We've got rhythm

The Music program at Bay County Academy consists of vocal music, instrumental music, movement, performance, critical listening, composing, history, and theory. The students work with the music teacher regularly to prepare performance pieces for the Holiday and Spring concerts. These concerts are an exhibition for the students and teacher to show off all that they have learned.

BCPSA students of all grade levels learn about all the different elements of music including Melody, Harmony, Form, Timbre, Texture, Dynamics, Beat, Rhythm and more! In the classroom, they focus on the three ways music can be expressed: Listening/Analyzing, Composing, and Performing. The teacher also starts teaching music theory as early as preschool through a form of iconic musical notation and continues through the middle school where the children learn to read traditional musical notation and compose their own pieces. In addition to music theory, the students are exposed to music history. They learn about famous composers, important time periods and styles associated with those times.  The older students, keep journals of each of their listening examples to help them describe what they hear, think and wonder about the music as they listen to it. The music curriculum integrates well with Paragon. During certain units the classroom teacher communicates with the music teacher about what the students are studying in Paragon. There is an extensive collection of CDs from which both teachers can choose pieces to compliment their lessons.

Each year, the students compose their own songs and pieces and record them on their very own CD.  The words and music are completely student-written and are often performed at various BCPSA award ceremonies and graduations.  Each student receives his/her own CD of the whole school’s recordings at the end of the year to take home and share with their families.

Starting in 5th Grade, the students at BCPSA are invited to join our after-school band!  Each student in band learns to play a Woodwind, Brass or Percussion instrument and rehearses with the band 3 times a week.  Here, the students learn all about the individual tone quality of his/her specific instrument and learn how to interpret all aspects of musical notation.  The band also performs in the Holiday and Spring Concerts as well as the Charter School Arts Competition in April each school year.