same here. I couldn’t clap to the music as instructed. (still can’t). We had music a few times per week in elementary school (late 60s, update New York). We had to learn to play the recorder one year. I hated everything about that class.
Education in core subjects, like reading and math, has become all about differentiated instruction: figure out what students need to meet the standards.
I’ve got my issues with that (the story of Procrustes keeps coming to mind), but I also wish some of that philosophy would come to instruction in physical education and the arts. Too often, even today, kids who aren’t as naturally adept at a topic are neglected or chastised by teachers, while students who perform well are showered with attention and praise.
It’s not great.
That said, I think that music instruction in elementary schools–or at least the ones I’ve worked at–is much more than sing-along. There’s instruction in rhythm patterns, musical notation, music traditions, and more.
My earliest memory of music class was a kindergarten music class temporarily taught by a bespectacled bald white guy who’d previously taught high school. He was constantly infuriated by the fact that these young children didn’t sit quietly for a thirty minute lesson. And he taught us five-year-olds about the myth of Prometheus, complete with the daily tearing of the liver.
I was enthralled, and credit him with a piece of the grim twist of my soul.
This is largely true now. My teaching certificate (K-12 music) involved extensive elementary methodology. But, at least in Henniker NH in the 80s, we got mostly sing-along. Some music appreciation, but very little in-depth musical instruction. I mostly taught myself how to read.
I actually support the kind of music education I had (and hated). For those who had an aptitude, it was a great introduction that they could build on. We did “rhythm patterns, musical notation, music traditions, and more.” It just really wasn’t for me. But I didn’t fail or anything. (I don’t think it was graded at all, which is good).
The only notable song I recall learning in Elementary school is “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”. Had no idea it was a famous song from a play (Oklahoma) nor do I recall Mrs. Miller giving any explanation. I wish she’d taught us more; I love show tunes.
Shout 'em! Scout 'em! Tell all about 'em!
I learned that one along with the usual patriotic songs in Brownies (I was elementary school age, though).
Another one that I think I recall had the lyrics “hi yi yi hi yi yi Indians beat their drums”. Does anyone else recall something like that? I cringe just typing it.
I don’t remember our music teacher’s name, but I remember we all thought he was funny. He would tell jokes during class. They would probably be considered “dad jokes”, but they’re funny when you’re 8 years old. And he had a parody of “We Are the World” called “We Are the Worms”. I think we all assumed he wrote it, but for all I know he just got it from somewhere else. It went something like:
We are the worms
Out on the sidewalk
We are the worms
That make a squishy sound
When you step on us
Apart from that, I remember singing a lot of older rock and roll songs, like “At The Hop” and Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World” (aka “Jeremiah was a bullfrog”) with the references to wine changed to something more kid friendly. The music teacher had a keyboard with which he provided accompaniment.
Yeah, a roomful of shrieking recorders sounded like a psycho-stabbin’ movie.
I went to a Catholic school for elementary classes. One of the nuns taught us a music class with no music in it. No recordings. She taught us about Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks using words only. To this day I’ve never heard the piece.
Occasionally she’d pull out her Melodica (a mini-keyboard that you blew into to provide the oomph) and try to play something or other on it.
In my son’s elementary school, they taught everyone the recorder in 4th grade. Everyone normally learns the ukulele in 5th grade, but that was the COVID year when schools were online the whole year, so he got basically no music instruction that year.
I can’t believe I’ve forgotten my music teacher’s name, but whenever she became incensed, she’d say, “hey, Yehudi!” Except I had no idea who Yehudi Menuen was, and I heard it as “hey, ya hooty!”
Anyway, we had a mix of folk (This Land is Your Land), Texana (“the stars at night, are big and bright, (clap clap clap clap) deep in the heart of Texas!”), and religious songs (he’s got the whole world in his hands; Jesus loves me).
We also did square dance.
We did square dance, but it was in PE.
Funny, I was thinking about this just recently as our kid told us the schedule of our 4th-grade grandkid’s assemblies.
Grade school in Chicago Public Schools during the 60s-70s was K-8. Our school had 1 class per grade, and you didn’t change classrooms/teachers for any subjects. No special teachers for art/music/science/language/whatever.
It seemed as though every classroom had an old upright piano in it, and it seemed as though every teacher could play well enough to accompany the class during music. I almost wonder if playing piano was a part of the teaching curriculum, or if they all just picked it up. We mostly sang what would be considered “The Great American Songbook.” Classics like Red River Valley, Battle Hymn or the Republic, Home on the Range… Some adventurous teachers would play some folk tunes or some pop. Seemed to take place in the late afternoons, near the end of the day.
Funny, but in 7th grade (which would’ve been 72 or so) we got a new teacher - Mr. Jones, a young black man who had a beard and mustache, wore dashikis, and drove a beatup old car. QUITE unusual for our lily-white neighborhood. I think he was the only male teacher other than our gym teacher and principal, and he surely was the only person of color. I have no recollection of what he did for music or assemblies. (He got fired partway through the year for using corporal punishment. He had some unusual opinions WRT aliens ad the Loch Ness monster - but that is fodder for another discussion.)
Every public school had an auditorium. Not some multi-purpose lunch/activity room (didn’t have a lunchroom - everyone went home for lunch!) but a dedicated auditorium with a stage and fixed seating. Every month or 2 we would have assemblies during the morning at which each class would go up on stage and sing a song or 2. I think they were divided between the younger grades and the older ones. Since few of the mothers worked, they would attend during the day. I remember one time we sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” That must’ve been really “out there!”
I played piano in grade school, and from about 6th through 8th grade I had the job of playing piano as the classes marched up to and off from the stage. As I recall, I had pretty free rein as to what I played. I recall playing a lot of the music from Jesus Christ Superstar, and light pop like Classical Gas and Baby Elephant Walk.
Sometime around 7th grade or so, the school bought 5 or so large xylophone family instruments. They were stored in one of the supply rooms, and I was part of the group of boys who were responsible for getting and returning them for music class. Was fun to be out of the classroom and unsupervised. Must have been quite the racket, to have a bunch of kids banging away on those things.
Not trying to be nostalgic or anything, but the idea of each class singing songs which most everyone knew, with the teacher playing piano, and having regular assemblies - is a pleasant memory.
We had a great music teacher at my elementary school.
(She was also my mum !) And yes everyone started on the recorder,
but anyone who showed an aptitude would be encouraged to continue
with music lessons in whatever instrument they preferred.
We listened to Singing Together, a BBC schools radio series every week.
Several attendees at mum’s recent funeral commented on how she had started
them on their musical journeys (for want of a better word).
I’m hoping @EinsteinsHund looks in and compares German music education with the American examples here.
I remember our Elementary music teacher played the autoharp with gusto! She taught us a lot of songs including a few songs that centered around Hanukah and probably other international folk songs. i loved watching Peter and the wolf in her class, how the instruments represented the characters. I should look it up and watch it again.
Middle school music teacher was a very enthusiastic man, had us listen to Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody. We all had a chance to play piano and the xylophone, recorders. Marimba.
High School- biggest regret I did not sign up for band class. Not much parental support in that regard.
I went to a Christian elementary school. We had to sing hymns every day. There was one kid’s song I particularly hated, but it seemed like the other kids loved it, because they would request that we sing it. The lyrics:
Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
You are one of them, and so am I
So let’s just praise the Lord!
At the end of a verse, the teacher would call out something like, “Twirl around!” and then we’d have to do that while we sang the next verse. With each verse, another thing would be added until we were all twirling and flapping and dancing around like morons. I’m sure the teachers liked having us use up all our energy before class started.
In high school, I took a chorus class. The first day, the teacher told us we’d be putting on a show for the parents. We’d sing some songs, and “Carol” would have a solo. Apparently the teacher had had “Carol” in a previous class. Now as it turned out, “Carol” was far and away a better singer than any of the rest of us. Still, I was miffed that no one else was even considered. I coulda been Barbara Streisand for all that teacher knew.
We had a once-a-week music teacher up until 7th grade. We had music books with various songs, and our music teach had written a bunch of songs which we also sang.
Here’s an old thread where I was asking for a song ID from our 5th grade class.
I can half-remember the songs we sung in Primary School, it was a wide variety of traditional old ballad things (e.g. They Call The Wind Maria from Paint Your Wagon, Sloop John B by The Kingston Trio), contemporary songs (Boney M’s Rivers Of Babylon), and some cultural New Zealand favourites for kids (Pokarekare Ana). A few of the songs already mentioned in this thread were also included.
I lived in the country, my school was quite small, and we used to have an annual ‘Choir’ show where all the local schools across the region performed together. We each had our own songs we learned, and then a couple that all of us were supposed to sing as a full group of around 100 kids.
The teacher who was responsible for organising this was our own Principal and he turned out to be a very bad person indeed, and is currently in prison for very very bad things. So my nostalgia for this time is somewhat distorted by that revelation.
My grade school music (1968-1976) was mostly good. We sang fun songs, played air guitar, kept time on wood blocks and maracas, and I learned to read sheet music, which I still mostly retain.
But. my report cards all say “needs to learn to sing in key”. That’s all well and good, but my wonderful music teacher NEVER EXPLAINED HOW TO DO THAT! To this day I don’t really understand “key”. Sure, I can read the wiki, but I don’t “get” it. And as far as I know, still don’t sing in key. Thanks a lot!
We had elementary school band, but I never wanted to play some stuffy trombone or french horn, I wanted to be a rock and roll drummer. Which they didn’t teach, beyond basic timekeeping.
I’m happy to chime in, though the memories of my musical education are rather depressing. I went to primary school (Grundschule, grades 1-4) from 1974-78, and we had one hour of music in a week when we did nothing but learn songs and sing them as a class. Now don’t get me wrong, I like singing, but in hindsight I would have expected a bit more about basic musical theory and training in instruments. Now my teacher in primary school covered almost all subjects by himself and thus was no real expert for anything, and though he could sing he was not a musician. We mostly sang German folk songs which sounded to me as old as dirt, but now I know that most of them were actually from the 18-20th century. Most of them were nice.
What I didn’t like, although I wasn’t a victim: every final music lesson of the school year, every student had to sing a song solo to show their efforts. We all know that not everybody is gifted with a great voice or an ear for music, so some always failed and were exposed to embarrassment, and on top of that your grade in music class wholly depended on that performance. Disgusting.