October happenings

Remembering there are 3 different rotation schedules running concurrently in specials ___

• The Kindergartners come to music every 3rd day - twice in 6 days, with one extra time for each All Day Kindergarten_
  So this post covers Day 6 - 8 in music (with the Day Kindergartens having a few extra classes).

• The 5th graders come to music for a week every 4 weeks (1 week of music, 3 weeks somewhere else) so this post will tell you about 'week 3' of music (although two groups are still there)

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Grades come to music in a 3-week rotation (1 week of music, 2 weeks in other specials) so this post will cover  instructional weeks 3 and 4 of music, although two group have yet to start week 4.

____ Here's what happened in music recently (October):

• Kindergartners began learning about the UnPitched Percussion instruments we have in the music room.  They are learning about them in timbre or tone color groupings.  In these rotations (#6-8) they were introduced to the  Click instruments (wood block, temple blocks, tap-a-taps, slap stick, rhythm sticks, claves, tone block, castanets and tongue drum, aka slit log drum), the Jingle instruments (tambourine, cystrum, jingle bells, Indian dance bells, caxixi and sleigh bells) and the Rattle instruments (maracas, chiquita maracas, rain stick, handle castanets, clatterpillar, vibraslap, cabasa, shekere, nut rattle, and seed pod ) With each of these families students were introduced to the proper playing technique and the instrument name.   Each student took a turn playing every instrument as they were passed around the circle.  Students were asked to match the beat as they played.  We also played a game called "Listen" which requires students to determine which instrument they are hearing without being able to see it and then name it.

• First Graders used an Apple theme to focus on rhythm and review melody this week.  We reviewed familiar melodic patterns of Sol-Mi-La and discovered a new singing game, Apple Tree which introduced students to a lower pitch - Do.  We played the singing game three different ways - trading places with part of the 'tree' when trapped, or adding new trees into the orchard as an elimination game, or seated in a circle as a beat passing game.  We read and created new sound/silence patterns within an 8 beat frame - using paper plates to mark out the beats.  Those plates that had an apple on them, we said 'yum' on the beat and those that didn't have an apple had a silent beat (rest).  Students changed the pattern by adding or subtracting apples.  After we had played our Apple Tree game multiple days, we added a beat bordun reading some of those sound/silence patterns.  First Graders rediscovered the rhythm tee-tee (2 eighth notes sharing a beat) as we decoded the rhythm of Apple Tree.  Following a time that we read Dr. Seuss's Ten Apples Up on Top, we 'upset the apple cart' and used our apple/rhythm cards to create new tah and tee-tee patterns.  Then we flipped the cards around to read a scrambled/mixed up version of the lyrics.  On Friday classes sang some favorite Disney songs and we learned about the term opera, by putting on a version of The Three Piggy Opera based on Disney's Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? 

• Second Graders learned two new Americana singing games with a Pumpkin Theme - Great Big House in New Orleans and Pumpkin (PawPaw) Patch.  Pumpkin Patch is a  singing game in a long-aways set.  Each student got a turn at being in the lead (head couple) spot.  With Great Big House in New Orleans we learned all three verses and traditional movement and then extended our learning and experience by adding instrumental accompaniment parts including a cross-over pattern.  We extended the form with a contrasting speech section - "Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie!  I just love that pumpkin pie.  Love the whipped cream piled up high.  I just love that pumpkin pie!"  Students used the rhythm of this speech pattern to improvise melodically on glockenspiels as we created a longer form.  We also added a rhythmic speech/percussion ostinato with spoons.  In addition we played a response game with the names of different kinds of pies.  On Friday classes chose which songs to sing from a menu of favorite Disney songs.  We also revisited our The Three Piggy Opera based on Disney's Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? 

• Third Graders reviewed the songs they have learned to date for their upcoming "Rock Concert" including the Rock Concert Opener and Reprise, Earth Changes, Rock Rap, This is My Favorite Rock and Obwisana (the rock passing game from Ghana).  We began developing a new piece - Rock Rondo.  Each student learned a melody on xylophones which will be the A section of the Rondo.  We brainstormed a list of rock words to fit various rhythmic building bricks (2 beat patterns).  Students worked collaboratively in small groups to create a two-part rhythmic speech pattern.  Each group took words from 2 bricks to put together into a small phrase.  After creating both an "a" and "b" phrase, groups were given a small form (abab, aabb, aaba, or aaab).  They performed their speech pattern for the class and the listeners identified the pattern they heard.  The next day students reviewed their created sections and practiced saying it one time and then playing the rhythm on rocks.  We wove this into a rotating rondo with the xylophone part learned earlier in the week.  We will share this piece at our Rock Concert, too.  Friday we took a break from our Rock Concert songs to sing songs by student choice from a menu of Disney Favorites. 

• Fourth Graders reviewed the songs they had previously been introduced to for their Colorado Connections Concert, Symbol Song and Cheyenne Hand Game.  In addition to reviewing the Soprano Recorder piece Stegosaurus Stomp, students chose between 1 of 4 pieces to learn on recorder - all with a Railroad theme (Colorado Connection).  Each piece has different challenges but each one has the notes E, G, A and B.  This pieces will not be a part of the live performance but we play to make video recordings and weave them into their own movie clip with a train poem to link them together.  On Friday students either had a make-up Talent Time (missed for the Digger Dash) or chose songs from a menu of Disney songs.

• Fifth Graders reviewed Recorder playing skills as we learned a piece Mrs. Petty wrote called Quickie Quodlibet.  A Quodlibet is a musical form where each new part is introduced as a solo and then stacked or layered with the parts that have come before.  Students learned one 4-measure part as a whole group, by taking it apart and putting it back together:  Rhythm, Pitch, Pitch or letter names + rhythm, then that with added recorder fingering.  Students then chose to work in one of 4 groups [4 corners] to either continue working on the first melody or take on the challenge of decoding another 4 measure melody.  On the second day we stacked those 4 melodies together.  On day 3 students began their first undertaking as a composer this year.  Students worked either alone or with a partner or two to create their own Soprano Recorder melody in 4/4 time and G pentatonic (same tone set as the model piece).  After sharing those compositions, students stacked their melody with another composed melody.  The notes we were working with were low D and E, G, A, B, and high D and E.  Each new melody had to have at least 3 pitches and one measure used a 2nd time - but did not have to use all of the pitches.  Students took the task seriously and seemed to enjoy their role as composer/creator.