Pre-school: The love for music is instilled in the students of FCA at a very young age. It is introduced to them starting at the Preschool age. Our youngest students enjoy a music time every week. They learn songs and spend some time playing different rhythm instruments. Throughout the semester, members of the faculty go into their classroom to demonstrate types of instruments and how they are played. This allows the students to learn about variety in music. Not only do they really enjoy this, but it will also help them in the future when the time comes to decide the musical direction they will take.
1st & 2nd grade: Our youngest elementary school students are able to participate in a fun music class weekly. In this class, they learn the basics of music notes, rhythm, and tempo. The students play percussion type instruments, such as hand held drums and tambourines. They also learn simple children’s songs, and learn to recognize classical pieces while studying the life stories of well-known composers.
3rd grade recorder: All 3rd grade students participate in the recorder class. The main benefit of this class is that the students learn how to read music as they play an instrument. They learn the basics of note names and location on the staff, time signatures, tempo, and other related music concepts.
4th grade band: Students who join 4th grade band will be able to use the skills they learned in the 3rd grade recorder class to begin playing an instrument of their choice. They meet in a smaller class setting, enabling the band instructor to give individualized help as needed.
5th & 6th grade band: Our highest level elementary band offers practice in both familiar songs and specially designed exercises. There are exercises arranged for the class to play in unison, as well as instrument-specific exercises to help each student learn the unique characteristics of their own instrument. Once a student has completed his time in the elementary band, he is well on his way to be prepared to enter the high school music program.
Elementary choir: A music class that all of the elementary students enjoy participating in weekly is choir. All 1st-6th grade students meet together once a week during the first semester to learn the basics of singing. At the end of the semester, they excitedly show what they have learned as they participate in a program during our quarterly Parent-Teacher Fellowship.
