Kindergarten continues to explore what it means for a melody to go up high or go down low - we sing melodies and move our hands and bodies up and down to match the melody. We also are working on mallet technique. Are we gripping the mallets properly? Holding them at the proper angle? Playing on the correct part of the bar? Can we alternate hands?
Grade 1 & 2
Not only do we continue with mallet technique, but now we work on melodies beyond a repeating two-note bass-line (bordun). This week we are playing and singing two games: Strawberry Shortcake and Lucy Locket. We have just learned the mallet accompaniment for Strawberry Shortcake, and we'll learn it for Lucy Locket next! We'll also work on recognizing the BEAT and the RHYTHM of every song we sing.
On the music literacy front, we always practice reading and writing rhythmic notation. Sometimes we use popsicle sticks to do this, sometimes it's done with a whiteboard, or sometimes we clap and pat the rhythms we hear and see. Grade 1 & 2 are still working on the eighth notes, quarter note, half note, and quarter rest.
Grade 3 & 4
After many classes of practicing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", we are laying this song to rest until we get our recorders.
Students are being asked to search their homes for their recorders from last year so they can bring them to school again for this coming week. We will start recorders at the end of January.
Meanwhile, we are furthering mallet technique and speed of play as we practice more complicated three-part accompaniments for singing games such as "Close the Garden Gate". Please ask your child to show you how to play. You'll find it is actually a very sneaky math game!
Grade 3/4s also have been reading the (sixteenth note) rhythms and notation for the song "Tideo". Once we finish reading and clapping it, we dance it! There is a simple folk dance that requires students to sing and dance with steady beat, and then audiate (think the melody, hear it in your head) the tune so they can dance with just instrumentation, without words nor teacher cues!
Students have also studied two new genres: the march ("Radetzky March", by Austrian composer Richard Strauss I), and the waltz ("Blue Danube Waltz", by Richard Straus II (the equally talented son!)) We got to practice conducting with several time signatures as well.
Grade 5 & 6
Grades 5 and 6 are just getting acquainted with rhythms using sixteenth notes and eighth notes in combination. We've decided that we would use the term "newspaper" (or "nose picker"!) and "cherry tree" for our opposite rhythm. Can you guess which term goes with which picture?Students have also studied two new genres: opera (Bizet's "Toreador Song" from the opera Carmen, and swing (Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing") and watching videos to see which instruments are in play and what clothing, buildings, cars, and interior design looked like in those eras.
Once again, recorders are on the horizon. We have been practicing reading notes and identifying their names as fast as we can in preparation for all the note-reading we'll be doing with an instrument in hand! Grade 5/6 also learns about notes on the ledger line...we'll be playing "middle C" in some melodies, and it'll be useful to read it on the musical staff!
Recorder Goals:
The unit goal for students studying recorder for their first year (typically grade 3) is to play songs using the notes B, A, G, and E without labelling notes.
The recorder goal for students in their second year of study (typically grade 4) is to play songs using the notes B, A, G, E, D, (bonus: high C, and F#).
The recorder goal for students in their third year of study (typically grade 5) is to play songs using B, A, G, E, D, low C, high C, high D, F#, and F. Students should also be able to play multi-note songs (with note names labelled). Students should also be able to read recorder diagrams and independently figure out how to play any note written on their music. Students will also be working on two-part songs.
Recorder goals for students in fourth year of study (typically grade 6): playing B, A, G, F, E, D, C, C', D', E', F', F#. Students should also be able to read recorder diagrams and independently figure out how to play any note written on their music. Students will also be working on two-part songs.
On Listening:
Listening with an ear for analysis is a skill that needs to be constantly developed. It involves recognizing the sound of every type of instrument, remembering which instruments are used in a musical genre, and then being able to articulate how the composer or artist has created a certain mood for the song. Students need to be able to speak to a song using Italian musical terms, and they need to be able to express this all within a short time frame. When you listen to music at home, consider asking what instruments your child hears. Ask what mood the song creates. If you're brave, ask how that mood was created!
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