Welcome to Music in 2009!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday....and of course is ready for more music. Here is what is going on in the music room:

Kindergarten:
These students are continuing to learn to sing on pitch consistently, as well as work on playing a steady beat. Students are also using rhythm sticks to read and perform rhythms. That's right, your children already know how to read music! We are also exploring the music of Saint Saens through his work, Carnival of Animals. We have been reading a story titled Carnival of Animals that uses his music, and the students are creating movements to match the animals and their actions in the story. Needless to say we are having lots of fun!

1st Grade:
These students are continuing to learn to sing on pitch consistently, as well as work on playing a steady beat. Students are also using rhythm sticks to read and perform rhythms. In the upcoming weeks students will learn the story of Peter and the Wolf. Through this work written by Prokofiev, students will learn to associate certain melodies and instruments with characters in the story.

2nd Grade:
These students are currently finishing up their singing tests on their music from the Winter Concert, and are now working through the story Snowmen at Night. This story was accompanied by the music of Vince Guaraldi (of Charlie Brown fame). The students identified action words and came up with movements to match those action words in the context of the story and the music. In the next few classes we will return to playing instruments.

3rd Grade:
These students are finishing their singing tests from the music performed at the Winter Concert. We have also begun recorder. Although we are not really making music yet with the instrument, we are all coming along, learning to create a good quality, as well as how to hold the instrument, and learning how to read pitches. The students will also begin working on the story song The Clock Story. This story will have the entire class, singing, and all playing different instruments throughout the story to create sound effects.

4th Grade:
We have just finished up the song Colors of Autumn and have just begun working on Wintery Wintery Day. These songs are in a minor key, which is helping the students get used to different tonalities, and understanding how these different keys can set the mood for music. This song has one vocal part and 3 instrumental parts.

5th Grade:
We have just finished the song This Train and are beginning the song Dancing Snowflakes. This song has one vocal part as well as 3 different instrumental parts. The students will also do an analysis of this piece, identifying pitches and rhythms.

6th Grade:
Students have completed their quiz on pitches. Any student who failed the quiz (which was taken at the beginning of December) has until their next class to complete the retake. This cycle students began taking their clapping quiz on rhythms including, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, half notes, and dotted half notes. We have been working on this clapping sheet since the beginning of December. The students progress reports will include 2 clapping quiz grades, as well as their pitch quiz grade. We are also continuing our work on the Star Spangled Banner. Students have learned the history of this song, and have also read through all 4 verses of the song. We have had a discussion about the 4 verses and their thoughts on those verses that are not sung. Our study of patriotic music will result in a project where the students apply their knowledge of this song genre.

7th Grade:
This cycle students began taking their clapping quiz on rhythms including, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, half notes, and dotted half notes. We have been working on this clapping sheet since the beginning of December. The students progress reports will include 2 clapping quiz grades. Students are also continuing to work at their own pace on bass clef, sharps, flats, and enharmonic pitches. All students will be tested on bass clef before the end of this marking period. We are also continuing our study of jazz. So far we have discussed the origins of jazz music, and the well known blues musician, Robert Johnson.

8th Grade:
This cycle students began taking their clapping quiz on rhythms including, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, half notes, and dotted half notes. We have been working on this clapping sheet since the beginning of December. The students progress reports will include 2 clapping quiz grades. Students are also continuing to work at their own pace on bass clef, sharps, flats, and enharmonic pitches. All students will be tested on bass clef before the end of this marking period. We are also continuing our study of opera. Thus far we have discussed basic vocabulary (which the students will be tested on before the end of the marking period), as well as the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.