Memorial Music: Weekly Review 9/19

Happy Friday!

This week in music, the first graders learned their first two scale tones - So and Mi. We tossed around a ball to help us practice - when the ball was in the air everyone sang "so," and once it was caught everyone sang "mi." It was so much fun! They also finished their Welcome Back song and activity, where we explored different tempos and dynamics. Then, we took a pretend field trip to a musical kitchen, and all of the students became chefs to create an amazing soup! Ingredients were added by each child, and in between we performed the "Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop" chant. It was quite a busy week in first grade, since they also learned a new song and game called "Lucy Locket," which we will continue in the next music class!

Second grade students reviewed the new scale tones they learned last week - Re, Fa, and Ti. Now they can sing the entire major scale! We sang it in unison as well as in a round. Their new game for this week was "Ickle Ockle." What does "ickle ockle" mean?.....NOTHING! It's gibberish :) After learning the song we played the game. The class walks in a circle around one person (the Ickle Ockle) who gives another friend a high five after the song ended. Once the Ickle Ockle chooses a partner, the other students must quickly find a partner to high five too. The last student without a partner becomes the new Ickle Ockle. It was so much fun!

The third graders learned a fun sewing song called, "The Thread Follows the Needle." In the activity, one student is a needle and another student is a knot. The rest of the class is in between and they become the thread. The needle leads the thread through the "fabric," and when the all students have gone under a cross stitch is produced (see second photo below - crossed arms represent the stitch). All of this happens while they sing the song. It was a lot of fun!

The fourth graders finished the "Rocky Mountain" stick passing game from last week - it got even more exciting when we added more colors, resulting in more eliminations each round! They were also started a cool cup passing game with a catchy rhythm! We will work more on it next week.

The fifth graders reviewed the cup passing game they learned last year, then added an extra twist by singing a song to go along with it! "I've Been to Harlem" does not have the same rhythm as the cup routine, so it can be a little tricky to do at the same time. We will continue working on this activity next week!

Our fifth graders were on a field trip to Camp Bournedale on their chorus day, but luckily the 4th graders were here for theirs! We learned important skills for singing in a chorus, including proper breathing and posture. Our two expanding ball friends, Bill and Ted, help us with breathing. When the ball expands, we fill our lungs with air, and then release on a "tsss" sound as the ball contracts (just like when our lungs deflate!). It's important to control our air, which will help when we sing long phrases and high notes in our music!

They also learned how to follow along with a musical score, which shows more than one part on the same page. Last year on recorder and violin, the students only saw their own music. In chorus, they get to see the vocal melody, harmony, AND piano parts all at once!