Music classes at SJA start in kindergarten. In kindergarten the students start with skills they will use all the way through to eighth grade.
In kindergarten and first grade students focus on music and movements, listening and singing high and low, loud and soft, fast and slow and repeating rhythms.
In second and third grade the students start working on their singing skills through solfege. They learn the instruments of the orchestra and the families they belong to. They also learn note values, rhythms and reading the notes on the treble clef to prepare them for playing the recorders.
In fourth and fifth grade the students “travel” around the world learning about the music, culture and instruments of different countries. The students learn about a new composer each month. Students will complete a project in which they study a composer’s life where they get to dress up like their composer, share about their life and the music they composed. Finally students will begin to learn the basics of playing the ukulele.