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On Wednesday of this week, Jacob Ford visited several music classes to teach about and demonstrate trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. Jacob is a senior music education major at St. John's University who also specializes in trumpet performance. He taught students about how sound is produced on brass instruments, how his instruments work, and about the music that he plays. Students were excited to interact with Jacob, joining in discussions about the subtle differences in the sounds of his instruments and asking many questions. They especially loved his "cute" piccolo trumpet, the baby of the trumpet family, and how high it could play. A few lucky students who were celebrating their birthdays on Wednesday were even treated to a special birthday song played on trumpet! Students are hoping that Jacob can come back to show them more about his instruments soon.
Singer, songwriter, and violinist Gaelynn Lea visited Holdingford Elementary students on Tuesday. Students have been anxiously awaiting her visit since I learned that we would be able to bring her to Holdingford through Minnesota Public Radio's Class Notes Artists program months ago. Students have been enjoying listening to and learning about the music of this innovative musician since last school year when second graders performed Gaelynn's "Bird Song" on their spring concert. Gaelynn presented three engaging and interactive performances throughout the day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. She performed a variety of music, including her own compositions and traditional folk music interpreted in her own unique style. The students were interested to learn about how she uses a looping pedal to create dramatic layers of sound in her music. They have been creating their own music using looping in music class to better understand Gaelynn's technique. Students especially enjoyed being able to participate in the performances in different ways. Gaelynn invited students to close their eyes while they listened to experience the emotions and images of the music, then asked them about what they had experienced. She taught the students to sing parts of two of her own songs, "Bird Song" and "Watch the World Unfold," so they could perform with her. They're still singing those songs days later! Students were also impacted by the non-musical lessons that Gaelynn taught them. She shared her perspectives on finding creative solutions to challenges, using music to deal with difficult feelings, and the importance of treating every person with kindness. It was wonderful to see the students connect with Gaelynn and experience her music so fully. They're already asking when Gaelynn will come back to our school!
5th Grade: Melody Fifth graders have been deepening their understanding of intervals, scales, and written music notation in learning about half and whole steps and how sharps and flats affect notes by raising and lowering pitches by half steps. They learned the formula of steps between notes for major scales (whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half) and practiced writing and playing C, F, and G major scales, including key signatures. I've been very impressed by their precise and accurate scale writing! 4th Grade: Singing Fourth graders have been reviewing the basics of good choral singing and learning about different types of two-part songs, such as rounds and songs with descants (higher harmony parts). They've also been studying the difference between singing in major and minor, and learning to identify tonic and dominant chords.
2nd Grade: Singing
Second graders have been learning about the basics of how to sing. Although this seems simple, the way way that singers breath, use their air, and stand or sit can drastically affect how they sound when singing. Students have been learning about the lungs, ribcage, and diaphragm and how all of these body parts interact when they sing. 1st Grade: Lines and Spaces First graders are beginning to study standard music notation with a two line staff. They've been practicing sight-singing (singing by reading music without hearing it first) using the two pitches sol and mi on the two lines of the staff. They've been doing a great job with both reading and singing! Kindergarten: Instruments The instrument unit is one of my favorites to teach kindergartners! We started by learning about the four instrument families (woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion) and what makes them families. Then we began learning about each family in more depth. Students learned about how woodwind instruments often have lots of keys and/or holes and that they produce their sound with a reed or by blowing across a hole. They learned about how brass instruments usually have very few keys, if any, and they make their sound by buzzing their lips. They've been able to see some instruments in person, and they also enjoyed playing "air instruments" while singing the song "Air Orchestra". KidSing is an annual FREE opportunity for students in grades 3, 4, and 5 to learn about singing, perform in a concert hall, meet new friends, and have fun with music. This year's special guests will be the a cappella group Tonic Sol Fa. The event will be held at St. Cloud State University and is co-hosted by the St. John's Boys' Choir and Cantabile Girls' Choir.
Check out www.sjbchoir.org/kidsing to learn more! |
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