2025-2026 School Year

Music Appreciation Honors GVL

This course is next offered in 2025-2026.

Music Appreciation is taught on Wednesdays only.

In order to complement the full Fine Arts credit/program, the music portion also runs on a two- year rotation. Both years involve playing instruments and will cover:

A  Rotation: Instrumental Music has more instruction on learning to play various instruments including elements and forms of music, and theory. Rotation A is scheduled for 2024-2025.

B  Rotation: Music Appreciation includes more of a detailed look at  music history and composers  from earliest instruments and music to the present. Rotation B is scheduled for 2025-2026.

Course Description

This course runs on a two year rotation. This year is focused on the history of music from Bible times all the way through the 20th century, and the various styles of music composed during these time periods. We still learn to read music and play a multitude of instruments as well as learn enough theory where students should be able to compose a simple tune with chords. Next year (2024-2025) will focus more on music reading with extensive study on the recorder, ukulele and piano.

To be successful in this class:

Students will need to spend at least one and a half to two hours outside of class, with listening assignments and practicing. The co-op owns a number of recorders and ukuleles. If you already own one, you may bring it to class and use it, otherwise, we have one you may borrow for the duration of our time spent on that instrument. Bring your notebook to class each week, keep your materials organized and turn in assignments on time. Having a access to a computer is vital, for our listening assignments.

Grades: 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Fees: $245 plus $10 supply fee

Course Credit: 0.5 fine arts

Required Materials

Students must purchase and bring the following on the first day of class:

  • 3 ring notebook with divider tabs for teacher provided copies. I use the book Appreciating Music for Christian Schools by K. Kuehmann and N. Tipton from BJU Press with reproducible pages.
  • Internet access to listen to assigned music online

Honors Addendum Summary

There is only ONE additional honors assignment for this class. Choose from the following. If you have something else in mind, you would like to do, let me know.

  • Career – interview someone in the music field – your music pastor, composer, professional musician.
  • Performance – if you already know how to play an instrument, play at an area assisted living home.
  • Participation in a music group: church choir, worship band, orchestra, chorus for at least half the semester.
  • Build an instrument. (It must be playable.)
  • Essential Elements for Ukulele — pp. 37, 38, 39. We will be learning to play the ukulele this year. This assignment goes beyond and covers a more advanced technique.
  • Unit 4 in the piano book. We will be learning the basics in piano, covering 3 units in class. If you already know how to play the piano, this is not an option.