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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