Weekly Review 1/25 - 1/29

This week, the first graders finished their Peter and the Wolf listening map.  They really enjoyed listening to the story, narrated by Patrick Stewart, as well as the beautiful music written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.  We started to watch the Peter and the Wolf movie as well, which we will finish next week!  As an extension to the song "A Sailor Went to Sea," the students added a fun clapping game.  It was a great week!

This week, second graders put all that they learned about the 4 instrument families to the test! They played an interactive game on the Touch It Board called "A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra." It is based on Benjamin Britten's musical composition, "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra." It is a listening game that takes you on a safari adventure as you visit the 4 instrument families and unlock each of their games.  We will continue this awesome activity next week!

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!  Next week, they will be receiving their recorders so we can start this new and exciting unit!  If your child is using a recorder from home, please have them bring it to music class next week.  Thank you!

The fourth and fifth graders started a composing unit this week.  We reviewed the quarter note, eighth note pair, sixteenth notes, half note, quarter rest, and half rest.  Then, we played a fun flash card game to review how to read and count the rhythms.  

The fourth graders learned about ABA form - which can be heard in the popular tune "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  The first section is the same as the last part, with something different (the B section) in the middle.  They will be using rhythmic notation to compose their song in ABA form.  

The fifth graders, however, learned a different musical form:  rondo.  Their rhythmic compositions will follow ABACABA form.  The A section is similar to a refrain, because it returns many times throughout the piece.   

In chorus this week, the students continued to work on the Painless Opera.  We even got up to the silly solo section! :)  The fifth grade students learned a bit more of the Ode to Beethoven, and the fourth graders have been working on mastering their featured song, the Surprise Symphony.  This concert is sure to be a hoot!

We hope that you have a fabulous weekend!

Weekly Review 1/18-1/22

Our first grade students will be studying Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" for the next few weeks.  "Peter and the Wolf" is a story and musical piece by the Russian composer.  We read the book first, then started a listening map in the second class.  As the students listened to the story and orchestral music (narrated by Patrick Stewart), they completed the activities in each box.  Each part of the map included a fun activity, such as drawing the different characters and identifying different instruments. We will be finishing this activity next week. Here is a list of all the character in the fairytale. Each character in the story represents an instrument and has a musical theme:

• Bird: flute
• Duck: oboe
• Cat: clarinet
• Grandfather: bassoon
• Wolf: French horns
• Hunters: woodwind theme, with gunshots on timpani and bass drum
• Peter: string instrument

The second graders also started a new unit on instrument families.  The four main instrument families are: brass, woodwind, string, and percussion. This week the students learned about the brass and woodwind families.  To get their bodies moving (especially since we have been having indoor recess all week!), the students performed a movement activity to Haydn's "Surprise Symphony."

Common Brass Family Instruments:
Trumpet
French Horn
Tuba
Trombone

Common Woodwind Family Instruments:

Piccolo

Flute

Clarinet

Oboe

Saxophone

Bassoon

The third graders went on their field trip on Friday to see the Lexington Symphony perform at Cary Hall.  The performance took the audience on a tour of the orchestra beginning 500 years ago when only voice, recorders and drums were popular. Instruments were slowly added back to the orchestra to show how music had evolved over time. By the end of the concert, there was a full modern symphony orchestra on stage!  As a finale, they played a medley of Star Wars, composed by John Williams.  This was certainly a favorite! Here are some pictures from the performance:

Next week, the students will be taking a notation test! Don't forget to study! As always, please ask Mrs. Rzasa or I for any help!

In chorus, we continued to work on our spring concert song, "The Painless Opera."  The fifth graders started Ode to Beethoven, which includes tunes from his 9th Symphony and Moonlight Sonata.  The fourth graders began their featured song, "The Surprise Symphony" by Haydn. Many of Haydn's music contained jokes to make sure the audience was paying attention. "The Surprise Symphony", or Symphony No. 94 in G Major is most famous for a sudden fortissimo (very loud) chord at the end of the opening theme. The music then returns to the original piano (quiet) dynamic as if nothing had happened.  

We hope you all stay safe and warm during the blizzard! Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Review 1/11 - 1/15

Happy Friday!

This week the first graders reviewed the important musical concept of beat.  We played beat leaders,  then walked to steady beats in different tempos.  The students also sang the fun Snowman song that they learned last week.   The movement is so silly - especially when our snowmen melt!  We then reviewed our Doggie Doggie song by counting the rhythm then adding solfege on sol, mi, and la. The students enjoyed playing the game with different doggies, bone hiders, and soloists for each round.

The second grade students have started their instrument family unit. For their first music class, we learned about the string family.  This is my (Mrs. Rzasa's) favorite instrument family!   We read a book which introduced the family, then discussed the violin, viola, cello, bass, harp, and guitar.  These are not the only string instruments, but they are the most common here in America and in Europe.   We also learned about the percussion family - so much fun!  For movement this week, the second graders danced to Soldier's Joy, which is a popular fiddle and banjo tune.

The third graders had a VERY exciting week!  Four members from the Lexington Symphony Orchestra visited Memorial to help prepare the students for next Friday's field trip.  Please check out our post HERE to see some photos and videos from this exciting visit!  To help review the process of reading/writing notes, we played two really fun games on the staff!  The students enjoyed the beanbag toss game, and "On Your Mark, Get Set, Notate!"  Our practice test is next week  :)

The fourth and fifth grade students have been doing an awesome job with the tone chimes.  We first reviewed the process for building a chord, and then drew chords on the staff.   They looked like little snowmen!  Then, the fifth graders played a chord accompaniment on the tone chimes to "Take On Me" by the band A-Ha.  The fourth graders played a chord accompaniment along with the song "Auld Lang Syne."

In chorus, we started working on songs for our spring concert.  We had a great time learning about opera and listening to different excerpts from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Barber of Seville, and Bizet's Carmen.   The tunes are so much fun to sing with our silly words!  The fifth graders started Ode to Beethoven, which includes tunes from his 9th Symphony and Moonlight Sonata.  The fourth graders began their featured song, which is Haydn's Surprise Symphony.