Iroquois High School Vocal Music Department

Iroquois High School Vocal Music Department Timothy Gastle, Director

Music in Our Lives

Full Year-4days/6, 1 Credit (will fulfill graduation credit in the ARTS) This course is intended primarily for 9th graders but can include any grade. This course will give the student a general overview of the field of music as an art form, through the study of how music fits into our every day lives. We will study basic music mechanics by learning to play acoustic guitars, the history of Rock-n-Roll, American Musical Theatre, and current musical events and developments. The student will learn how to listen to and critique music, and investigate current events in music today. They will do presentations of their choice on various topics as well as directed listening using their own chosen bands and songs. Course grade will be derived from participation and open notebook quizzes. There will be very limited or no homework.

Music In Our Lives-sample content, projects & assignments… 1. Create your own listening lesson for the class: Design 10 listening questions about the song sample of your choice. Create a handout to give each class member. Direct the classes’ listening to what you hear and find intriguing or unique about the song. Conduct the listening lesson as though YOU are the teacher. 2. Music Current Events: Find a newspaper or magazine article about a current musical event or prominent musician of your choice. Summarize the event in written form, and present to the class and tell why it’s important to today’s musical scene. Open to class discussion. 3. Consumer Study: Bring in your own MP3 player. Present it to the class and outline its features, abilities, storage capacity and cost to the consumer. The class will create a consumer comparison chart with this data. 4. Rock History: a historical outline of the development of Rock-n-Roll, the commercialization of popular music, and the record industries roll in creating celebrities, images, and controlling musical output & developmental direction. 5. Broadway-Watch a Broadway musical on DVD and discuss the use of plot, songs, and character development. 6. Learn to play the acoustic guitar right in class! Learn how to read music by learning the note names on all 6 strings, as well as a good number of chords to be able to play songs and perform on the guitar.