Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Exploring Expressive Qualities in Music

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Overview

Students will review expressive qualities, such as tempo, dynamics, and articulation. Students will create movements to demonstrate each quality while listening to a variety of musical selections. A worksheet is provided to identify expressive qualities in music. Video demonstrations are provided. 

    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): KG - Music

    AE17.MU.K.16

    Demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities that reflect creators’/performers’ expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.K.16

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Steady beat
    • Long/ Short
    • One and two sounds per beat
    • Silent beat
    Melody
    • High and low
    • Pitch set: So, Mi
    • Musical alphabet
    Harmony
    • Accompaniment/ no accompaniment
    Form
    • Like and unlike phrases
    • Echo
    Expression
    • Speak, sing, shout, whisper
    • Solo/ Group
    • Unpitched percussion
    • Flute, trumpet, violin, piano
    • Loud/ Soft
    • Fast/ Slow
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Perform songs of various genres while reflecting appropriate stylistic characteristics.
    Creating
    • Purposefully move to music and articulate why they made the movement choices they made based on the music they heard.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Discuss, using musical language, the characteristics of the music they hear and/or perform.
    • Discuss, using age/developmentally appropriate musical language, what sort of music they like personally and why.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Share ideas about musical selections of various and contrasting styles, composers and musical periods.
    • Describe how sounds and music are used in our daily lives.
    • Describe the difference between steady beat and rhythm.
    • Identify and connect a concept shared between music and another curricular area.
    • Identify and discuss various uses of music in the United States and the various meanings of the term "musician."
    • Respond to sound with a drawing of how the sound makes them feel.
    • Offer opinions about their own musical experiences and responses to music.
    • Aurally identify flute, trumpet, violin, and piano.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 1 - Music

    AE17.MU.1.17

    Demonstrate and identify expressive qualities that reflect creators’/performers’ expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.1.17

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Quarter note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes
    • Strong/ weak beat
    • Steady beat/ rhythm
    • Allegro/ adagio
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Mi, So, La
    • Steps/ skips/ repeated notes
    • Melodic direction
    • Modified staff
    • Line notes and space notes
    Harmony/texture
    • Rhythmic ostinati
    • Simple bordun
    Form
    • AB, ABA
    Expression
    • Legato, staccato
    • Piano (p), forte (f)
    • Classroom instrument classifications
    • Clarinet, trombone, cello, drum
    • Orchestral music: ballet
    • Non-Western music celebrations
    Other
    • Proper singing posture
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (C4 - C5)1
    • Mallet/ drumming technique — hands together

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Select appropriate music for specific events such as school festivals, community events, and class or grade level performances.
    Creating
    • Create a rhythmic ostinato that reflects the style of the music performed (ex: finger cymbals/lullaby).
    Reading/ Writing
    • Identify repeated rhythmic passages in music and notate using iconic notation (ex: rhythm of repeated melodic phrase in "In the Hall of the Mountain King").
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Aurally identify clarinet, trombone, and cello in the context of an ensemble performance.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Music

    AE17.MU.2.17

    Demonstrate knowledge of music concepts and how they support creators’/performers’ expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.2.17

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest
    • Strong/ weak beat — 2/4; 3/4 meter
    • Accelerando/ ritardando
    Melody
    • Pitch Set: Do, Re, Mi, So, La
    • Five-line staff
    • Treble clef
    • Names of lines/ spaces (treble staff)
    Harmony
    • Melodic ostinati
    • Partner songs
    Form
    • AAB, AABA, Rondo
    • Verse/ Refrain
    Expression
    • Orchestral instrument families
    • Piano (p), forte (f)
    • Crescendo/ decrescendo
    • Orchestral Music: programmatic
    • Indigenous music: Native American
    • American music: slave songs, colonial folk songs
    Other
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (B3-D5)1
    • Mallet/ drumming technique: alternating hands

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Demonstrate understanding of musical intent when performing, through attention to expressive markings.
    Creating
    • Demonstrate understanding of cultural authenticity by performing music with appropriate stylistic expression
    Reading/ Writing
    • Identify repeat signs and multiple verses in a verse/refrain song
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Explain musical decisions that contribute to the expressive intent of the music.
    • Describe the context of lyrics in a verse/refrain song.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

    AE17.MU.3.18

    Demonstrate and describe how expressive qualities are used in performers’ interpretations to reflect expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.3.18

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Bar lines
    • Measures
      • Melody
        • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
        • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
        • Middle C to high G
        • Ledger lines
        Harmony
        • Partner songs
        • Rounds
        • Ostinati
        Form
        • Theme and variations
        • Coda
        • D.S. al coda
        • Repeat sign
        • Fermata
        Expression
        • Phrase/ phrasing
        • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
        Other
        • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
        • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
        • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Using movement, manipulatives, or visual representation, demonstrate and describe how specific music concepts are used to support a specific purpose in music (such as different sections, selected orchestral, band, folk, or ethnic instruments).
    Creating
    • Express melodic contour through movement.
    Reading/ Writing
    • When analyzing selected music, read and perform rhythmic patterns and/or melodic phrases with voice, body percussion, and/or instruments, using iconic or standard notation.
    • Develop criteria and use them to critique their own performances and the performances of others.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Identify and respond to simple music forms (e.g., AB, ABA).
    • Identify elements of music using appropriate vocabulary.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Music

    AE17.MU.4.18

    Demonstrate and explain how expressive qualities, including dynamics and tempo, are used in performers’ and personal interpretations to reflect expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.4.18

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Conducting patterns in
    • Syncopation
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, Ti
    • Treble clef reading (La, So, Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C through High B
    • Create melodic sequences
    • Half-step
    • Whole step
    Harmony
    • Canons
    • Chord components
    • Chord progression (I, V)
    • Crossover bordun
    Form
    • Phrasing: antecedent and consequent
    • D.C. al coda
    • Fine
    Expression
    • pp through ff
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestra instruments within the 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (A3-E5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Demonstrate and explain how specific music concepts (such as form, timbre, etc.) are used to support a specific purpose in music (such as social and cultural contexts) through various means (such as manipulatives, movement, and/or pictorial representation).
    Creating
    • Develop criteria and use them to critique their own performances and the performances of others.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Evaluate musical works and performances, applying established criteria, citing evidence from the elements of music.
    • When analyzing selected music, read and perform rhythmic patterns and/or melodic phrases with voice, body percussion, and/or instruments, using iconic or standard notation.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of music applied to a listening example using teacher-given vocabulary (such as different sections of complex forms, teacher-selected orchestral instruments, etc.).
    • Explain how the elements and subject matter of music connect with disciplines outside the arts.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 5 - Music

    AE17.MU.5.18

    Demonstrate and explain how expressive qualities, including dynamics, tempo, and articulation, are used in performers’ and personal interpretations to reflect expressive intent.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.5.18

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do-centered diatonic
    • Treble clef reading (choral octavos)
    • Grand staff
    • Bass clef
    • Accidentals
    • Major scale
    Harmony
    • Part singing/ playing
    • Chord progression (I, IV, V)
    • Arpeggio
    • Descant
    • Level bordun
    Form
    • Rondo form
    • 12-Bar blues
    Expression
    • Vibrato
    • Tremolo
    • Reggae
    • Blues
    • Timbre: soprano, alto, tenor, bass
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Ab3-F5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.
    EQ: How do we discern musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Analyze the formal structure of music that is to be performed.
    • Identify elements of music to be performed for a specific context (for example, dynamic markings that are appropriate for a lullaby).
    Creating
    • Choose a literary work, such as a poem or story, to generate musical ideas for performance.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Examine performance music for expressive elements, and use correct notation to indicate placement.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Justify personal preferences for certain musical pieces, performance, composers and musical genres both orally and in writing.
    • Discuss contributions of musical elements to aesthetic qualities in performances of self and others.
    • Consider and articulate the influence of technology on music careers.
    • Develop and apply criteria for critiquing more complex performances of live and recorded music.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Learning Activity

    Resource Provider

    Carnegie Hall
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    License Type

    Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
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