Performing, creating, and responding to music are the fundamental music processes in which humans engage.  Students, particularly in grades K-5, learn by doing.  Singing, playing instruments, moving to music, and creating music enable them to acquire musical skills and knowledge that can be developed in no other way.  Learning to read and notate music gives them a skill with which to explore music independently and with others.  Listening to, analyzing, and evaluating music are important building blocks of musical learning.  Further, to participate fully in a diverse, global society, students must understand their own historical and cultural heritage and those of others within their communities and beyond.  Because music is a basic expression of human culture, every student should have access to a balanced, comprehensive, and sequential program of study in music.  Students should engage in developmentally appropriate learning experiences designed to prepare them to achieve these standards.

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.

4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

5. Reading and notating music.

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

7. Evaluating music and music performances.

8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

The Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities describe what students should know and be able to do at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 12 in the visual and performing arts and the understanding about humanities context within the arts.  The arts include dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.  The arts and the humanities are interconnected through the inclusion of history, criticism, and aesthetics.  In addition, the humanities include literature and language, philosophy, social studies, and world languages.  The interconnected arts and humanities areas are divided into these standards categories:

• 9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts

• 9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

• 9.3 Critical Response

• 9.4 Aesthetic Response

The Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities define the content for planned instruction that will result in measurable gains for all students in knowledge and skills and provide a basis of learning for continued study in the arts.  The unifying themes of production, history, criticism, and aesthetics are common to each area of study within the Academic Standards in the Arts and Humanities. 

• Music Education is an aural art form that satisfies the human need to respond to life experiences through singing, listening, and/or playing an instrument.

Humanities Education is the understanding and integration of human thought and accomplishment.