Music

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Singing informs each of the other areas of musical development.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Instruments are used to extend student's practice and performance through music. Rhythm instruments are used to develop beat awareness while tonal instruments, such as the xylophones, are to help transfer melodic learning to an instrument.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music with specific guidelines. Kodaly students sing to improvise and compose. They know hundreds of songs thoroughly, having sung and analyzed them. This body of song provides parameters for improvisation. Improvisation and composition then becomes more thoughtful and less a product of chance.
5. Reading and writing music. Kodaly students sing to learn how to read and write music. Solfege is introduced in early training, before letter names. Rhythm syllables are also used to enable children to read rhythms more musically and accurately. The reading and writing curricula are carefully sequenced with how children learn.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performance. Kodaly students sing as part of listening activities. In listening, they apply their growing understanding of musical knowledge within different styles and genres of music. The music chosen for listening contains elements with which students are familiar. Singing and reading activities usually precede the listening to prepare students to understand what they will hear.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture. Students sing songs from many cultures and eras. Song, which combines music, language, and culture, is an excellent tool for exploring relationships among the arts. In early learning, the relationship between music and culture is primarily textual, i.e., the text of a song will lead to exploration of the history and culture from which it arose. Similarly, songs from a particular region or time enhance the study of history because they are actual carriers of the language culture.