Music

Mrs. Standlick giving a Gratos hand sign in Italy

The mission of the performing arts curriculum in Hanover County is to equip students with the skills to communicate through music and drama, with the understanding that these art forms are an important universal language basic to our society and other cultures. According to Victor Hugo, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”

All John M. Gandy Tigers attend music class once a week for 45 minutes. Music class is an all-encompassing journey into reading music, playing rhythms, and singing joyful songs! Cheryl Lavender once said, “The fact that children make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music makes children beautiful."

In music class, students create, recreate, and process music in ways that develop their musical skills and enhance their appreciation of music as an art form. They play instruments including xylophones, drums, ukulele, recorder, and guitar in class.

Contact

Mrs. Megan Standlick, Music Teacher

Music Standards

Our standards of learning follow Virginia state recommendations, specifically providing for:

Third Grade

  • Improvement of internal steady beat through movement, song, and instrument playing
  • Developing confidence in singing alone and with others
  • Recognizing instruments from the four orchestral families visually and aurally
  • Using traditional notation to read and write rhythmic patterns
  • Experiencing music from many cultures
  • Learning to play the ukulele
Students doing a music performance on stage

Fourth Grade

  • Demonstrating an understanding of the relationship of music to history and culture
  • Learning the notes of the treble staff
  • Identifying time signatures
  • Distinguishing between major and minor tonality
  • Improvising melodies based on the pentatonic scale 
  • Playing music in two-part ensembles
  • Learning to play the recorder

Fifth Grade 

  • Learning to articulate personal music preference using musical terminology
  • Playing music of increasing difficulty
  • Completing a composition project
  • Developing strategies for sight reading rhythms and melodies
  • Exploring the role of music in culture
  • Learning to play the guitar
  • Having the opportunity to join the fifth grade Gandy chorus
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