sounds on
one beat.
i. Tap your shoulders to represent rest.
ii. Rest NEVER makes any sound. It doesn’t Say “Shh” or “ch” or “hm.”
3. La (4-6 lessons)
a. There is a new pitch that’s higher than Sol.
i. Call it “High” During the Prep stage
b. Solfege Street
i. A new pitch moved in right nextdoor to sol.
ii. We know that
1. If sol is on a line then Mi is on the line below
2. If Sol is in a space then Mi is in the space below
 iii. NOW
1. If Sol is on a line then la is in the space above.
2. If sol is in a space, then La is on the line above.
c. La is a step away from sol. That means they don’t have any room apart on the music staff,
unlike sol and mi.
4. 2 beat meter (3 lessons)
a. Re-teach barlines/measures
b. Meter organizes our music
i. If a song is in 4 beat meter, 4 rhythms/notes pass by before we skip to the next
measure
ii. If a song is in 2 beat meter, 2 rhythms/notes pass by before we skip to the next
measure
5. Do (4-6 Lessons)
a. There’s a new pitch that’s the lowest one.
i. Call it “low” during the prep stage
b. Solfege Street
i. A New Pitch Moved in down the Hill from MI
ii. We know that
1. If sol is on a line then Mi is on the line below
2. If Sol is in a space then Mi is in the space below
3. If Sol is on a line then la is in the space above.
4. If sol is in a space, then La is on the line above.
iii. NOW
1. If sol is on a line, then Mi is on the line below and DO is on the Line below
Mi
2. If sol is in a space, then Mi is in the space below and DO is in the space
below Mi
c. Do is a skip away from mi.
6. Half note (4-6 lessons if time allows)
a. Half note is 1 sound that lasts for 2 beats.
i. It is the only rhythm we know that is 2 beats long.
ii. Students often begin to confuse the number of sounds/number of beats at this
point. Reemphasize it often.
b. Called “long” during the preparation phrase and “too” after presentation.
i. Use a “rainbow” clap to represent it.
ii. Clap on the right side of your body, then rainbow it over to the left side.
1. Make sure students do not clap twice. Half note only makes 1 sound.
iii. Using the “cookie on a plate” metaphor, a half note would be one cookie balancing
on 2 plates.
Third Grade
● Half Note (too), Pentatonic Scale (do RE mi sol la), Sixteenth notes (Tika-Tika), Perfect 4th (sol-do’)
Progression
1. Review previously covered Melodic and Rhythmic Concepts (2-3 lessons)
a. Melodic: Sol, Mi, La, and (usually) Do
b. Rhythmic: ta, ti-ti, rest, 2 and 4 beat meter
2. Half note (4-6 lessons if not covered last year, if covered, review during step 1)\
a. Half note is 1 sound that lasts 2 beats and is called “too” after presentation and “long”
during preparation.
3. Re (4-6 lessons)
a. There’s a new pitch that fits in the space between mi and do on the tone ladder.
b. Called “new” during the preparation phase
c. Re is one line or space above do and one line or space below mi
i. If mi is on a line, then do is on the line below, and re goes in the space in between
ii. If mi is in a space, then do is in the space below, and re goes on the line in
between.
d. Re is a step away from do and a step away from mi.
e. After learning re, students will know a full pentatonic scale. Introduce this briefly once you
present.
i. “Penta” means 5 like a pentagon has 5 sides.
ii. You know a pentatonic scale. That means you can read any song with this set of 5
notes off the music staff!
4. Tika-tika (4-6 lessons)
a. Tika-tika has 4 sounds on 1 beat. These are called sixteenth notes.
i. Using the cookie on a plate metaphor, this would be one cookie split into 4 pieces
(share with 4 people) on one plate.
b. Called “mississippi” during preparation and represented by a capital M
i. When clapping rhythms, instruct students to “swipe clap” so they don’t slow down
and stop keeping the steady beat.
5. High do (do’) (4-6 lessons)
a. There’s a new pitch on the tone ladder that’s higher than every other note we know.
b. Called “high” during the preparation phase.
c. High do is a line AND a space above la.
i. If la is in a space, then high do is in the space above.
ii. If la is on a line, then high do is on the line above.
d. High do is a skip away from la

Fourth Grade
 ● Key concepts: Eighth-Sixteenth note pair (ti-tika), Sixteenth-Eighth pair (tika-ti). Minor Tonality
(low la), absolute pitch
Progression
1. Review previously covered melodic and rhythmic concepts (1-2 lessons)
a. Melodic: do, re, mi, sol, la, high do (pentatonic scale)
b. Rhythmic: ta, ti-ti, rest, too, tika-tika and 2 & 4 beat meter
2. Ti-tika (4-6 lessons)
a. Ti-tika has 3 sounds on one beat. This is an eighth-sixteenth note pair.
i. The 3 sounds in ti-tika are not equal sounds. The first sound is long and the second
2 are short-short.
1. Sounds that are not equal is a new concept for them, so emphasize it a lot.
ii. Using the cookie on a plate metaphor, this would be one cookie split into 3 pieces
(share with 3 people) on one plate.
1. First we split the cookie in half, and then we split the second half in half
again.
b. Called “new rhythm” during preparation and represented by a capital NR
c. Ti-tika is half of a ti-ti and half of a tika-tika.
i. The ti-ti comes first.

3. Tika-ti (4 lessons)
a. Tika-ti also has 3 sounds on one beat. This is a sixteenth-eighth note pair.
i. Just like ti-tika, the 3 sounds in ti-tika are not equal sounds. The first sounds are
short short and the last sound is long
ii. Using the cookie on a plate metaphor, this would be one cookie split into 3 pieces
(share with 3 people) on one plate.
1. First we split the cookie in half, and then we split the first half in half
again.
b. Called “not again” during the preparation phase and represented by capital NA
i. Make a big deal about “OMG I can’t believe we have to learn another new rhythm!
Didn’t we just learn one! Ugh, not again...maybe that’ll work! Not-a gain”
c. Ti-tika is half of a ti-ti and half of a tika-tika.
i. The tika-tika comes first.
d. Teacher needs to emphasize whether the long sound or the short-short sound comes first
when practicing ti-tika and tika-ti.
4. Low la (la,) (4-6 lessons)
a. There’s a new note on the tone ladder lower than done.
b. Called “new” during the preparation phrase
i. Since the interval is typically do la, do, calling it “low” makes it difficult to say and
differentiate between because do and low rhyme
 c. Low la is a line and a space below do
i. If do is on a line then la, is on the line below
ii. If do is in a space then la, is on the space below
d. Low la is a skip away from do.
5. Absolute Pitch
a. All of the note names we know (solfege) are nicknames for the notes we sing.
i. These names are relative, meaning they change
1. They can all be in different places on the music staff: i.e. sometimes sol is
in the 3rd space and sometimes it's on the 2nd line.
b. Each line and space of the staff has a letter name associated with it. These letter names
are absolute, meaning they never change. i.e. the 2nd line on the treble clef staff is always
called “G”
i. Musical Alphabet ABCDEFG
1. I use this instead of EGBDF on the line and FACE in the space because I
find it to be more transferable to ledger lines in the future, but I do still
introduce the pneumonics.
ii. Lines and spaces
1. Review that lines and spaces are counted from bottom to top.
2. Once you know that the first line of the staff is called “E” you can go from
there in alphabetical order.
3. Review stips and steps. (i.e. E is a skip away from C but only a step away
from D).
c. Make connections between solfege and absolute pitch.
i. i.e. “In this song, G is sol. If G is sol, what note is mi on?” (E)
d. Recorders, keyboards, xylophones/glockenspiels, and boomwhackers can all aide in
teaching absolute pitch in addition to singing.

Fifth Grade
● Key concepts: Diatonic Scale (fa and ti), Syncopation (ti-ta-ti), application through exploration
Progression
6. Review previously covered melodic and rhythmic concepts (1-2 lessons)
a. Melodic: la, do re mi sol la do’ and absolute pitch
b. Rhythmic: ta, ti-ti, rest, too, tika tika, ti-tika, tika-ti
7. Fa (4-6 lessons)
a. There's a new note on the tone ladder between mi and sol.
b. Called “hmm” during preparation phase (humming)
c. Fa is a step away from both mi and sol.
i. If sol is on a line then mi is on the line below and fa goes in the space between
 ii. If sol is in a space then mi is in the space below and fa goes on the line between
d. Fa is also a half step
i. We know that notes that are right next to each other on the staff are a step away
and notes that are further apart are a skip away.
ii. There are different kinds of steps and skips. These are called intervals.
iii. Re is a whole step away from mi.
iv. Mi is only a half step away from fa.
1. Use the piano to demonstrate this.
2. Reinforce in C major with absolute pitch.
8. Ti-Ta-Ti (syncopa) (4-6 lessons)
a. Ti ta ti has 3 sounds that last for 2 beats.
i. The longest sound comes in the middle.
b. Called short long short during the preparation phase.
i. Ta is represented by a dash and bookended by dots for each “short”
ii. Emphasize that the long happens in between the first and second beats of the
phrase.
c. Introduce the concept of syncopation
i. When music is syncopated, it means the rhythm happens off the beat.
1. If there are 4 beats in a measure, you would usually count them with a
“ta” rhythm (1, 2, 3, 4).
2. You can also SUBDIVIDE (split them up) and count them with “ti-ti” (1+,
2+, 3+, 4+)
3. Syncopation happens when the rhythm happens on the + (or the 2nd ti).
a. Reinforce this by counting JUST +’s
9. Ti (4-6 lessons)
a. There is a new pitch on the tone ladder between la and high do.
i. Ask students what note they think it is and if they get it right, present it to start.
At this point, they know the progression through the preparation phase.
1. Continue preparing and practicing the note as usual
b. Ti is a step away from la and do’
i. Whole step away from la
ii. Half step away from do’
1. Use the piano to demonstrate this.
2. Reinforce in C major with absolute pitch.
c. Introduce the diatonic scale
i. Reinforce in C major with absolute pitch

10. Bucket Drumming/World Percussion/Ukulele/Body Percussion (6-12 lessons each)

 a. Use the above instruments to apply and reinforce the previously covered melodic and
rhythmic concepts
Sixth Grade
● Key concepts: Application of previously learned musical concepts through exploration, Active
Listening, Music Appreciation
Progression
1. Review previously covered melodic and rhythmic concepts (1-2 lessons)
b. Melodic: la, do re mi fa sol la ti do’ and absolute pitch
c. Rhythmic: ta, ti-ti, rest, too, tika tika, ti-tika, tika-ti, ti ta ti
2. Bucket Drumming/World Percussion/Ukulele/ Body Percussion (6-12 lessons each)
a. Use the above instruments to apply and reinforce the previously covered melodic and
rhythmic concepts
3. Music and Art integration (4-6 lessons)
a. Discover music through visual art to see how they interact with one another.
4. Music Performance (6-12 lessons)
a. View Operas, Musicals, Orchestras, Marching Bands, Choirs, Percussion ensembles, and
other types of musical ensembles to expand the student’s view of what music can be.