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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year music shifts from playing along to making real musical choices. Students come up with their own short melodies and rhythms, then revise them based on feedback. They practice pieces with attention to expression, and explain why a song sounds the way it does. By spring, students can perform a prepared piece for an audience and talk about what the music means to them.

  • Composing melodies
  • Rhythm practice
  • Performing pieces
  • Music expression
  • Listening and responding
Source: Maryland Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Listening with a musical ear

    Students start the year sharpening how they listen. They notice what makes a piece sound calm, lively, or sad, and they begin describing music using words like tempo, rhythm, and mood.

  2. 2

    Making up musical ideas

    Students try their hand at creating short pieces of their own. They tap out rhythms, hum melodies, and play with sounds on classroom instruments to see what feels right.

  3. 3

    Shaping and polishing a piece

    Students take a rough musical idea and work on it until it holds together. They decide which parts to keep, what to change, and how to perform it for an audience.

  4. 4

    Performing for others

    Students pick pieces to perform and practice the skills that bring them to life, like steady timing, clear singing, and playing with feeling. They think about what they want listeners to take away.

  5. 5

    Music and the wider world

    Students connect music to their own lives and to where it came from. They listen to songs from different places and times and talk about why people made them.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 4.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MU:Cn10.4

    Students connect what they know and what they've lived through to the music they create or perform. A song, a rhythm, or a melody becomes a way to express something real from their own life.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MU:Cn11.4

    Students look at a song or piece of music and figure out where it came from: the time period, the culture, the people who made it. That context helps them understand why the music sounds the way it does.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MU:Cr1.4

    Students brainstorm musical ideas and start turning them into something real, like a short melody, a rhythm pattern, or a song of their own.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MU:Cr2.4

    Students take a musical idea and shape it into something more complete, deciding what to keep, change, or rearrange until the piece feels finished.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MU:Cr3.4

    Students revisit a piece of music they composed, fix parts that don't sound right, and finish it. The goal is a complete, polished work they feel ready to share.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MU:Pr4.4

    Students listen to or read through a piece of music, talk about what makes it interesting or difficult, and decide whether it's ready to perform for an audience.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MU:Pr5.4

    Students rehearse a piece of music, spot the parts that need work, and practice those sections until the performance is ready to share.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MU:Pr6.4

    Students perform a song or piece and make deliberate choices about how to play or sing it so the audience feels something specific. The performance itself communicates an idea, not just notes.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MU:Re7.4

    Students listen to a piece of music and describe what they notice, like how the tempo changes or when an instrument drops out. Then they explain how those details shape the way the music sounds and feels.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MU:Re8.4

    Students listen to a piece of music and explain what they think it means or how it makes them feel, pointing to specific parts of the song as evidence for their interpretation.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MU:Re9.4

    Students listen to a piece of music and use a set of agreed-on criteria to explain why it works well or where it falls short. The focus is on giving a reason, not just an opinion.