This week in music, all students listened to the song/book, "The Crabfish." They learned the refrain to the song, and sung it during the appropriate times in the book.
The first graders finished their Apple Tree game from last week, so that all students had a turn to be the tree. We talked about beat, and found our heartbeats with our hands. After a bit of brisk movement, we checked our heartbeats again - and they were faster! Although the tempo of the beat can change, it will stay consistent and predictable throughout the song. They figured out how many beats were in the chant, "I Think Music's Neat," and performed it at different tempos to confirm that it stayed the same. We also did one of the students' favorite autumn movement activities called "Looking for Dracula."
The second grade students reviewed a fun movement song from last year called "A Sailor Went to Sea." Then, we talked about a composer named Ludwig van Beethoven. He wrote many recognizable pieces of music, including his Fifth Symphony, Für Elise, and Ode to Joy (from the Ninth Symphony). We watched a cartoon which shows what his life was like, from a young man until he passed away. It was incredible to learn that he composed many pieces as he was going deaf. So remarkable!
The third graders played another round of Dipidu, a singing game which helps them feel the differences between 2 and 3 in music. They also learned about Beethoven, and filled in a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast two different pieces by Beethoven: Sonata in G and Moonlight Sonata. We asked the students to focus on the mood, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, pitch, tonality, instrumentation, and anything else that they could think of. Of course, some students may interpret the two pieces differently, and that's okay! However, some qualities (such as instrumentation and tonality), are concrete and not open for interpretation. They then reviewed rhythms and learned a new one - sixteenth notes!
The fourth graders worked on their Veteran's Day music. Each class is going to be singing a different branch of the military, and they will all sing the music for the Coast Guard (since there are five branches and only four classes!). Then, they did a silly movement activity called "Hand, Elbow, Ankle." So much fun!
The fifth graders learned a spooky song called "Halloween Night." They read along with the musical score, and identified the different pitches on the staff for the instrumental accompaniment. We reviewed how to play the Orff instruments and how to hold the mallets properly on a C Major scale. We also learned two ostinato parts of the song. Next week, we will add additional instrumental parts to the song, and act out a fun scene!
In chorus, the students finished "Hot Chocolate," and continued to rehearse "First Footprints." We discussed meter changes, since First Footprints switches between 4/4 and 3/4 time. Next week, we will start working on their grade level featured songs.
Have a fantastic weekend!
