The goal of our music program is to develop musical literacy, and enrich the expressive, everyday lives of our students through musical training, both vocal and instrumental. Students are exposed to a wide variety of composers, performers, cultures, eras, and genres. Through the study of music and its motivations, the students learn self-discipline, expression, and group cohesion.
Children’s House 
The Children’s House curriculum concentrates on listening and vocal performance skills, which emphasize pitch, duration, and dynamics. We study historical styles and music from around the world as well as simple percussion instrumentation. Students begin to learn the skills of self-evaluation and appraisal through musical games. Extended-day students receive instruction on rhythmic notation, instrumental narrative, and emotional interpretation of music.
Lower Elementary
The Lower Elementary instrumental music curriculum focuses on the pentatonic scale and its harmonies. Note reading is introduced, but is not yet the standard for learning songs. Students begin to explore part-singing through canons. Using the Orff-Schulwerk method, students begin to learn the art of instrumental accompaniment. The musical vocabulary of melody, rhythm, tempo, pitch, and dynamics are defined and memorized. Students learn the important role of a conductor.
Upper Elementary
The Upper Elementary instrumental and vocal music instruction shifts to the diatonic scales and their harmonies. Note reading, sight-reading, and singing in harmony is introduced. Students learn to supplement Orff instrumentation with Latin and African percussion instrumentation. Upper Elementary students continue to work with melody, rhythm, tempo, pitch, and dynamics with increasing levels of complexity.
Junior High
In the Junior High music program, the students play complex Western and non-Western rhythms through the use of Latin and African percussion instruments. They learn tonal music theory and make their own instruments, specifically, guitars and drums. Junior High students also begin to study the history of music, through a chronological examination of the individual, social, and political events that characterized the development of a particular period of music. This spring, Junior High students will begin a unit on music composition using keyboards and accompanying software. Their goal will be to replicate musical styles and to read the musical notation for melody and percussion instruments.
Private Lessons/Ensembles
Nearly half of all MMS students, ages 5 through 14, take private music lessons in piano, guitar, drums, violin, or flute. These lessons take place either before school, during a classroom period with permission, during a student’s recess, or after school depending on the student’s schedule. Four Music Department members function strictly as private lesson instructors. A percussion ensemble, as well as a small orchestra, is organized and directed by the Music Department. Music students perform in individual recitals at the end of the academic year, in school-wide concerts, and for special events, e.g., Mother’s Visitation Day, Father’s Visitation Day, and the Spaghetti Dinner.
For additional information about our private lessons including fees and sign-up, please download the following form: Private Music Lessons at MMS 08-09. You may also email Lani Knutson at lknutson@milwaukee-montessori.org.