Grade 4 General Music, January 2026

Our musician of the month for January is an American duo named Black Violin. Black Violin is a violin and viola duet that blends classical music with hip hop. We are also exploring the poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who lived and wrote in Massachusetts from 1803-1882. Students are choosing between his poems A Nation’s Strength and The Chickadee to memorize this month.

Right before December break, we began to learn a new piece, Sutoku In, based on a Japanese poem. We are continuing our work with that piece, learning both the Japanese and English versions of the text. We are also continuing our music literacy work in 6/8 time, reading rhythms containing dotted quarter notes, sets of three eighth notes, and quarter notes followed by eighth notes.

4th grade students are very excited to begin learning to play the ukulele in music class! We have begun by learning about the history of the ukulele and its role in Hawaiian culture. Next we will learn about the parts of the ukulele and how to safely care for and play them. Finally, we will explore how to play melodies on one string and how to follow strumming patterns on all four strings.