This week in music, the first graders finished up their Peter and the Wolf listening maps! It was so much fun to learn about all of the instrument themes for the different characters. We started to watch the Peter and the Wolf movie, which we will finish next week! They also learned a song for a holiday we had last week - Groundhog's Day. The song is called "Time to Wake Up Sleepy Groundhog," and it includes a really fun circle game!
The second grade students continued the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra interactive game. They traveled through the safari to the string family, and some classes even continued on to the Brass family! Some of the students also enjoyed dancing to a piece of classical music by Austrian composer Haydn - the Surprise Symphony! Others had fun moving to Freight Train.
The third graders took their notation test this week. We are so proud of the students for all of their hard work - they did a wonderful job! They also received their recorders so we can start this new and exciting unit! Please remind your child to bring in their recorder and folder on music days from now until the end of the year.
The fourth and fifth graders continued their ukulele unit. They are getting really good at their G, F, a minor, and G chords. Then, they played a few different songs on the instruments.
In chorus, the students continued We Can Plant a Forest and their grade level song. They will start a new song next week!
We hope you had a fun and safe snow day this week!
The first graders are really excited to show you what they have been learning in music this year! They are busy rehearsing for their first music performance. It will be on Wednesday, Dec. 18th @ 1:30pm. A letter with details went home earlier this week. They learned the musical terms verse and refrain with the song "Jingle Bells." A verse is a section of a song that has the same music but different lyrics. The REfrain is the part of the song that we REmember because the music and lyrics get REpeated at least more than once. We also learned a fun song called "Rock and Roll Snowman" for our showcase.
The second grade students learned about our new composer for December, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He is a Russian composer who wrote The Nutcracker. We reviewed the March (a song from The Nutcracker that they danced to in first grade). Each student listened carefully to the different themes in the song and moved like soldiers, puppets, and mice! Then, they learned a brand new dance for the Trepak. The students even danced with scarves!
The third graders have started their music notation unit to help prepare them for the recorder. First, they learned about the staff, and then we added the treble clef, time signature, bar lines, double bar line, repeat sign, and labeled the measures. The students did a wonderful job drawing and labeling these musical items. Here are some pictures:
The fourth and fifthgraders had their first two rehearsals on stage, and did such an amazing job! We can't wait for you to hear them perform on Wednesday, December 11th at 6 pm!
First grade students are beginning to prepare for their Winter Showcase on Wednesday, December 18th at 1:30pm. Mark your calendars! Students reviewed various rhythm notations- du, du-de, and rest. We played a Turkey Tango game which reinforced rhythm reading.
The second grade students learned a song called, "Five Fat Turkeys." This song reinforced the musical terms- melody and ostinato. A melody is a "sweet succession of arrangement of sounds" and an ostinato is a repeated musical phrase. We used Boomwhackers as a percussion accompaniment.
Students also performed the Tango.
Third grade students learned about verse and refrain form while singing a hilarious song called "The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven"(to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"). There are 5 verses in this song, and each was assigned to a different group of students. Here are performances from Mrs. Kip and Mrs. Ferullo's class:
Our fourth and fifth grade students are in full concert rehearsal mode now. We took a little break and performed songs on the Boomwhacker. The students had so much fun!
Well, this was a short week, wasn't it? That doesn't mean we weren't busy in the music room!
The first grade students continued the fun "Bluebird, Bluebird" game from last week! Different students had the opportunity to pretend they were bluebirds while the class sang. We reinforced high voice and low voice during "oh, Johnny aren't you tired?" Next, we read Over the River and Through the Woods, then sang the song. As an added treat, next week the students will learn some sign language to perform on the words "over," "through," "grandfather," "horse," "sleigh," "white," "snow," "wind," "stings," "bites," and "go."
The second graders played a new-to-them instrument, the Boomwhackers! Boomwhackers are a set of colorful plastic tubes that produce a different pitch when struck.
The longest tube (with the lowest pitch) is C, and then the pitches ascend through the musical diatonic scale up to the smallest tube, high C. We took turns playing the Boomwhackers, then even played some familiar songs such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!"
The third graders also had some Boomwhacker fun this week! They performed slightly more advanced music than the second graders, and it was so much fun! They even did a few Boomwhacker Playalongs, which are videos that can be found on YouTube. Each one has a different accompaniment, and the students provide the melody on the Boomwhackers when prompted!
The fourth and fifth graders did a wonderful job in their chorus rehearsals. Some even auditioned for spoken and singing solos! We are so proud of how far they have come, and cannot wait for our winter concert next month!
Congratulations to our 4th grade students who sang beautifully at our Veteran's Day Assembly on Thursday.
First grade students learned about high and low sounds. The students learned that they are constantly surrounded by varying pitches. In order to reinforce high and low sounds in music, we played a fun game called, "Bluebird." Students were instructed to stand in a circle, holding hands with their hands up. One student was the bird and would fly in and out of the windows (represented by the students) during the song. On the words, "Oh Johnny aren't you tired," students would put their hand down (closing the windows) and demonstrating that they understood high to low pitch. The goal of the game was to trap the bird inside the house.
Our second grade students performed an obstinate accompaniment to the song Bony Legs. Students played the notes E and B separately, the two notes together, then learned a challenging accompaniment- E-B-E-B.
Third grade students also practiced their Orff instrument skills by playing an accompaniment to a fall song called, "Pumpkins Are Ripe." This song also reinforced hearing songs in minor, which we learned in the month of October.
Our fourth grade students were busy practicing for the Veteran's Day Assembly. Now that is it over, we will finish up Black and Gold next week.
Fifth grade students learned about the Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saens. It is a tone poem for orchestra but in 1874, Saint Saens replaced the vocal line with a solo violin line. We listened to Mrs. Rzasa perform the violin solo part and followed a listening map.
Thank you to all our Veteran's for serving our country! Have a wonderful LONG weekend! See you all on Thursday!
This week in music, the first graders sang a spooky song in minor tonality called "Ghost of John." The students danced around the room pretending they were ghosts as they sang. Next week, we will try singing this as a round! They also sang a call and response song, "The Bats are All Asleep," which helped demonstrate dynamics: piano, forte, crescendo, and decrescendo. In their second music class, they learned another call and response song called "Skin and Bones." It was funny AND spooky!
The second graders learned a fun October activity called, "A Funny Little Lady." After students learned the song, they played a game where one student closed their eyes and sat in front of an imaginary door. Their job was to guess who the soloist was when a particular part of the song was sung. They also sang "Skeleton John" in unison, then as a round. Practicing simple part singing like this will help them when they get to chorus in fourth grade! In their second music class, they learned a song called "Witches' Stew," then added an activity with hand percussion sound effects. Students got a chance to pick various funny percussion instruments and played them on the words "Ew," "Ick," "Ugh," and "Yuck." The students really enjoyed it!
The 3rd grade students had a great time using the Orff instruments this week. They first sang the minor scale (based on "la"), then learned "Nine Lives." Of course, the song is about a cat so we had pictures of black cats all over our music! They played an ostinato pattern on the instruments (xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels) to accompany the tune. They also played a game to go with the song "Ghost of John" which was taught to them by a fellow student! Thanks for teaching it to us, Dylan!
The fourth graders have started to prepare for their Veterans Day assembly. They will be singing an Armed Forces medley, which goes through the songs for each of the five branches of the military. Fourth grade parents: please mark your calendars for Thursday, November 7th at 1:30pm - we can't wait to see you there!
The fifth graders reviewed the Bridge of Athlone dance from last week. Here is a video of some of the students dancing!
Then, they learned a new folk dance called The Boston Tea Party. It is a tricky dance inspired by the time of the Boston Tea Party, which took place in 1773. It was interesting to compare and contrast the Irish dance with the American one.
In chorus, the students continued to rehearse their music for the winter concert. Hope everyone had a great week and weekend!
This week, the first graders reviewed the Loose Tooth chant, then switched their body percussion movement to hand percussion accompaniment!
"Loose Tooth" clapping = hand drum
"Wiggly Jiggly" patting = guiro
"Thread," Bed," "Head" snapping = triangle
Here is Mrs. Felton and Mrs. Burnham's class performing Loose Tooth:
We also played a fun moving activity called, "Looking for Dracula." Ask your first grader about this fun activity!
Our second grade students did many variations of Come and Follow Me including body percussion and singing the song in a two and three part round.
Students also continued listening and moving to the song: The Night on Bald Mountain. Here is a video and pictures of students performing their dance:
We learned a fun October activity called, "A Funny Little Lady." After students learned the song, they played a game where one student closed their eyes and sat in front of an imaginary door. Their job was to guess who the soloist was when a particular part of the song was sung.
The third graders completed their "Ding Dong" activity from last week, reinforcing our new rhythm (du-ta-de-ta, or sixteenth notes) on our classroom percussion instruments.
Students also learned another song about a cat called "9 Lives." Before we sang the lyrics, we sang the song with solfege syllables, starting on "la" - since the song is in minor tonality! Then, we reviewed proper mallet technique for the Orff instruments. Students had the opportunity to play a simple ostinato on the xylophone, metallophone, or glockenspiel. Next week, students will learn to play the melody on the Orff instruments.
The fourthgraders started learning a new folk dance called "Bridge of Athlone." They first found Ireland on the map, then talked about the history of that famous bridge.We will continue this dance next week.
Fifth grade students reviewed the "Bridge of Athlone" dance from last year. Next week, they will learn the Boston Tea Party Dance.
Have a wonderful three day weekend!
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!
