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!

Movies and the Imagination

Spring Concert

Grade 5 band, grade 4 ukuleles, and grades 4/5 chorus.

Date:  Thursday, May 21^st, 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

5^th grade chorus members who are not in band and all 4^th 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 4^th graders will go to the 4^th grade ukulele seating.

5^th 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.

"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."

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.

Save the date! Spring Concert May 21st

SAVE THE DATE!

Our Spring Concert this year will be on
Thursday, May 21^st, 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!

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.

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.

Orff with 5th grade

5th graders learned a "Winter Snowflakes" piece on the Orff barred instruments this January (Lesson found here, thanks O For Tuna Orff!). The form of the piece was ABA, with A being the "Winter Snowflakes" song and part B being one student improvising. Students rotated for each "part A" around the rug so they got to play the barred instruments, finger cymbals, and improvising glockenspiel.

Scott Joplin in 5th grade

5th graders have been studying composers through our "Composer Spotlight" this year. Since February is "African-American History Month" our composer spotlight is on the famous ragtime composer Scott Joplin.

Here are some videos we watched and discussed, of pieces by Scott Joplin:

Scott Joplin himself, on piano roll. Piano roll is a continuous roll of paper with holes punched into it.

A piano animation of the "Maple Leaf Rag".

Students then learned about a famous ragtime dance step called the "Castle Walk". We emphasized standing on our tiptoes and swaying.

Here are some of our 5th graders trying out the dance!

Nutcracker Activities

Grades K-2 and Grade 5 participated in Nutcracker activities in the month of January (there was just not enough time in December with snow days and the concert!)

Grades K-2 moved to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" with scarves and fairy wings (from the Dollar Store). When the music began, students with fairy wings started dancing in the middle of the tile circle. They could then tap awake the sleeping fairy children around the circle. Once tapped the fairy children woke up and danced with their scarves.

Here's a clip of the Sugar Plum Fairy ballet dance we saw in class:

One of student's favorite Nutcracker activities was a parachute routine to the "Trepak" Russian Dance. I got the wonderful routine from here.

Grade 5B

Grade KS, where it's a little more difficult to keep a quiet voice in such a fun situation! :-)

Here is a visual I made of the parachute routine. This lesson is a great way to teach students about form: The structure/layout of a piece of music.

5th graders took the "Trepak" Russian Dance to the next level by learning and performing a fast paced cup routine.

Found on Pinterest Here

Grade 5B

Here's a clip of the Trepak Russian Dance we watched in class:

Holiday Songs Mad Libs

Sorry, I know this post is a little late! I'm trying to catch up on my posts.
4th and 5th graders got the fun chance to change some of the words to popular holiday songs. Get the mad lib pages from class here and "Let it Snow" mad lib from here.
Here's one song that students could choose:

Get Here

After working in groups to complete their mad lib of choice, students performed their compositions for the class.

"Let it Snow" from 4T

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" from 4T

"Deck the Halls" from 5B

"Jolly Old St. Nicholas" from 5B

September fun in music!

Below is a summary of what each grade has been doing the past month, with a few tidbits from lessons.
Kindergarten has been learning about echoes, sounds they can make, and using the 4 voices: Speaking, singing, whispering, and yelling. This week they will learn about loud and soft.
"Play what I play after me" is a song where students hear a rhythm on a drum and then must play it on their egg shaker if their egg color is called. (song from SoundShapes Playbook)

"I Bought me a Cat" is an American folk song. Students were assigned an animal to listen for in the song. They played their animal's instrument when it was their turn in the song.

Slide found here

Grade 1 has been learning about the 4 voices: Speaking, singing, whispering, and yelling. They have also been learning more in depth about loud and soft and have been using the Italian musical terms: Forte (loud) and piano (soft).
"This is my speaking voice" chant is lead by a student for the class to echo, that goes through all 4 voices (From One, Two, Three, Echo Me).

"Good King Leopold" uses a student as the king. The class ask if they may cross his kingdom. Then the king says they may ask again but in a different voice. (The yelling voices are a bit too strong in this video, and I teach students that our "yelling" voices are not really yelling since that can hurt our voices, but the kids got excited!) Once the king says "Yes!" students must jump up and run in place (across his kingdom) until the king gestures them to sit down (Idea from One, Two, Three, Echo Me).

Grade 2 has been working on a boomwhacker unit and has been using a new and exciting curriculum called "Boomwhacker Beatz". 2nd graders will play boomwhackers in the Winter Concert on December 4th.
"Wait to eat the doughnut" activity from "Boomwhacker Beatz".

"Baa baa black sheep for the boomwhackers":

Source: NHCS Blog

Grade 3 has been working on the barred instruments such as the xylophone and glockenspiel. 3rd graders will play the barred instruments in the Winter Concert on December 4th.
"Which way is up?" This piece helps students remember which way is "up" on the barred instruments, and which way is "down". (From Mallet Madness Strikes Again)

"The Grand Old Duke of York" practices playing a chord, going up and down the barred instruments, and rolling on one note. (From Mallet Madness)

"Beetle Bop" uses a book along with the barred instruments. After each page is sung to the class students say "Beetle beetle Bop" while playing a descending 5-note scale on their instruments. (From Mallet Madness Strikes Again)

Grade 4 is off to a wonderful start on the ukuleles. They have already learned 3 chords! Chord C, C7, and F.
"I Can Play the Ukulele" is the first song students learned on the ukulele. It uses the C chord. Students not only were able to learn this chord and use it in the song, but they are all holding the ukulele correctly which takes a lot as a beginner!

"Troubadour" uses two chords: C and C7.

Grade 5 started off the year by learning the "Cup Song". The past two weeks they started their "Composer Spotlight" studies with the famous German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. Beethoven was deaf for the last 10 years of his life, which is when many of his famous compositions were written. The next composer is French composer Camille-Saint-Saens who wrote the beloved children's work: Carnival of the Animals. He also wrote the October-appropriate Danse Macabre.

A popular video from the class called "Beethoven's Wig". This video adds words to Beethoven's 5th symphony.  

Cup Game (Gd 5)

5th graders started learning the cup game this week! It is a rhythmically difficult pattern made on cups that became popular by the song "When I'm Gone" in the movie "Pitch Perfect".

Here are the lyrics to the song (with one word changed for appropriateness): 

When I'm Gone

"I got my ticket for the long way round

Two bottle of pepsi for the way

And I sure would like some sweet company

And I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say

(CHORUS)

When I'm gone

When I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my hair

You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

When I'm gone

When I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my walk

You're gonna miss me talk, oh

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

I got my ticket for the long way round

The one with the prettiest of views

It's got mountains

It's got rivers

It's got sights to give you shivers

But it sure would be prettier with you

CHORUS (x2)"

Source 

5th Grade Learns about Opera

For the past two weeks 5th graders have been learning about opera. To be specific, "La Serva Padrona", the most popular opera of the 18th century, by a composer named Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Students watched a scene of the aria "Stizzoso mio Stizzoso".

Then students learned how to play an accompaniment I wrote to the aria for hand drum, tambourine, and finger cymbals. The notation below might look confusing at first, but students were able to discuss what each part meant that they already understood, and asked questions about the parts they didn't understand.

Here is a clip of one 5th grade class playing this accompaniment.

Somebody that I Used to Know on Orff Instruments

4th and 5th graders learned an arrangement to the popular song by Gotye, "Somebody that I Used to Know" on the Orff instruments and ukuleles (from here).

4th and 5th graders on ukulele!

4th graders are moving right along with their ukulele karate songs. Here is the first song they learned for their white belt: Hot Cross Buns. They can finger pick the individual notes and sing at the same time!

The 5th graders were able to learn ukulele for 2 weeks. They learned how to play their C, F, and G7 chords. Here is one 5th grade class playing "London Bridge."

Spooky Soundtracks by 5th graders

Back in October of 2013 5th grade students composed "spooky soundtracks" in small groups using the iPad app Garageband. Students began by listening to some examples of spooky music, such as music that people might play for trick or treaters or scary music they hear in the movies. They brainstormed ideas by creating a list of sound elements they heard in the examples, such as creaking stairs or wind whistling. On the iPad app Garageband students used the Smart Bass, Smart Keyboard, Smart Strings, and some also used the real mic to capture classroom instruments and voices.

Below are some examples of the finished products. Boo!

Body Percussion in class 5T (Torrey)

The 5th graders learned about body percussion last week as an introduction to djembe drumming this week. Here's a video of Mrs. Torrey's 5th grade class doing a body percussion routine.

January Lessons Preview: Grade 5

Students will begin the new year by learning more about notes and rests in a fun "Smartboard Now" interactive lesson called "It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Flying High with Notes and Rests."
Example page:

Students will then begin a drumming unit by learning about body percussion.

Here is one of the body percussion moves they will learn:

                                      

Students will then start learning the basic playing techniques of the djembe drum. They will apply their rhythmic knowledge through hands-on playing and singing/chanting. Students will have the opportunity to lead call and response and improvise on the drums. They will finish the unit by composing their own 8-measure rhythm for drums.

There will be an opportunity to continue learning about body percussion in chorus this year. Anyone in grades 4/5 is able and encouraged to join chorus in January.