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!
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