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Prioritized Standards

MUS-05.c1.A

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c1) Category 1: Executive Skills and Knowledge
(A) Body Format
Students perform with a lengthened and balanced posture; supports instrument without tension, demonstrate ease of motion; format is adjusted for physiological changes due to growth; control of weight distribution, unilateral movement, bilateral movement, in sitting and standing position.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Establish posture (sitting and standing) on all instruments.
  • 1.2  Basic playing position for violin and viola. 
  • 1.3  Basic playing position for cello.
  • 1.4  Basic playing position for bass.

MUS-05.c1.B

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c1) Category 1: Executive Skills and Knowledge
(B) Left Hand Skills and Knowledge
Students perform with the correct placement and angle of the left arm-wrist-hand-fingers to the instrument; demonstrate position that is balanced and free of tension; play with independence of fingers, ease of motion and control of finger weight; produce characteristic tone, with vibrato (as appropriate); show understanding and ability to apply fingerings, finger patterns, shifting, extensions.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Initial left hand finger placement
  • 1.2  Initial finger patterns
  • 1.3  Lateral finger movement
  • 1.4  Vertical technique 

MUS-05.c1.C

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c1) Category 1: Executive Skills and Knowledge
(C) Right Hand Skills and Knowledge
Students perform with fluent bowing motion, control of variables (weight, angle, speed, and placement), in a variety of bowing techniques and articulations, with characteristic tone.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Perform pizzicato in guitar position
  • 1.2  Perform pizzicato in playing position
  • 1.3  Establishing initial bow hold–all instruments
    • a. Violin/Viola
    • b. Cello/Bass (FB)
    • c. Bass (GB)
  • 1.4  Perform pre-bowing exercises
  • 1.5  Perform with simple connected (détaché) bow strokes.
  • 1.6  Perform with simple separated (staccato) bow strokes.
  • 1.7  Direction change
  • 1.8  Short slurs
  • 1.9  String crossings
  • 1.10  Basic bow distribution
  • 1.11  Intro to weight, angle, speed, and placement (contact point and part of bow).

MUS-05.c2.A

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c2) Category 2: Musicianship Skills and Knowledge
(A) Tonal Aural Skills and Ear Training
Students demonstrate the following abilities: matching and manipulating pitch, playing with a sense of tonality, tonal-melodic and tonal-harmonic function (horizontal/vertical relationships/functions of tonality), ear-to-hand skills, aural and kinesthetic awareness of pitch accuracy and intonation, including and related to improvisation.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Students perform, by ear, melodic tonal patterns (simple patterns and melodies within a tetrachord), in major and minor tonalities (vocally, pizzicato, and/or arco; neutral syllable, then solfege).
  • 1.2  Students identify whether two performed melodic tonal patterns are the same or different.
  • 1.3  Students correctly associate the words high and low with relative pitch differences (e.g., with the use of Curwen hand symbols and vocal solfege). 
  • 1.4  Students correctly identify the direction of melodic motion (with a  tetrachord). 
  • 1.5  Students alter melodies and  harmonies (major-to-minor,  minor-to-major). 
  • 1.6  Students perform, by ear, primary (tonic and dominant) harmonic tonal patterns (vocally, pizzicato, and/or arco; neutral syllable, then solfege). 
  • 1.7  Students improvise (vocally,  pizzicato, and/or arco) melodic tonal patterns (within a tetrachord;  neutral syllable, then solfege).

MUS-05.c2.B

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c2) Category 2: Musicianship Skills and Knowledge
(B) Rhythmic Aural Skills and Ear Training
Students perform simple and complex rhythm patterns/functions, with stray pulse/beat, correct sense of meter, metric organization and phrasing, in a variety of meters.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1 Students will maintain a steady pulse while singing or chanting rhythm patterns.
  • 1.2  Students will demonstrate a sense of meter while singing or chanting rhythm patterns.
  • 1.3  Students will maintain a steady pulse while playing rhythm patterns.
  • 1.4  Students will demonstrate a sense of meter while playing rhythm patterns.
  • 1.5  Students will perform rhythm patterns containing rests.
  • 1.6  Students will perform rhythm  patterns containing ties. 
  • 1.7  Students will perform rhythm  patterns containing upbeats.
  • 1.8  Students will improvise rhythm  patterns corresponding to Learning Tasks 1.1-1.7

MUS-05.c2.D

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c2) Category 2: Musicianship Skills and Knowledge
(D) Music Literacy
Students demonstrate sequential music literacy skills (decoding and comprehension), defined as an association of sound-to-symbol, in a given musical context, which includes: predictive components (understanding of reading based on audiation of written material) and knowledge of symbols and notation related to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tonality, clef, articulation, etc.) based on the principle that sound comes before sight.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Students correctly identify and perform basic music notation and symbols associated with the following skills and understanding to each corresponding curricular level (see list in learning tasks).
  • 1.2  Students sight-read basic music notation and symbols.
  • 1.3  Students understand chord symbols (root only). 
  • 1.4  Students correctly identify the following key signatures: C, G, D, and F major (with their relative minors).
  • 1.5  Students correctly identify accidentals of flat, natural, sharp.
  • 1.6  Students correctly identify musical forms: AB and ABA.

MUS-05.c2.E

BPSS-MAT-NO logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c2) Category 2: Musicianship Skills and Knowledge
(E) Ensemble Skills
Students perform in an ensemble, demonstrating sensitivity and the ability to adjust and maintain a uniform sense of rhythm, tempo, articulation, tone, blend, balance, and dynamics; understand conducting gestures, follow conductor and section leader, and are able to synchronize bowings.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Students match pulse and rhythm to stay together as an ensemble.
  • 1.2  Students adjust pitch within the ensemble.
  • 1.3  Students demonstrate self-discipline by working cooperatively with peers to produce a quality musical performance.
  • 1.4  Students display appropriate etiquette for style and venue of musical performance (classical concert vs. fiddle jam session).
  • 1.5  Students demonstrate well- disciplined personal demeanor during rehearsals and performance.

MUS-05.c3.A

BPSS-MUSc3 logo5th Grade (MUS) Targeted String Standard  
  (c3) Category 3: Artistic Skills and Knowledge
(A) Expressive Elements
Students employ expressive elements of music to communicate abstract thoughts, ideas, and meaning, share the depth of the human experience, and develop expression and understanding.

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Learning Targets

  • 1.1  Students shape phrases with simple dynamic variation. 
  • 1.2  Students alter tone by modifying bow technique (WASP-weight, angle, speed and point of contact).
  • 1.3  Students perform with articulations corresponding to baseline-level right-hand technical skills.