Thursday, September 3, 2015

Last Post and New Blog from Kittery, ME

This will be my last post on the Dothan Brook School Music blog. I have relocated back to my family and am now teaching music in the Kittery, Maine school district. Grades K-3 general music and grade 7/8 chorus. Alicia Dale will be the new music teacher at DBS. I know she will be a great fit and do a wonderful job!

View my new blog here: http://mitchellschoolmusic.blogspot.com/

Monday, June 1, 2015

Spring Concert 2015 Pictures

Our Spring Concert "Movies and the Imagination" was a great success. Congratulations 4/5 chorus, 5 band, and 4th grade ukuleles on your performances! Click here to view pictures of the concert on the DBS Facebook page.









Thursday, May 28, 2015

William Tell Overture with rhythm sticks Grade 3

Grade three has been having fun learning about the William Tell Overture. We played instruments (jingle bells, hand drums, and maracas) to the different parts of the form. Then we did a parachute routine, and we finished with a rhythm stick routine. They know the piece well by now!

3S performing a rhythm stick routine to the William Tell Overture.
I got the idea from here and adapted it for third grade.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Music Share Week June 2-5th

MUSIC SHARE WEEK!


Photo credit: OpenClips


June 2-5, 2015
Dates and times will vary depending on when you have music class.
Music Share is an opportunity for students to share something musical with their peers during music class. They may bring in an instrument from home and store it in the music room for the day if needed, or use any of the classroom instruments we have. They can share anything musical (even a poem, skit, or dance routine!) that they have thought through and planned. Usually we have enough time for each child to share one or two things.
The purpose of having a performance day is to give children an opportunity to perform in front of a small, friendly, known group and learn the etiquette of doing so; to provide a platform for sharing musical ideas and interests; and to give the rest of the class practice at being respectful audience members. Most important, performing is completely voluntary and meant to occur in a casual, stress-free environment.

Here are some ideas for your music share. Be creative! J :
Sing a song
Do a dance
Recite a poem
Show an instrument from home
Play an instrument from school
Create your own instrument
Make up a dance with friends and perform
Do a skit with friends
Share your favorite song on youtube (Links can be emailed to me or I can look them up in advance)
Tell about your favorite musical, play, or singer/songwriter
Share a memory of music class
Choose an activity we have done in music to repeat
And much more!

If you have questions feel free to call the school or email me at moons@hartfordschools.net
Have fun!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Movies and the Imagination
Spring Concert
Grade 5 band, grade 4 ukuleles, and grades 4/5 chorus.

Date:  Thursday, May 21st, 2015                                                    
Time: 6:30 PM      (Doors open at 6:10 PM)
Place: DBS Gymnasium                                                                          
4/5 Attire for PM Concert Only: Black bottoms and colored top with no writing or pictures.

Procedure

5th grade chorus members who are not in band and all 4th graders:

·       Arrive between 6:10 and 6:25 PM.

·       Students will leave belongings with their parents/guardians for safe keeping. 4/5 chorus members will go right to their places on the risers and non-chorus 4th graders will go to the 4th grade ukulele seating.

5th grade band students:

·       Arrive at 6:10 PM.

·       Students will go to the music room to store cases and belongings, place their instruments/music at their band spot, and go to their riser spot if in chorus.

All concert students:

·       We will begin our performance promptly at 6:30 PM. Please note that the doors to the school will not be opened until 6:10 PM.

·       After the performance band will be dismissed first to the music room and meet parents back in the gym, followed by non-band students dismissed to meet parents in the gymnasium.

·       Please remind your child to use the restroom before they arrive or right when they arrive as there will be no time to go once the concert starts.

Friday, May 1, 2015

"La Bastringue" Canadian Folk Dance Grade 2

2nd graders finished up their Canadian studies in music by performing a Canadian Folk Dance called "La Bastringue." I simplified and adapted the original folk dance moves a bit, but the overall idea is the same!
2G/G performing "La Bastingue."


2S performing "La Bastingue"

"Take Five" Beanbag Activity Grade 5

5th graders finished up their jazz unit today by doing a beanbag passing activity to the famous jazz piece "Take Five" by Paul Desmond. The hardest part was switching directions each time a new section started! I got the idea from here.

5T performing "Take Five."

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Peter and the Wolf Video Presentation

Here is the video I put together for "Peter and the Wolf" that showcases all the wonderful work of grades K-4. The art teacher and I were lucky enough to receive a grant for visiting artist Linda Whelihan to make "Peter and the Wolf" themed puppets with students during the Arts Enrichment time. We had a lot of fun making the puppets and acting out scenes from the story.


Here is a link to the video that I used the background track from.

Flight of the Bumblebee by KR

Kindergarten students learned about pollination and got to act out how bees pollinate flowers, to the piece "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov. Students flew in the middle of the circle when I said "fly," pretended to eat nectar from a flower when I said "pollinate," and went back into the beehive when I said "feed the kids!"
KR's bumblebee activity

Here is a cool visual representation of "Flight of the Bumblebee."

Shoo Fly Dance Grade 2

2nd graders learned a fun dance to the song "Shoo Fly" after figuring out the piece's form. Form is the way a piece of music is organized. Students learned words such as "intro," "interlude," "coda," and "fermata."


Below are the dance moves for the piece. I originally got the idea here and changed a few things.



2S doing the "Shoo Fly Dance"

Chicken on the Fence Post Grade 3

April is jazz appreciation month so 3rd graders learned about jazz history and a song that involves improvising (making music up on the spot). The song is called "Chicken on the Fence Post" and teaches students the quick 16th note rhythm of "beat-e-t-a".
I got the lesson idea and notation from the wonderful blog: bethsmusicnotesplus.com.


Chicken on the Fence Post with instruments. Students improvise on the words "fence post yeah!".

The next week students learned the game to "Chicken on the Fence Post". There are two circles moving in opposite directions and two foxes on the outside of the circle. When the song is over two sets of students raise their hands to let the foxes in (I squeezed two sets of hands before the song began), and the foxes must race through the maze to the middle to get the chicken stuffed animal. The game idea was found here.

This week students learned a clapping and cup routine to a chant called "Funky Chicken". The routine had its challenges, but was very rewarding to put all together. Plus we got to do silly funky chicken dances! I got the lesson idea here.


Maori Unit Grade 5

5th graders enjoyed learning about the Maori culture of New Zealand.
First, students learned a Maori poi-poi song called "Koo-ee". Then they learned how to use poi-poi, which are foam balls on a cord swung rhythmically.
5B poi-poi song

Students then practiced the Maori stick games. They tapped and even tossed their sticks across to their partners. Very fun!

Lastly, students learned about the Haka dance, which is a traditional war cry or challenge dance. This dance became popularized by the New Zealand rugby team performing a Haka for their opponents before each match. Haka can also be for other occasions too, such as funerals, as entertainment, and even simple routines are performed by children.
5th graders got to compose their own haka routines in small groups. Students utilized some of the famous haka challenge moves such as showing the whites of the eyes, sticking out the tongue, and hitting the arms to show strength.







Monday, April 20, 2015

Save the date! Spring Concert May 21st


SAVE THE DATE!
Our Spring Concert this year will be on
Thursday, May 21st, at 6:30 PM.
The theme is “Movies and the Imagination.”
The concert will include Grade 4/5 Chorus, Grade 5 Band, 
and all Grade 4 students on the ukuleles.


See you there!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Pre-K makes a rainstorm!

Pre-k has music for 20 minutes each week and I like to follow the classroom themes. This week students were learning about weather. First we watched a fun video about weather and added some movements. On the faster "precipitation rap" part we had a dance break!

Then we made a rainstorm together as a class by doing the following moves:
1) Rub hands
2) Snap fingers
3) Clap hands
4) Pat Legs
5) Play small drums (or stomp feet)
*Reverse the order to slow down the rainstorm!

We also had a special thunder making instrument and a rainstick. Sorry for the shaky video, I was trying to show the moves and play the rainstick while videotaping! :-)

Afternoon Pre-K making a rainstorm.



Friday, March 20, 2015

4/5 Chorus Lyrics to Practice

CIRCLE OF LIFE
Opt. Solo: From the day we arrive on the planet, and blinking step into the sun,
there's more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done.

All: There's far too much to take in here, more to find than can ever be found.
But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky keeps great and small on the endless round.

CHORUS (bold means everyone in unison):
It's the circle of life, and it moves us all
through despair and hope, through faith and love,
'til we find our place on the path unwinding.
(1, 2, 3) In the circle, the circle of life.

INSTRUMENTAL BREAK

Repeat Chorus

UNDER THE SEA
The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake.
You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake.
Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor.
Such wonderful things surround you, what more is you lookin' for?

CHORUS 1:
Under the sea, under the sea, darlin' it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me.
Up on the shore they work all day. Out in the sun they slave away,
while we devotin' full time to floatin' under the sea.

Down here all the fish is happy, as off through the waves they roll.
The fish on the land ain't happy. They sad 'cause they in the bowl.
But fish in the bowl is lucky, they in for a worser fate.
One day when the boss get hungry, (opt. solo) Guess who gon' be on the plate?

CHORUS 2:
Under the sea, under the sea, nobody beat us, fry us and eat us in *fricassee.
We what the land folks loves to cook. Under the sea we off the hook.
We got not troubles, life is the bubbles under the sea.

CHORUS 3:
Under the sea, under the sea, when the sardine begin the *beguine, it's music to me.
What do they got, a lot of sand? We got a hot *crustacean band.
Each little clam here know how to jam here under the sea.
Each little slug here cuttin' a rug here under the sea.
Each little snail here know how to wail here. That's why it's hotter under the water.
Ya, we in luck here down in the muck here under the sea!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
CHORUS:
Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-do-cious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious,
if you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um diddle diddle diddle, um diddle ay! Um diddle diddle diddle, um diddle ay!

Solo 1: Because I was afraid to speak when I was just a lad/gal, me father gave me nose a tweak and told me I was bad.
But then one day I learned a word that saved me achin' nose. The biggest word you ever heard and this is how it goes!

CHORUS

Solo 2: He traveled all around the world and everywhere he went, he'd use this word and all would say "there goes a clever gent!"
Solo 3: When dukes and ma-'arajas come to pass the time with me, I say my special word and then they ask me out to tea!

CHORUS

Spoken solo 4: "You know, you can say it backwards, which is "doh-shus-ally-ex-pee-istik-fajee-kally-rupus", but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?"
Spoken solo 5: Indubitably!

Solo 6: So when the cat has got your tongue, there's no need for dismay. Just summon up this word and then you've got a lot to say.
(Solo 7 could start here) But better use it carefully or it could change your life.
Solo 7: One night I said it to me girl and (Spoken) now me girl's me wife!

She's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
(whisper)  Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

 The Bare Necessities
Chorus:
Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities;
forget about your worries and your strife.
I mean the bare necessities,
1) or Mother Nature's recipes that bring the bare necessities of life.
2) that's why a bear can rest at ease with just the bare necessities of life.

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam, I couldn't be fonder of my big home.
The bees are buzzin' in the tree to make some honey just for me.
When you look under the rocks and plants
and take a glance at the fancy ants, then maybe try a few.
The bare necessities of life will come to you, they'll come to you.

Chorus

So try and relax, yeah, in my back yard.
If you act like that bee acts, you're workin' too hard.
Don't spend your time just lookin' around for something you want that can't be found.
When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinkin' about it,
I'll tell you something true.
The bare necessities of life will come to you. (Spoken solo: They'll come to me!)
They'll come to you. They'll come to you. Spoken: Yeah!

IMAGINE IT TRUE
There's a place where dreams are made and ev'ry one comes true.
You can find it in your mind if you know what to do.

Chorus:
If you can imagine it true, there's nothing you can't see or do.

Solo 1: Sail the seven seas or catch a breeze and fly away.
Solo 2: Like an astronaut you'll dance across the Milky Way.

Chorus

Solo 3: Panda bears and dinosaurs skate around the bedroom floor.
Solo 4: You become a prince or princess in a fairy tale.

La la la la la la la la la la la la. La la la la la la la la la la la la.

Chorus

*At same time:
5th grade: Imagine it true! Imagine it true!
4th grade:  La la la la la la la la la la la la.  La la la la la la la la la la la la.

HAPPY
It might seem crazy what I'm 'bout to say.
Sunshine she's here, you can take a break.
I'm a hot air balloon that can go to space,
with the air, like I don't care, baby by the way. Here's why!


Chorus: (teach both parts and decide which grade does what)
Because I'm happy (clap along if you feel like a room without a roof).
Because I'm happy (clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth).
Because  I'm happy (clap along if you feel like that what you wanna do).

Here comes bad news talkin' this and that.                 Yeah!
Well gimme all ya got, and don't hold it back.              Yeah!
Well, I should prob'bly warn you I'll be just fine. Yeah!
No offense to you, don't waste your time.  Here's why!

Chorus

Bring me down, can't nothin' bring me down. My level's too high!
Bring me down, can't nothin' bring me down, I said.

2nd time add: Happy, happy, happy, happy. Happy, happy, happy, happy.
Happy, happy, happy, happy. Happy, happy, happy.

Chorus

High/Low with First Graders

1st graders have been learning about sound opposites in music this year. They started off with loud/soft, then did fast/slow, and are now on high/low. Next they will learn about up/down.
One of the songs they learned to help teach high and low is "Bounce High Bounce Low." They used bouncy balls to show where the three different note pitches they sang were. 
1B "Bounce High Bounce Low" with bouncy balls

Get the lesson here at Bethsnotesplus.

4th Graders Prepare for Ukulele Karate

4th graders have been preparing for Ukulele Karate the past two weeks. They learned how to play notes B, A, and G on the ukulele and practiced rhythm reading.
Here is a clip of one of the songs they learned titled "Puppy Dogs."

Kindergarteners Compose Toothy Rhythms

Kindergarteners got to use their creativity this month by composing rhythms using teeth (Paper teeth that is!) After talking about dental health briefly and learning a fun song called "Bye Bye Baby Tooth," we composed a toothy rhythm on the SMARTboard as a class. Each tooth is a beat and each missing tooth is a rest. Here is Mrs. Rydjeski's class clapping their composition.
KR Claps their Rhythm

Then students each got their own red lips and paper teeth to create a composition. 



Click here for last year's loose teeth post.


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

China Unit Grade 3

3rd graders have been studying China in their classrooms the past few weeks so I decided to do a China unit in music too!
Week 1 students learned a song called "The Jasmine Flower" and played an accompaniment on the orff barred instruments. We then talked about Chinese Zodiacs and played a zodiac movement game.

Week 2 we talked about the different aspects of the Chinese New Year, which was on February 19th, 2015. One of the popular traditions is to have dragon dancing on the streets on the 5th day of the Chinese New Year when people have to go back to work. We got to make our own dragon dance in class!
3P Dragon Dance. 
The song used is called "Chinese New Year" from Silver Burdett Making Music Grade 2.

3S Dragon Dance

Students then made Chinese New Year Compositions using different Chinese symbols and writing out the stick notation. The words they could choose from were dragon, lantern, coin, fan, and firecrackers. Find the composition templates in this very useful bundle here.



Week 3 class 3P learned a Chinese song and game to the song "Hao Peng You" and finished with a Chinese ribbon dance. Class 3S spent the entire class going more in depth with the ribbon dance and added instruments. 
The music used is called "Ribbon Dance" from Music Connection 2.5 and the movements were adapted from the routine in "Mallet Madness" to fit the music. The instrument parts were written by fellow music teacher Lindsay Wadleigh.

Ribbon Dance Routine
1. Large circles in front- 4m.
2. Right arm circles (forwards or backwards)- 2m.
3. Figure eights in the front-  4m.
4. Left arm circles (forwards or backwards) 2m.
5. Figure eights side to side. 4m.
6. Lassos just above head 2m.
7. Snakes (start with ribbon stick high, bring downward quickly zig-zagging) 4m.
8. Fire (ribbon stick pointing down, make very fast, small circles) 2m.

3P Ribbon Dance

3S Ribbon Dance with Instruments

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Hartford Performing Arts Camp this August for Students entering Grades 6-9 (Current 5th graders)

Registration is now open for this FUN summer performing arts camp on August 3rd-7th. It is for students entering grades 6-9, so 5th graders this camp is for you! This will be my second summer as a teacher there and I know you will love it! Sign up through the Hartford Rec. Dept.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Dr. Seuss Week: Horton Hears a Who

To celebrate "Read Across America" day our school decided to "Seussify" the school on Friday and have Dr. Seuss related activities. Each classroom also chose a book that they studied the week leading up to Dr. Seuss day. Music and Art's book was "Horton Hears a Who".
We started the week making a whole school mural lead by the wonderful school art teacher Mrs. Divis. The mural used each student's painted pink hands to represent the clovers in the clover field where Vlad Vladikoff drops the Whoville clover. Then Horton must search through millions of clovers until he finds his Whos again. On our mural he has just found them!

A slideshow of the mural-making process.

2nd and 3rd graders learned a dance I created to 'Slavonic Dances Op. 46, No. 8' by Antonin Dvořák. Students pretended to be Whos in Whoville and had to let Horton and the Jungle of Nool animals know that they were there. During the loud parts of the song students walked around the circle shouting "WE ARE HERE!" and playing egg shakers and sleigh bells. (We talked about how we want to use our "inside/fake shouting" voices so we don't hurt our vocal chords.) During the soft parts of the piece we silently took 3 steps in, twisted 3 times, then 3 steps out and twisted 3 times.
3S "We Are Here!" Dance
2S "We Are Here" Dance (after this video is when I decided to talk about not harming our vocal chords by actually shouting... at least Horton would have heard us! :-)  )

Kindergarten and first graders did their own version of a "We are Here" activity to music from the "Horton Hears a Who" movie. Students chanted "WE ARE HERE!" during the sung parts of the song, and pretended to play different instruments during the instrumental part. This was a 'follow the leader' dance/activity.
1R follow the leader "We are Here" activity.

Music we used for the K/1 activity.

Here are some pictures from my classroom for Dr. Seuss day.


My composer spotlight was transformed into an "Instruments of Whoville" display. Look at all those funky instruments they play so Horton and the other animals can hear them!


Our new composer spotlight is Ludwig Van "Who"thoven instead of Beethoven.



The beautiful clover field mural in the music/art hallway.


Ms. Moon as a Who and Mrs. West as The Grinch!


You can view more photos from the whole school here and the photo booth here.


Sarasponda Orff and Rhythm Sticks Grade 5

The past two weeks in music 5th graders learned the Dutch folk song "Sarasponda". This song is made of nonsense words that are meant to imitate the sounds of a spinning wheel.

Students first rotated through a set of instruments including the Orff barred instruments, maracas, finger cymbals, and tambourines. We used this wonderful arrangement from bethsnotesplus.com. She is one of my favorite bloggers and always has beautifully clear notations and helpful lesson ideas. You can find her arrangement of Sarasponda here.

5B Sarasponda on Orff

5T Sarasponda on Orff

During week 2 students learned a rhythm stick routine to Sarasponda. I got the fun (and somewhat challenging!) routine from this video. I believe the linked video is of music education majors during an elementary education course.

5B Sarasponda Stick Routine

Two girls share their learned stick routine (sorry for the background noise).


These students got creative and two sets of partners crossed over each other during the routine.