Musical Arts
Department Chair: John Stava
ACHS Entertainment Corps

A strong and comprehensive program of music instruction--including general music, various performing groups, and diverse elective offerings--should be considered an essential component of the curriculum of the Oxnard Union High School District that seeks to prepare young people adequately for life.

MUSIC plays an essential role in the education of all students. Music is a unique language for expression.

MUSIC---

Expresses spiritual and emotional values that are both personal and universal
Expands the creative capabilities of each person
Integrates and harmonizes the mind and body
Promotes a sense of well-being
Contributes to increased learning capacities in diverse subject areas
MUSIC both expresses and arouses feelings that are emotionally compelling.It also challenges the mind. What it communicates is felt. How it communicates must be understood. Few subjects in the curriculum can match music in the simultaneous, interactive involvement of both the emotions and the intellect.

Music has made major contributions in every civilization throughout history. Virtually all people like some kinds of music and have contact with music in their daily lives. Because of its importance in contemporary life, music should hold a prominent place in the curriculum of the Oxnard Union High School District. Just as all children should learn to read, all children should know their artistic heritage.

Americans sing, play instruments, purchase sound-reproducing equipment, and attend performances of music. They find that music enriches the quality of life by providing an outlet for self-expression and a life-long source of enjoyment. Those who have received a balanced and sequential program of music instruction in school are able to derive far more satisfaction from music than those who have not.

Students' levels of musical achievement vary because of differences in their interests and talents, but every student should have the opportunity in school to learn to perform, create, and appreciate music. Each should become familiar with the techniques and literature of music and should acquire a basis for developing informed musical understanding, taste, and judgment.

The study of music helps students to develop their potential, to give them an understanding of their own culture and the cultures of others, and to provide a unique vehicle for achieving excellence either alone or in cooperation with others. Some discover talents leading to careers in music; all will find that music enriches their lives, and that living can be much more than merely existing.

1. GOAL:

To encourage and assist the student with growth in musicianship and with the mastery of the expressional mode, whether it be a musical instrument or the voice.

Objective:

Provide opportunities for growth in understanding the following musical elements:

rhythm
melody
form and design
tempo
dynamics
style
timbre/tone color
harmony

2. GOAL:

To insure that every Oxnard Union High School District graduate has been exposed to music education.

Objective:

The less talented as well as the gifted student will be encouraged to participate in music education through wide and varied course offerings at each school.

3. GOAL:

To show that music does have many levels of occupational possibilities.

Objective:

4. GOAL:

To strive for articulation and cooperation with the elementary and junior high school music teachers.

Objectives:

To meet and confer with those teachers on a regular basis in an effort to coordinate teaching methods and encourage performances.
To provide information to incoming students regarding registration and course offerings within the music curriculum.

5. GOAL:

To show that music also provides reinforcement of basic skills and academic disciplines, including listening, reading, speaking, writing, mathematics, science, foreign languages, and social studies.

Objectives:

• Analyze musical works in terms of historical and social background, and psychological import.
  
• Develop a vocabulary of musical terms.
  
• Use the dictionary to verify definitions of musical terms.
  
• Read program notes.
  
• Obtain information on such topics as:
  Biographies of composers
  Periods of history
  Geographical locations
  
• Timeline of the development of present day instruments
  
• Read words to songs
  
• Interpret words of songs based on subtleties of meaning
  
• Read and sing rhythmically
  
• Read and sing phrasewise
  
• Relate musical phrases to sentences or phrases in language
  
• Develop the ability to speak through the mode of singing with skill, accuracy, and aesthetic sensitivity.
  
• Understand the mathematical basis of rhythmic relationships.
  
• Understand the mathematical basis of tonal relationships applied in scale construction and harmonic series.
  
• Discover the mathematical relationship among the keys in the circle of fifths.
  
• Understand the mathematics of the fundamental principles of acoustics and sound.
  
• Experiment with electronic music and sound communication based upon the principles of mathematics.

6. GOAL

To integrate the music program into the total school curriculum and encourage the use of music in other academic disciplines.

Objective:

To provide artistic activities in order to coordinate the abilities and efforts of other academic disciplines.