South Dakota Standards MUSIC

Standard Three: K-2 Benchmarks

What are we going to do? We are going to learn to read different notes and symbols on a piece of “musical paper”We are going to learn to read different notes and symbols on a piece of “musical paper”

Staff A staff is a set of 5 lines and 4 spaces. This is where the notes for a musical piece are written.

WHOLE NOTE One note you might see on the staff is a… WHOLE NOTE This note look like an “O” or a donut 4 counts It is held for 4 counts

HALF NOTE Half of a whole note is a… HALF NOTE This looks like a “O” with a stem 2 counts It is held for 2 counts You may see it with the stem pointing up or the stem pointing down

QUARTER NOTE Next is a… QUARTER NOTE A quarter note is solid black circle with a stem The stem on this note may also appear up or down It is held for 1 count

EIGHTH NOTE Even quicker than a quarter note is an… EIGHTH NOTE This note looks like the quarter note, except the stem has a tail It is only held for half of a count

two eighth notes If two eighth notes are right next to each other, they will look like this: Each one is still only worth half of a count ½ + ½ = 1 This means that it will take you 1 count to play both notes

NOTES RESTS Just remember… All NOTES, whether you are playing an instrument or singing, make noise RESTS on the other hand are silent. Just remember… Notes = Noise Rest = Rest yourself (do nothing!)

QUARTER REST This is worth 1 count

These two are tricky… WHOLE RESTa WHOLE REST is worth 4 counts It is on the bottom of the line It is like a “HOLE” in the ground HALF RESTa HALF REST is worth 2 counts It is on the top of the line It kind of looks like a hat…so think Half = Hat

DYNAMICS: LOUD QUIET Lastly, we are going to look at DYNAMICS: Most musical pieces also have different symbols under the staff that tell you how LOUD or how QUIET the notes should be played/sung.

PIANO There are two basic dynamic symbols: PIANO Piano means quiet

FORTE There are two basic dynamic symbols: FORTE Forte means loud

Pianissimo Some other dynamic symbols include: Pianissimo VERY quietThis means VERY quiet

Fortissimo Or the opposite: Fortissimo VERY loudThis means VERY loud

Mezzo Piano or Mezzo Forte An in-between dynamic would be: Mezzo Piano or Mezzo Forte louder than Piano quieter than ForteBoth of these are louder than Piano but quieter than Forte

Lets Review… _help_rhythm_rest1.htmhttp:// _help_rhythm_rest1.htm

Fin! that’s the musical way to say… THE END!