Sweden Grundskola - Music Curriculum

Aim

Music education aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to actively participate in musical activities, both as performers and listeners. The curriculum emphasizes developing an understanding of music as a form of expression and communication.

Core Content (Years 4-6)

Playing and Creating Music

• Singing songs, melodies, and accompaniments in ensembles across various genres.
• Learning musical patterns by ear, including chord progressions, musical periods, and compositional models.
• Imitating and improvising with voice and instruments, using rhythm and tones.
• Composing music based on musical patterns and forms, such as chord progressions and bass lines.
• Performing music for an audience.

Tools of Music

• Developing proper vocal and hearing care techniques, such as warm-up exercises.
• Understanding healthy sound levels and using appropriate hearing protection.
• Exploring the voice as an instrument for diverse vocal expressions, including singing, Sami yoiking, and rap.
• Utilizing chord and melody instruments, bass, and percussion for melody and rhythm games and accompaniment.
• Understanding rhythm, tone, dynamics, pitch, tempo, musical periods, time signatures, verses, and choruses as fundamental elements for composing music in different genres.
• Learning musical symbols, graphic notation, standard musical notation, and chord names.
• Using digital tools for audio and music creation.

Context and Functions of Music

• Recognizing the physical, conceptual, and emotional impact of music on people in various contexts. Understanding how music is used for influence and recreation in different ritual contexts.
• Learning vocabulary and terminology necessary for reading, writing, and discussing music creation, impressions, and experiences.
• Exploring the interplay of music with other art forms, such as images, text, and dance, and understanding how these different aesthetic expressions can interact.
• Classifying instruments into string, wind, brass, keyboard, and percussion families.
• Exploring classical music, folk music, and popular music from different cultures and identifying their musical characteristics.

Knowledge Requirements (End of Year 6)

Grade E

Students at this level can participate in group singing, demonstrating some ability to follow rhythm and pitch. They can play parts of a simple, adapted melody, bass line, or percussion part, and contribute to accompaniment on a chord instrument with a few chords. They also demonstrate some ability to sing or play with appropriate timing. Students can contribute to music creation using voice, instruments, or digital tools, starting from simple musical patterns and forms, and demonstrate a basic understanding of how these elements contribute to a composition. They can apply simple reasoning to their own and others' music-making, express their musical experiences in a basic way, and provide simple descriptions of how music can influence people. They can distinguish and give examples of characteristic features of music from different genres and cultures, and identify instruments from different families.

Grade D

Achieving a Grade D indicates that the student meets the requirements for Grade E and most of the requirements for Grade C.

Grade C

Students at this level demonstrate more consistent accuracy in following rhythm and pitch during group singing. They can play most parts of a simple, adapted melody, bass line, or percussion part, accompany on a chord instrument, and change chords with relative ease. They demonstrate relatively good timing and stylistic awareness when singing or playing. They can create music using voice, instruments, or digital tools, starting from simple musical patterns and forms, and demonstrate a better understanding of how these elements can be combined into a composition. They can apply more developed reasoning to their own and others' music-making, express their musical experiences in more detail, and provide more elaborate descriptions of how music can influence people. They can distinguish and give examples of characteristic features of music from different genres and cultures with greater certainty, and identify instruments from different families with more confidence.

Grade B

Achieving a Grade B indicates that the student meets the requirements for Grade C and most of the requirements for Grade A.

Grade A

Students at this level demonstrate consistent accuracy in following rhythm and pitch during group singing. They can play a simple, adapted melody, bass line, or percussion part, accompany on a chord instrument, and change chords with ease. They demonstrate good timing and stylistic awareness when singing or playing. They can create music using voice, instruments, or digital tools, starting from simple musical patterns and forms, and demonstrate a strong understanding of how these elements can be combined into a cohesive composition. They can apply well-developed reasoning to their own and others' music-making, express their musical experiences in a detailed and insightful way, and provide comprehensive descriptions of how music can influence people. They can distinguish and give examples of characteristic features of music from different genres and cultures with confidence, and identify instruments from different families with a high degree of accuracy.