Kindergarten Students sing solos!

Kindergarten students are working on using their singing voices in class.  We work on discovering the many kinds of voices we have; speaking, calling, whispering, and singing voices.  The goal is to have students discover their singing voice and become comfortable using it in class.  We use tricky bird (a slide whistle) puppets, and spooky sounds to experiment and have fun finding our singing voices.  We have animals that live in "arioso land" a land where the animals only understand singing. You can encourage your child's experiments at home too.  Sing with them, applaud their singing efforts and encourage them to create sounds with their toys- i.e. What kind of voice would this toy use?   Play "I hear with my little ear something that's making a ____________ sound" and see if your child can detect the bird singing, or squirrels rustling through the leaves, a dog barking etc.  (It's a version of "I spy with my little ear something_______.)

As you listen to the students efforts of sharing their singing voices you'll notice that each student has a different comfort level with singing solo, some like the limelight, others are shy.  Several students are using their singing voices, some are even on pitch.  Singing in tune is a skill that improves with practice and can be taught.  It's true some students naturally sing beautifully and all students can sing well with instruction and practice.  It may simply be a matter of focus- the child may be concentrating on the text (words) or the rhythms or expressing the feeling of the piece and haven't  had a chance to discover the way pitches move yet.  Please applaud your child's efforts in this early performance of the year.  I feel there is nothing sweeter!  The kindegarteners are singing Oh, My No More Pie.  Click on the links to watch a video.   Yellow Group   Blue Group  Red Group

1st grade studies Peter and the Wolf

1st graders acted out the story of Sergai Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.  Here are some pictures of the fun!

 

4th and 5th Grade Arts Night

What a terrific night of art and music!  Thank you to all of the 4th and 5th graders who attended with their families.  I was proud of your singing and playing.  Kudos to you!  Here are some videos of your performances~ Enjoy!

4th grade sings My Goose and This Pretty Planet
4th Grade sings Cindy
4th Grade Recorder Pieces
4th Grade Jazz Part 1
4th Grade Jazz Part 2
5th Grade Sea Shanties
5th Grade Sea Shanty
5th Grade Rounds
5th Grade- Little Birch Tree
5th Grade- Duke's Place
5th Grade- To Stop the Train

University Musicians Visit 5th Grade Classes

5th grade students worked with two university students, Garret Aalfs and Trevor Kent.  Garret and Trevor improvised by "trading fours" to the 12 bar blues.  Students sang and improvised with their recorders and voices to the harmonic structure of the blues.  In a previous lesson they used their Ipads to learn the bass line of the 12 blue bars so were familiar with the form.  Thank you gentleman for sharing your expertise and playing with the 5th grade students!

Chelsea Caldie visits 3rd Grade Classes

We had a visiting musician perform for 3rd grade classes this week.  Chelsea played pieces for students on her viola da gamba and string bass.  The students are also reading a biography of Yo Yo Ma in their reading classrooms this week.  Ask your child what they learned about string instruments- ie. the differences between the viola da gamba, the bass, guitar and cello.  Ask them what surprised them about the performance.  Look up videos of Yo Yo Ma- he plays in all kinds of genres- classical, blue-grass, and modern etc.  They also received a voucher for 2 free tickets to the next orchestra performance.  Check your child's take home folder for more information.
 Chelsea Caldie's Performance.

Girls Love Music

This is the sweetest T-Shirt.  I love it, one of my 3rd graders was wearing it today!

March is Music in our Schools Month

To celebrate you are invited to our

K, 1st, 2nd & 3rd grade" informances"

Monday, March 16, Blue Group

Tuesday, March 17, Red Group

Wednesday, March 18, Yellow Group

On these dates, you are invited to the music room to watch a typical music lesson.  See your child participate in music making in a classroom setting.  Come check it out!

(More information, including music class times and class lists, will be coming home soon with your child.)

Student Teacher Farewell Gift

Our wonderful student teacher is done and Lakeshore students made her a farewell gift with their finger prints.  We miss you Ms. Batterman!

Kindergarten & 1st Grade Students Sing Solos

It's time to hear the kindergarten and first grade students sing alone for the winter semester.  It's fun to hear how their voices are closer to matching pitch and how their confidence in many cases has grown since the fall.  Kindergarten students are singing Purple Light and 1st graders are sharing Candy-man (fitting for February~).  Shy students often feel more comfortable at the end of the year, encourage them to sing out, have fun and think like a performer!
1st Grade Yellow Group   1st Grade Red Group   1st Grade Blue Group
K Yellow Group               K Red Group                K Blue Group

1st Graders Orchestrate "In the Tall Tall Grass" and "My Many Colored Days"

Books are coming to musical life in class!  1st graders have been working with the books In the Tall Tall Grass by Denise Fleming and My Many Colored Days by Dr. Suess.  In the Tall Tall Grass you will see students practicing an ostinato pattern on xylophones.  (They are working on playing do and sol to the rhythmic pattern six eighth notes followed by a quarter note.)  Students also picked rhythmic instruments to depict a character in the story.  Their task was to think about the musical concepts fast/slow, high/low, loud/soft and smooth/bumpy and pick and play an instrument in the way that creature would move.  In My Many Colored Days students are picking instruments to express the emotions displayed by colors in the book.  Other students are creating movements that go with the color/emotions.  Enjoy!
  Red Group   Blue Group   Yellow Group

3rd Graders Work Together to Create Train Movement Pieces

The 3rd graders used movement to create a representation of a train ride.  The components of the ride include: pulling out of the station, going through a tunnel, traveling over a bridge, an emergency stop, going up and down hill(s) and pulling into the station.  Students worked in groups with the following guidelines:  they must use a formation (circle, line, staggered,etc), levels (high medium,low) facing (direction each person is looking) and connection (hands, elbows, waists etc).  Each group had the same tasks but the end results are all varied.  It's fun to see their creative thinking at work!
Blue Group   Yellow Group   Red Group

5th Grade Take 5 Creative Movement

The 5th graders created musical movements to the jazz piece Take 5.  They had to show a formation, use levels and decide how to connect (or not) while showing movement to the music.  A formation is how they are set up~ in a line, a circle, staggered, random etc.  Levels refers to how they are positioned in space- near the floor- reaching up high or in between.  They might connect by touching feet, hands, elbows, toes, backs etc.  We haven't had a chance to explore the 5/4 meter formally, yet some of the groups intuitively are moving in groups of 5 beats (unusual meter for American culture) watch for movement ideas that follow 1,2,3, 1,2 (which = 5).  It's really fun to see how they create their dances using these tools to show their movement ideas.  Some of the groups decided they did not want to share with the blog this time even though their dances were great!  So I posted the brave groups- enjoy!       Blue Group.      Red Group.      Yellow Group 1.        Yellow Group 2