Welcome Fall!

We have had a great time this week continuing our Unit 1 lessons: Music is a Language.

In kindergarten, we brought the story "The Very Busy Spider" to life by adding rhythms as well as including improvisation on unpitched instruments to add some sound color to our story.  Other students helped build a giant class spider web throughout the story and caught our "pesty" fly at the end.  Students demonstrated their ability to read, sing, and play quarter notes and 8th notes in music.  They also discovered how to tranlate the rhythm of language into musical notation.  We are looking forward to adding the quarter rest this week!





Our first graders continued to study rhythms and added a new symbol; the quarter rest!  We focused on the quarter rest with an exciting song and soccer game to the song, "I Love Soccer"!  They also got to preview form by identifying the sections of the song.  As an added bonus, first grade musicians were able to shake their "rah-rah" on the rests on the A section, while others passed a soccer ball back and forth on the B section.

Second graders are continuing work on our upcoming musical.  We began rehearsals Friday.  I just know that parents will be thrilled with the sound coming from these very talented musicians.  I look forward to what rehearsals bring this week.  Be checking for constant updates as we may include a live stream of our show for parents and family members unable to attend Thursday night's performance.  Glass Productions will also be attending the performance and offering a high quality DVD for purchase at the event.  It is definitely a wonderful keepsake.  In addition to the performance, students have been working on reviewing quarter notes, 8th notes, and quarter rests.  We will be studying a new note, half notes in the upcoming weeks.

Third grade students have dove headfirst (litterally!) into 16th notes with an exciting song and game of "Chicken on the Fencepost".  We divided our students into three groups to focus in on phrase structure and music rhythms.  While "Chicken on the Fencepost" is considered a play party, we chose to pass on the dance this year and add an exciting game.  The game is similiar to a chase or race, but through a maze of students.  Two concentric circles  move during the song, and on the last phrase selected students drop hands and opens up a path for our racers.  Two students race through the windows to be the first to grab the chicken in the middle of the groups.  We also are learning about play parties and 16th notes with song, "Tideo".

 

Fourth grade students have had a blast reviewing more rhythms including 8th notes, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, dotted half notes, whole rests, half rests, and quarter rests through two part rhythmic accompaniments with song, "Soldier, Soldier". Perhaps the more interesting part is the lyrics!  Oh the drama!  But they have certainly enjoyed the challenge of putting together these rhythmic accompaniments with their new song.  To conclude the activity, we discussed variations, and had students compare and contrast "Lazy John" to "Soldier, Soldier".

Fifth grade students focused on dotted rhythms this week with "Ama Lama" and Quaver's "Hey Mister Beat Boy".  They were able to compare and contrast the differences between the uneven feel of dotted rhythms with the straight even sounds of beamed 8th notes and quarter notes with the "Sore Foot March" by marching around the room demonstrating the two separate feelings.  In addition students were offered the formula for the duration of dotted notes.  They participated in pairing various dotted rhythms through dictation and ended with adding 3 part rhythmic accompaniment to Ama Lama as well as a quick rhythmic dictation activity.  We are looking forward to learning about syncopation next week with Ella Fitzgerald's, "A Tisket, A Tasket" and "Lil' Liza Jane" (Thank you www.bethsmusicnotes.blogspot.com).  We hope this will prepare us for creating a rhythmic accompaniment for our story, "Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted To Dance".