Mrs. Niu - niu@bpsk12.org Mrs. Rzasa - rzasa@bpsk12.org
For all information regarding the Memorial String Orchestra Program, please click HERE.  

Friday, September 20, 2019

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!

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