Weekly Review 9/23-9/27

We can't believe it is already the last full week of September. Here is what we did in music:

First grade students learned their first two solfege tones:  sol and do.  For every pitch in music, there is a visual hand sign. The height that the hand sign rests is correlated to how high or how low the pitch is. We tossed around a ball to help us practice singing those pitches. When the ball was tossed in the air everyone sang "sol," and once it was caught everyone sang "do."  They also finished their "Lucy Locket" game from last week.  Then we made soup for our home room teachers.  All were chefs and participating in making the soup by adding their own ingredients.  As each child added an ingredient, we performed the "Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop" chant.

Second grade students learned a fall song "I'm a Nut" and composed their own version. Here are two partner groups:

In third grade, we learned a traditional Caribbean folk tuned called, "Four White Horses." This song is in a musical style called calypso. Students thought that they heard a piano or a drum. They actually heard the steel drum! We talked about the steel drum and saw how it was played in a popular song.  Once the song was mastered, we added a fun clapping routine.  Quartets of students clap the hands of the person across from them (either high or low) then clap the hands of their neighbors to the sides.  The routine repeats with regular hand claps in between each move, and alternating between high and low.

The fourth grade students learned a cup game this week.  It is a rhythmic cup passing routine which has been around for generation. Many of the students know it from the movie, "Pitch Perfect." Next week we will change the tempo and do variations of the routine.

Fifth grade students reviewed the cup routine from last year, then performed it while singing "I've Been to Harlem." It is very challenging to sing while doing such a complicated task!  Especially since the rhythm of the song is quite different from the rhythm of the cup routine. We will continue with this routine next week and learn one more cup routine!

We hope you are enjoying the lovely weather! Have a great weekend!

Weekly Review 9/16 - 9/20

This week in music, the first graders enjoyed playing a game called "Lucy Locket."  One person is Lucy (he/she hides the pocketbook in the room) and another person is Kitty Fisher (he/she finds the pocket). The rest of the students play an important role in this song/game because they help Kitty Fisher find the pocket adjusting their volume as they sing the song. If they sing forte that means Kitty is close, and if they sing piano he/she is farther away. This song/game is very similar to "Hot and Cold."

The second grade students learned a song and game called "Ickle Ockle." The lyrics are quite silly and the phrase "ickle ockle" doesn't even mean anything - it's gibberish! Once the students knew how to sing the song, they played the game. One person was the "Ickle Ockle" and had to give another friend a high five after the song ended. The other students each have to find another friend to give a high five. The last student without a partner becomes the new "Ickle Ockle." Then, they learned a fun rhyming song called "I'm a Nut." They will do more with this song next week!

The third graders started the week by performing their Thread Follows the Needle dance in small groups. They discovered that it is VERY hard to concentrate on the dance while singing the song. Check out their video below!

In their second music class, we sang "Four White Horses," a traditional Caribbean folk tune with awesome steel drum accompaniment!  This song is in a musical style called calypso.  Once the song was mastered, we showed them a fun clapping routine. They will practice this routine next week!

The fourth and fifth graders did similar activities during general music, using different songs.  The fourth grade played with "Rocky Mountain," and fifth used "Sansa Kroma." They played a stick passing game and students were eliminated each round until we had a winner!  They had to pass on the steady even beat, and hopefully did not end the song holding the Red Stick of Doom! Then, more sticks were added with different colors meaning different students would be out. It was so much fun!

In chorus, the students discovered the importance of warm-ups - both physical (stretches) and vocal. They then 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 balls expand, we fill our lungs with air, and then release on a "tsss" sound as the balls contract (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!

We hope you have an amazing weekend!

Weekly Review- 9/5-9/14

We completed our first full week of school and got a chance to meet all our new first grade students. Everyone should have received a welcome letter with the dates of our music performances. If not, here are the dates:

4th Grade Veterans Day Assembly - Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 1:30 p.m.

4th/5th Grade Winter Concert - Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.

1st Grade Showcase - Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. 

4th/5th Grade Spring Concert -  Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.

2nd Grade Memorial Day Assembly - Friday, May 22, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

3rd Grade Recorder and Violin Concert - Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.

We got new superhero chairs this year, thanks to our wonderful PTO. Here is a picture of Jennifer McFadden sitting in the comfortable chair:



Here is what we did in music for past two weeks:

First grade students are so excited to have music this year. Many of them were eager to play an instrument so we took out the hand drum for the students to see and play. We learned a chant called, "Chicka- Chicka Boom Boom" and students introduced their names by singing it in a creative way. We also learned "Welcome Back" song which introduces tempo (fast and slow) and dynamics (loud and quiet). Students had fun singing the song in different ways. The song, "Lucy Locket" was introduced. We will play the game next week.

Our second grade students practiced how to jump rope with a fun song called "Skipping Rope" They had to jump in when their name was sung and jump out when the song was completed. We had many students who could do this! During their second music class, we learned "Grizzly Bear" which reinforced dynamics that they learned last year.



In third grade, the students played one of our favorite activities of the year, "Hey Children."  The students learned the song first, followed by a clapping routine.  Once the routine was mastered, the clapping routine was transferred to the rhythm sticks so we could play the name game!  We learned a song a dance called "T-I-D-E-O" and "The Thread Follows the Needle."



Our fourth and fifth grade students learned a fun Mexican folk dance called, "Los Machetes." This dance tells the story of sugar canes being cut during the harvest. Los Machetes was created my Mexican farm workers who spent a great amount of time using the tool for harvesting. Traditionally, real machetes are use during the dance. We used rhythm sticks instead.


 The fourth grade students learned a song called, "Rocky Mountain."  This song explores high and low voices, and was a bit tricky at first!  The song has a hand routine that goes along with it- we did the routine in whole notes (4 beats), half notes (2 beats), quarter notes (1 beat) and eighth notes (1/2 beat). Then, we used hand drums and bongos instead of our laps.  EVERY student had a drum to play! It was fun to play and sing at the same time. After they finished playing the drums, we started a stick passing game to the same song.



In fifth grade, we sang an African song called "Sansa Kroma." Ask your 5th grader about the meaning of the song!  Once we learned all of the words, we did a drumming activity similar to the one the fourth graders did with their song. Next week, we will learn the stick game that goes along with the song.



Have a wonderful weekend!