Memorial Music: Weekly Review 4/6

Friday, April 10, 2015

Weekly Review 4/6 - 4/10

This week, the first grade students learned their first song on the violin- Mississippi Hot Dog! It was fun to experiment playing this song on different strings, then improvising on any notes! This unit has been so much fun...it's sad that we only have one more class left with the instruments! The first graders also learned about Haydn, an Austrian composer who wrote the "Surprise Symphony." They did a great movement activity to this song, then started their new Percussion unit. Each student played many of our classroom percussion instruments- ask your child which ones they liked the most!

The second graders also had a wonderful week- they played Hot Cross Buns on the violin, and some students even played a solo! They played along to Twist and Shout, following the bass line and chord progression. Then, they learned a bit about a musical suite by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns called "Carnival of the Animals." There are 14 movements, each representing a different animal (with a few jokes thrown in too!).

The third grade students had a wonderful Center Day, with two new games! One was a rhythm game using popsicle stick, and the other was a fun card game. During their other music class, we reviewed "Lucy Locket" (the green belt song), and started "Old MacDonald." Our new note, D, can be a little tricky. The students had to make sure they were covering the holes all the way!

The fourth graders played with the bows this week on violins, and reviewed their accompaniment part to "Twist and Shout." They also played an ostinato along to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." In chorus, they finished learning "Party in the USA," then we ran through the other songs that we will be singing in our Spring Concert!

The fifth graders also played "Twist and Shout" and "Shake it Off" on the violins. Then, students had the opportunity to try out the viola or the cello. Check out their pictures, below! :) In chorus, the students finished "Party in the USA," then sang through the rest of our concert songs.