5th Grade: Digital Composition and Notation Fifth graders completed their digital compositions, and we took some class time to share their projects. The students had insightful feedback for each other, and were very supportive of each others' efforts and ideas. After going through the process of making their own decisions about instrumentation, style, and harmonies as composers, we listened to part of Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 5, which is this romantic era composer's only symphony that does not include clarinets, trumpets, and timpani. Students wrote about why Schubert might have made that instrumentation decision and their own opinions about that decision. We also continued our study of standard music notation by learning about music "roadmap" directions, such as D.C. al Fine and D.S. al Fine, which tell a player to return to an earlier played part of a piece of music. 4th Grade & 3rd Grade: Recorders This week we added the note G to our recorder repertoire, and focused on developing good tonguing habits. Tonguing is how notes are separated on most wind instruments by using the tongue to touch the roof of the mouth, stopping the stream of air going through the instrument. Students have no learned four songs, and are about to start learning the highly anticipated "Hot Cross Buns"! 2nd Grade: Melody Second graders have become composers, using what they have learned about melodies moving by steps, skips, and repeated notes. A brand new addition to our classroom is five strips of tape across the carpet that we call "the floor staff." We've been playing a game in which students act as notes by standing on the lines and spaces of the floor staff. One student stands on the left side of the staff, then calls on a classmate to be the next note in the melody, and directing that student by telling him or her to be a repeated note, or a step or a skip up or down. It was interesting to hear how much more melodic their compositions became when they heard what they had created so far played as each student was called on. I can tell these students have good ears for catchy melodies! 1st Grade: Lines and Spaces First graders also used our new floor staff this week as they moved between the notes sol and mi as they listened to music using those notes. They are getting impressively good at sight singing melodies (singing a tune from written music without having heard it before) using these two notes. They also learned a little bit about the treble clef (a symbol that indicates the pitches on a music staff), including how to draw them. Kindergarten: Tempo Kindergartners have continued to listen to, move with, and sing songs in different tempos, feeling how the speed of the steady beat can be different. We had some great discussion about how the tempo of a piece of music can affect the mood or feeling of a piece of music. The students enjoyed learning about how songs sound best when they are at a comfortable tempo by singing the song "Bingo" at speeds that were too slow, too fast, and just right.
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In honor of the third and fourth graders beginning to play the recorder, this week's "Mysterment" (Mystery Instrument) was the recorder. Most classes guessed that the recording they heard was of a flute or piccolo instead of a recorder. Both are great guesses, being in the same instrument family as the recorder and producing sound in a similar way. We watched a portion of the Vivaldi video and the Justin Bieber video below and discussed the long history of the recorder and its musical versatility.
5th Grade: Music Notation
This week, fifth graders took a break from their digital composition projects to review standard music notation. We played a thrilling team game that reviewed their recognition of notes and rests of different durations, reviewed the notes on the grand staff (treble and bass clef), and discussed why standard music notation is important and how it functions as a universal language for musicians all over the world. 4th Grade & 3rd Grade: Recorders Students now know three (and in some classes, four) pieces on recorder! They know two to three notes, and are building good habits of playing, including:
2nd Grade: Note Duration Second graders finished up their unit on note duration with some fun team games. We played Quick Draw, in which students had to draw whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes, and Note Relay, in which students had to identify notes by name. Both were very exciting! 1st Grade: Music Notation First graders completed their unit on string and percussion instruments this week, and began a new unit on music notation. They have learned a little about the history of the standard notation of notes written on a staff, an innovation that is attributed to an 11th century Italian monk named Guido d'Arrezo. Although a standard music staff has five lines and four spaces, first graders are beginning to read music written using only two notes written on two lines. They have been doing an impressive job of reading short melodies, hearing them in their head, then sight-singing (singing what is written without hearing it first) using the solfège syllables "so" and "mi." Kindergarten: Dynamics (Loud and Soft) Kindergartners have also started sight-singing (singing what is written without hearing it first) using the pitches "so" and "mi." Students have been reading graphic notation, noticing melodic direction in how higher notes are written higher higher on a page than lower notes. At the same time, they've continued studying dynamics, reinforcing their new musical vocabulary: forte (loud) and piano (soft).
4th Grade & 3rd Grade: Recorders The recorders finally arrived! This week was very exciting as students got their recorders and jumped right into learning their first notes, B and A. They've already learned two songs: "Walk Like a Mummy" and "AAA". Playing an instrument takes a lot of self-control, and I've been very impressed by how well the students have been following directions and learning. Students are welcome to take their recorders home on the weekends to play and practice, but I encourage them to always store their recorders in their backpacks when they're at home so they won't forget to bring them back on Monday. It's a lot harder to follow along, learn, and have fun in music class if they don't have an instrument to play! During the week, students will leave their recorders in the music room. 2nd Grade: Note Duration Second graders have started a new unit on duration, or the length of notes. They've been learning about whole notes (4 beats), half notes (2 beats), quarter notes (1 beat), and eighth notes (half beat). They learned a new, fun song called "Quaver's Candy-Making Machine" that is great for comparing these different note durations. We've also been talking about accents, musical markings that make a note stronger than it would otherwise be, even if it falls on a weak beat. We tried adding accents on weak beats in "Quaver's Candy-Making Machine" to add a little extra interest to the song. 1st Grade: Percussion Family First graders have continued their study of the musical instrument families, focusing on the percussion family. They have learned that the definition of percussion is an instrument that can be hit (like drums), shaken (like maracas), or scraped (like a guiro). Kindergarten: Dynamics (Loud and Soft) Kindergartners have been learning about loud and soft in music. We began this unit by reviewing what they already know about opposites, and then finding opposites in music. They learned a song called "The Mouse's House" in which they came up with their own actions and percussion sounds to demonstrate parts of the house construction that are loud, like sawing and hammering, and parts that are quiet, like painting. We ended the week by learning the song, "The Land of Lowdnsoff," about two people in a land where everyone is either very loud or very soft. They students have had fun with these songs, but the biggest hit this week was listening to the second movement of Haydn's "Surprise Symphony," which uses musical opposites of loud and soft to wake up the audience! Students love pretending they're asleep for the quiet and slow part at the beginning, then jumping up at the surprise! This week, students in some grades were introduced to the acoustic band Punch Brothers. This quintet plays a unique fusion of musical styles that has been described as "American country-classical chamber music." The members play traditional bluegrass string instruments, but most of them have formal classical training and experience in a variety of genres. The band leader, mandolinist Chris Thile, may be familiar as he recently took over for Garrison Keillor as host of A Prairie Home Companion.
Students really enjoyed the engaging and expressive music of the Punch Brothers, and they were able to hone their instrument and musical genre identification skills through listening to and watching them perform. 5th Grade: String Family
Fifth graders concluded their unit on instrument families, especially string instruments, with a unit quiz. Most did quite well! Next, students will be trying out some of the features of our online curriculum, Quaver, using the Chromebooks in class. They will be exploring composition tools and games to practice music theory skills. 4th Grade: Woodwind Family Fourth graders also had a quiz on string instruments this week, but they are continuing their study of instruments by looking now at the woodwind family. Very soon, they will be studying one of those woodwind instruments in depth: the recorder! 3rd Grade: Brass Family Third graders finished their brass unit with a quiz. They really showed that they know a lot about the parts of these instruments and how sound is produced on them! They're now moving on to study the woodwind family, especially the recorder, which they will be learning to play very soon. 2nd Grade: Note Duration Second graders finished their brass unit and are beginning a a new unit on duration. In music, duration is simply how long a note lasts. They will be adding to their knowledge of rhythms and standard notation and using notes of different duration to create rhythm compositions. 1st Grade: String and Percussion Families First graders took a quiz using Plickers this week, and they did very well with it, showing what they know about string instruments. They have moved on to learn about percussion instruments, which are instruments that can be hit, shaken, or scraped. Kindergarten: String and Percussion Families Kindergartners finished up their unit on the instrument families by learning the basics of the percussion and string families. They enjoyed learning about the different parts of string instruments, and had fun trying out different types of hit, shaken, and scraped percussion instruments. I've received a few late recorder order forms, so I will be putting in a second order tomorrow (Thursday). If you would still like to order one for your third or fourth grade student, please send $4.99 with the form (or at least a note indicating which color your child would like) to school tomorrow! This will be the last opportunity to order a recorder through the school! Reminder: You are not required to buy a recorder. Your child may borrow one from the school at no cost. This week was a lot of fun, as students explored musical instrument families in more depth! I brought in some of my instruments to show the kids, and even more exciting, some of the students brought in their own instruments to share with the class. I always enjoy learning about how my students are engaging in music outside of school! 5th Grade: String Family (Fretted vs. Fretless Instruments) Fifth graders have been comparing fretted and fretless string instruments. They looked at the similarities and differences between a violin and a mandolin, noticing that both instruments are tuned and fingered the same, but the violin is fretless and bowed while the mandolin has frets, doubled strings, and is plucked. The students also learned about string instrument anatomies and playing techniques. 4th Grade: String Family (Fretted vs. Fretless Instruments) Fourth graders, like fifth graders, have been focusing on the string family while comparing and contrasting fretted and fretless instruments. They have found that most fretted instruments have similar parts through studying the anatomies of acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, ukulele, and mandolin. 3rd Grade: Brass Family Third graders have continued learning about the brass family, while beginning to explore the bowed string instruments. Comparing and contrasting instrument families has shown how the different ways in which instruments produce their sounds is the primary characteristic that determines which family they belong to. 2nd Grade: Brass and String Families Second graders have also been comparing the brass and string families. Students really enjoyed learning about Minnesota violinist Gaelynn Lea this week. They were particularly interested in how Gaelynn overcomes challenges of having brittle bones disease to pursue her musical goals and create her own style of composition. 1st Grade: String Family (Bowed Instruments) First graders have been continuing to learn about the string family by comparing the very similar anatomies of the four bowed members of an orchestra: violin, viola, cello, and bass. Focusing on this group of very similar instruments reinforces the concept that the bigger the instrument, the lower the sound. Like the older grades learning about string instruments, the first graders can't get enough of violinist Gaelynn Lea's videos! Kindergarten: Woodwind and Brass Families Kindergartners have focused on the wind instrument families this week: woodwind and brass. They checked out my flute and trombone to see how sound is produced differently on these two instruments from different families. We ended the week with a fun activity that demonstrated their ability to hear the difference in sound between a flute and trumpet. It involved dancing, streamers, and rhythm stick trumpets! What is a recorder?
A recorder is a simple, open-holed woodwind instrument that is commonly taught in elementary schools, but also has a long and rich history from the Middle Ages on. This instrument is a great educational tool because it is easy to produce sound on a recorder while students learn about breath control, fingering, tonguing, coordination, and music reading. Recorder is a great first wind instrument to prepare students to participate in band. Recorders come in a variety of sizes and tunings. In music class, we will be playing standard soprano recorders, which are just over one foot long. Aren't recorders and flutophones the same thing? Nope! These instruments are similar, but not the same. Please make sure if you're bringing your own instrument that it is a recorder, not a flutophone. The easiest ways to tell the difference between the two is to look at the end and at the finger holes. The end of a flutophone is flared, like the end of a trumpet. Also, a flutophone has raised finger holes, while a recorder simply has holes drilled into the straight cylinder of the instrument's body. When will we get the recorders we ordered? I expect the recorder shipment to arrive around Tuesday, January 24th. What do the recorder colors look like? You can check out the five color options at the Musician's Friend website: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/classroom-kids/canto-one-piece-translucent-soprano-recorder-with-baroque-fingering When will we start playing recorders in class? As soon as the recorder shipment arrives, we will begin our recorder units. I'm using my own recorder from home. When should I bring it to school? Make sure to bring your recorder to school by Tuesday, January 24th (or Wednesday, January 25th if you don't have music class on Tuesday). You can bring it earlier and store it at school, if you'd like. I have my own recorder from home, but I'm not sure if it's the right kind of recorder. If you have any doubts about your instrument, please bring it by the music room and I will check it out to make sure it is a standard soprano recorder. (Please note, there is a difference between recorders and the flutophones!) This week, all of the classes have been learning about instruments! I love teaching about instruments, and the students have been enjoying it, too. 5th Grade: Symphony Orchestras Fifth graders have focused on the sections of a symphony orchestra. We began by comparing the layout and instrumentation of orchestras from three different periods: baroque, classical, and romantic. Today's orchestras are virtually the same as those of the romantic era, with a wide variety of instruments and a conductor. We reviewed the the four instrument families and how they produce sound. We took a more in-depth look at the brass family, and will continue on to learn about the string family next week. 4th Grade: Symphony Orchestra vs. Concert Band In fourth grade, students have been exploring the difference between symphony orchestras and concert bands. The instrumentation is different in that bands don't have a string section, but they do have a few additional instruments, such as saxophone. Students worked on their listening skills, hearing the differences in the timbres (sound qualities) of the families of instruments. They will begin learning more about the string family next week! 3rd Grade: Mozart and Instrument Families Third graders finished up their unit on Mozart, then learned about how the orchestras of the classical period compares to modern orchestras. They have been reviewing the four instrument families, and began learning about the brass family in more depth. We've been looking at the similarities between brass instruments, such as how sound is produced by buzzing the lips (as your child to demonstrate!) and the parts of these instrument. 2nd Grade: Brass Family Second grade has been learning about the instrument families, too! They have started studying the brass family, learning about the parts of the instruments and how sound is produced on all of these intruments by buzzing the lips. I'm sure your child would enjoy providing you with a demonstration of lip buzzing! They enjoyed seeing my trombone in class, even though I haven't yet learned to play much on it! 1st Grade: String Family First graders began the week by learning our new month rap for January. The section of the rap about Martin Luther King Jr. Day sparked some great conversation about the good work that he did. After an overview of the instrument families, first graders are starting their exploration of instruments with the string family. It's been fun to see them make connections to what they saw and learned about string instruments when the OK Factor visited our school in October! Kindergarten: Instrument Families Kindergartners learned about the instrument families with the song "Air Orchestra." They had a lot of fun (and so did I) playing air instruments while singing about the sections of an orchestra! Students will be focusing on one instrument in each family: violin (string), flute (woodwind), trumpet (brass), and drum (percussion). The video below is one that first, fourth, and fifth graders really enjoyed seeing and discussing in class this week. Violinist and songwriter Gaelynn Lea uses looping in her music, which involves recording herself, then playing back the recording on loop while she continues to play over it. She also plays violin in a unique position, due to her condition, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones Disease). Watching this video motivated some great conversation in all classes about overcoming obstacles to acheive dreams. Even though Gaelynn's condition made it impossible for her to play violin in the way that it's normally played, she didn't let that stop her from finding her own way to play and create her own beautiful and expressive style. She is active as a performer and a speaker on disabilities and overcoming challenges. |
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