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Welcome to the A.G. Cox General Music program! With hard work, a willingness to learn and discover new things, and a great attitude you will find the music program here to be very rewarding. An arts education including music provides success in society, success in school, success in developing intelligence, and success in life.

The general music classes meet daily each semester. During that time students learn basic musical skills, techniques and vocabulary. Class is organized so that the first half of the semester is generally whole-class learning of music theory basics (rhythm, tempo, note-reading). These weeks will feature a lot of teacher-directed instruction and activities, including warm-up activities that we practice together in class. The second half of the semester focuses upon building on the fundamentals by exploring topics such as world music, style, history, composers, and playing instruments in more detail. Daily reflections on the independent work are required and allow student and teacher to communicate regularly about the student's work during music class time.

Special thanks to the James J. and Mamie Richardson Perkins Charitable Trust, the West Memorial Fund, and the Pitt County Educational Foundation for grants that have helped us build an increasingly successful music program.

The National Standards: Music Assessment (Grades 6-8) Conjoined Rubric Student Name ________________________Date___________
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 1- Singing
			Student sings accurately and with good breath control, alone and in an ensemble.
			Student sings with expression and technical accuracy a repertoire of vocal literature as well as some pieces performed by memory.
			Student sings music representing diverse genres and cultures with appropriate expression.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 2- Performing on Instruments
			Student performs on at least one instrument accurately and independently, alone and in an ensemble.
			Student performs with expression and technical accuracy on at least one instrument.
			Student performs music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 3- Improvising
			Student improvises simple harmonic accompaniments.
			Student improvises melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic variations on given pentatonic melodies.
			Student improvises short melodies, unaccompanied and over given rhythmic accompaniments in a consistent manner.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 4- Composing and Arranging
			Student composes short pieces within specified guidelines.
			Student arranges simple pieces for voices or instruments.
			Student uses a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 5- Reading and Notating Music
			Student reads whole, half, quarter, eighth, and dotted notes and rests in 2/4, ¾, 4/4, 6/8, and 3/8 meter.
			Student reads at sight simple melodies in both treble and bass clefs.
			Student identifies and defines standard notation symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, articulation, and expression.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 6- Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
			Student describes specific music events using appropriate terminology.
			Student analyzes the uses of elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures.
			Student demonstrates knowledge of the basic fundamentals in their analyses of music.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 7- Evaluating Music.
			Student develops criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of musical performances
			Student evaluates the quality and effectiveness of their own and other’s performances.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 8- Understanding Relationships Between Music, the Other Arts and Disciplines.
			Student describes ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines are interrelated with those of music.
Excellent	Good	Fair/Needs Improvement	Content Standard 9- Understanding Music in Relation to History and Culture
			Student describes distinguishing characteristics of representative music genres and styles from a variety of cultures.
			Student classifies musical works by genre and style
			Student compares, in several cultures of the world, functions music serves, roles of musicians, and conditions under which music is typically performed.

Conjoined Rubric

Content Standard 2- Performing on Instruments

Content Standard 3- Improvising

Student improvises short melodies, unaccompanied and over given rhythmic accompaniments in a consistent manner.

Content Standard 4- Composing and Arranging

Student composes short pieces within specified guidelines.

Student uses a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources.

Content Standard 5- Reading and Notating Music

Student reads whole, half, quarter, eighth, and dotted notes and rests in 2/4, ¾, 4/4, 6/8, and 3/8 meter.

Content Standard 6- Listening to, analyzing, and describing music

Student describes specific music events using appropriate terminology.

Student develops criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of musical performances

Student describes ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines are interrelated with those of music.

Content Standard 9- Understanding Music in Relation to History and Culture