Grade 1/2 have been experimenting with Tempo (the speed of a piece of music) this week. We have used our bodies to move in different ways, played the rhythm sticks and did some ear training. We listened to the Wild Donkeys and Tortoise movements from Carnival of the Animals, composed by Camille Saint Saens. We are starting to use and recognize specific tempo words.
Our pitch art is finally up and it looks amazing. Check out the pictures below and see if you can spot one of your pictures.
Today in music, Kindergarten did some experimenting with body movements and using our voice in different ways. We had a good laugh as we tried to say our names using silly voices. We also played the Boomwhackers. Ask your student how to play a Boom Whacker and what colour they were. We did all sorts of experimenting with the instruments. We even made some colour patterns and played them on our Boom Whackers.
This is our second last week of drumming for a little while. We have been working on really nice, clear rhythms. The students have been creating their own rhythms and playing them for the class to copy. We have also been focusing on keeping the same tempo as each other, trying to sound like one instrument. This takes a lot of focus and concentration. We have enjoyed playing some concentration games.
Please take a look at the blog post titled the Oh Canada challenge if you play an instrument or like to sing!
We are having so much fun creating art to demonstrate some of the musical knowledge we are gaining. We have been looking at pitch and how it can go up or down. Today we used the chalk pastels (sorry about some of the clothes) to create incredible abstract art to demonstrate the way pitch goes. I really love being able to incorporate many aspects of fine arts together and the kids love it too.
Today the kindergarten experimented with using our voice in different ways. Can you make a high pitch, a low pitch, a spooky sound, a weird sound... It's always fun when we get to make funny noises.
We did a few songs/games that involved call and response. We are starting to get used to learning lines through repetition. All the students who were interested had a chance to do some solo work that they class followed along to! We have a lot of confident students in Kindergarten, it is fantastic!
We also used our bodies to explore different ways we could come to school. We moved in so many different ways, from walking to blasting off in a rocket ship!
Challenge Time! This is optional and for the entire year!
Do you play an instrument? Do you love to sing? I would love for you to practice Oh Canada. When you have mastered the entire song please video tape it and send it to me. jabaine@cbe.ab.ca. You can also send it to me as a wetransfer.com if the file is too big. I would love to use these videos at the start of assemblies and other events that we have. I will be accepting submissions the entire year. Please note, this will be shown to the other students and staff during assemblies. If you want to send it to me just for me to see and to not be used, please let me know.
Thank you!! I can't wait to hear what you come up with.
I am amazed the difference one week makes. Every rhythm is clearer, more defined. We are paying attention to the rests and playing respectfully (making sure our parents don't hear us drumming from their houses). Today we created our own rhythms that the rest of the class copied. We are working on being thoughtful in what we play, making sure that what we expect the class to copy is actually copiable. There have been some very creative rhythms.
We also worked today on proper technique - how to hold our drum sticks and how to properly play. Understanding when to use our right or left hand and how some rhythms work better with a specific hand pattern rather than just right left right left.
We are really working hard to not play when listening to instructions. This is the hardest thing to do. If they cannot hold their sticks still they are asked to quietly drum on their legs. The students can practice at home on their legs as well even with some pencils!
We have been talking a lot about Beat this week. Beat, for our purposes is the steady, unchanging pulse of the song. We have practiced feeling the beat in a variety of ways. It was really fun to have every create the beat in their own way and have the rest of the class copy it. There are some creative kids in this school!! We also learned the hand signs for singing so and me. You can find these in the pictures below if your child wants to practice!
Before Next Class.... please listen for anything that keeps a steady beat. We talked about a clock, heartbeat and water dripping. What else can you find? I would love to hear what you found in the comment section of this blog or next class!
Today we continued with our bucket drumming. I try to split the class up a bit though so that we have some breaks from the drumming. We started the class getting our bodies warmed up and creating unique movements that our partners copied. We also had some time to dance through out the class.
The drumming is really coming along. The rhythms are starting to piece together and we are starting to hear the silences in between rhythms. It is hard to all play at the same time and stay together. We have also been working on proper technique with the drum sticks, how to hold them, what our arms should be doing while we are playing and when to play with our right hand and when to play with our left. We are playing drumming games and creating our own rhythms!
I am so happy that I get to see Kindergarten two times a week, Monday and Thursdays!
Today we started working on keeping a steady beat. The students were introduced to the Buffalo drum! We loved how low the sound was when it was hit. We kept the beat using our speaking voices as well as different parts of the body. Then we got to play the hand drum!! It was so much fun to create loud and quiet sounds, fast and slow sounds and try to keep the beat while we listened to some music. We also experimented with using our voice in different ways!
We had so much fun today in kindergarten music!!! You would not believe all of the things we fit into a half an hour.
We worked on being an echo and we made some super fun super silly echo sounds. We learned a welcome to school song and put the beat into our hands and our feet. We also played the rhythm sticks!
Day two in the music room! Today has been a lot of fun. If you are interested in what we did check out yesterdays post!
I wanted to post this link to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. It is a 4 part mini series that focuses on the four instrument families and it is made for kids. If you have some time, take a listen. It will be worth it! Just click on the link below!
Hey Everyone!!
I am so excited to see everyone again and have my class filled with music. Even though we can't sing at the moment we have so many other things that we can do. Today we brainstormed some ideas for what would be fun. We are going to play instruments, dance, play games and act... to name a few.
Today some of the grade 3/4 and some of the grade 1/2 classes had their first class. The music room is mapped out so that each student has their own square in which they can do all of their movement and activity.
Grade 3/4
For the next few weeks the grade 3/4 students will be doing drumming. We have some great Home Depot paint buckets that make for perfect drums. We reviewed our rhythm names, created our own rhythms which we turned into group rhythms and played along to Katy Perry's song Smile! We tested our ability to drum on the beat using a concentration game. At the beginning of the class we played a fun chanting game where we got to tell about ourselves and make some fun poses with our bodies.
Grade 1/2
I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures for you today but we just did a lot of movement! I am trying to make sure we are not sitting for too long so we did a lot of echo movement and echo chanting songs. We had some dance breaks and played some dance games. We read the book Up, Up, Down by Robert Munsch and used our bodies to act out the story as we went along. We used our listening skills to listen to a variety of pitches and decided if they went up or down.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten will have their first music class on Thursday. I am so excited to see them!
