Classroom Music

To meet the needs of our ever-changing world we deliver our Classroom Music curriculum in three different formats: remotely (online), a hybrid option (partially online and in-person), and in-person at our location or through partnerships. 

Music is an integral part of life, used as a way to understand the world, express and process emotions, and connect individuals with others. Music has the power to relieve pain and decrease stress in the body, to stimulate and inspire the mind, to encourage and lift the spirit, and to open and warm the heart. The basic human needs to belong, to feel understood and loved, to communicate, and to connect can all be fulfilled through music. Music can be a catalyst for change, a call to action, or an anthem of courage and unity. Through the ages into our modern times, music has been a constant companion of humans, and a core part of the heritage passed down in societies from generation to generation. After the first pandemic of our lifetimes, children more than ever before need a form of self-expression, that is engaging, where they can develop relationships, and most importantly - develop themselves. Today’s students need to engage in activities that bring them together, unite them, provide opportunities for understanding different backgrounds and perspectives, and give them a way to celebrate each other’s diversity. ChiME's Classroom Music program aims to provide just that through its weekly classes. 

ChiME’s Classroom Music program is delivered in weekly sessions to pre-K through 8th grade classrooms (or pod of students) in groups from 5 to 30 participants throughout the school year. ChiME teaching artists are able to deliver the content via in-person, remote, or hybrid model to engage, excite, and encourage active music making for every student. If remote, they can connect with students using a variety of online meeting platforms, including Google Meets and Zoom. Programming can be adapted to account for small groups of students, social distancing, limited gross motor movement, and mask requirements for activities like singing. Regardless of whether students are experiencing their music class in the classrooms or at home, all students will be provided with their own instruments by ChiME, so they can truly feel and experience the musical and nonmusical concepts being taught but don’t have to share objects. Remote students will need an electronic device with internet, microphone, camera, and speakers to successfully participate in the program. 

Through ChiME’s Classroom Music program, students engage in active music-making on a variety of percussion instruments while learning repertoire from a variety of diverse genres. Their cumulative work as a team is presented through a music video produced by ChiME. The content, instrumentation, and outcomes of the Classroom Music program vary slightly for different grade levels, with direct alignment between all levels as student’s progress in their musical studies.  

Preschool through 1st grade

​Students use hand-held and unpitched percussion instruments to master beat and rhythmic skills. Melodic awareness is developed through listening games and singing; however, ChiME teaching artists will adhere to strict safety guidelines including wearing of masks and adequate social distancing when remotely instructing students to sing in classrooms or pods. Each student uses the instrument pack provided by ChiME to experience and learn all the concepts. Repertoire includes age-appropriate, high-energy, and culturally diverse songs from a variety of genres.
Students will learn to perform the following on small percussion instruments:

• A steady beat and tempo
• Accurate rhythms
• Accurate dynamics

Students will gain the following knowledge:

• Role of music (via repertoire) in culture
• Basic musical terminology in areas of beat, rhythm, melody, and expressive tools (musical words and their meaning)

Students will also:

• develop listening skills
• learn to follow the conductor and play as an ensemble
• develop turn-taking skills

• gain tools and confidence for self-expression and communication
• develop a sense of being part of a community
• perform with effective stage presence
• develop an understanding of the value of diversity 

2nd Grade

Second grade students transition from simple hand-held percussion instruments to a world of more complex instrumentation in preparation for the ensemble-based curriculum offered for grades 3-6. Students use small mallet percussion instruments to master beat, rhythm, melodic, and expressive skills as well as learn the basics of musical notation. Simple drums and some hand-held percussion are also used to provide a taste of a broader ensemble instrumentation and the first experience of different roles within an ensemble. Each student uses the instrument pack provided by ChiME to experience and learn all the concepts. Repertoire includes age-appropriate, high-energy, and culturally diverse songs from a variety of genres. 
Students will learn to perform the following on small mallet and percussion instruments:

• A steady beat and tempo
• Accurate rhythms
• Accurate pitches
• Accurate dynamics
• Proper instrumental technique

Students will gain the following knowledge:

• Role of music (via repertoire) in culture
• Basic musical terminology in areas of beat, rhythm, melody, and expressive tools (musical words and their meaning)
• Keyboard geography
• Basics of rhythmic and melodic music notation (note values and treble clef notes)

Students will also:

• develop listening skills
• learn to follow the conductor and play as an ensemble
• develop turn-taking skills

• gain tools and confidence for self-expression and communication
• develop a sense of being part of a community
• perform with effective stage presence
• exercise attention to detail
• exercise personal credibility
• exercise problem solving
• exercise planning for priorities
• develop an understanding of the value of diversity 

3rd through 6th Grade

​Curriculum for grades 3-6 focuses on students working as an instrumental ensemble. The foundation of the curriculum is built upon an energetic rhythms and beats using a variety of drums with a plethora of hand-held percussion instruments and drum set, coupled with a number of keyboards of varying sizes and shapes to produce the melodic and harmonic messages. Each student uses their own instrument provided by ChiME to learn the material. Repertoire consists of carefully chosen arrangements of high-energy songs crafted specifically for the instrumentation available through Classroom Music program. Each class session resembles an ensemble rehearsal, and students are able to practice the music at home with tracks. As a final project, students video-record their parts and the teaching artist puts them together to produce a video in lieu of a performance.
Students will learn to perform the following on their instrument:

• A steady beat and tempo
• Accurate rhythms
• Accurate pitches
• Accurate dynamics
• Proper instrumental technique

Students will gain the following knowledge:

• Role of music (via repertoire) in culture
• Basic musical terminology in areas of beat, rhythm, melody, and expressive tools (musical words and their meaning)
• Keyboard geography
• Basics of rhythmic and melodic music notation (note values and treble clef notes)

Students will also:

• develop listening skills
• learn to follow the conductor and play as an ensemble
• develop turn-taking skills

• gain tools and confidence for self-expression and communication
• develop a sense of being part of a community
• perform with effective stage presence
• exercise attention to detail

• exercise attention to communication

• exercise personal credibility
• exercise perspective taking
• exercise problem solving
• exercise planning for priorities
• develop an understanding of the value of diversity 

For more information on ChiME's Classroom Music programs, please contact Gosia Bagley at gbagley@chimemusic.org or leave us a message at 312-738-2646.