Music education in Japanese schools adopts a holistic approach, integrating various expressive and appreciation activities. The primary objective of music education in Japan is to develop students' cognitive, evaluative, and expressive capabilities, grounded in their musical knowledge and skills. This objective is predominantly achieved through language-supported cognitive processes. Consequently, music classes extend beyond mere musical activities; akin to other academic subjects, they present scenarios characterized by limited contextual cues and significant cognitive demands. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of students with international backgrounds in Japan. Many of these students are in the process of acquiring the academic language necessary for subject-specific learning and frequently encounter difficulties in comprehending the content of music classes. It is imperative to design music classes that facilitate the engagement of students from diverse international backgrounds in Japanese music education, enabling them to comprehend the subject matter and achieve learning objectives. This study aimed to elucidate the perspectives necessary for developing content-based music classes in school settings. Utilizing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) model, which encompasses three components-subject content, language of instruction, and learning strategies-we analyzed elementary school music classes. A distinctive characteristic of the CALLA model is its active integration of language instruction with the teaching of learning strategies. It is particularly crucial to deliberately incorporate instruction in two categories of learning strategies: metacognitive strategies and task-based strategies, which include cognitive, sensory, memory, social, and affective strategies. The analysis yielded the following insights: (a) at the goal-setting stage, it is essential to establish goals for acquiring academic language and learning strategies in addition to learning objectives; (b) during lesson planning, it is important to provide materials and worksheets that facilitate student comprehension; and (c) the instructional process should involve the presentation of language expressions and sentence examples, the incorporation of language activity practice, and the application of metacognitive and task-based strategies to support students with limited language proficiency. Music classes that incorporate extensive language activities require strong academic language skills, including the ability to comprehend textbooks, identify academic vocabulary, engage in effective discussions, and articulate thoughts in writing. It is essential to integrate these skills into the music learning process. Additionally, providing scaffolding through learning strategy instruction is crucial for assisting students in understanding subject content. Therefore, employing this approach to guide students in music classes would be beneficial.