As part of the celebration of Chinese New Year, Kindergarten students learned a short New Year song in Chinese.  Grade 1 students continued to explore the concept of "beat" by moving to it.  They also extended their solfège study to include la.  Grade 2 students continued telling musical stories.  They began performing a two-voiced texture on barred instruments.

Grade 3 students started experimenting with musical questions and answers.  They looked into elements that give a musical phrase a sense of closure.  Grade 4 students took on the role of homesteaders as they performed a piece they had created using different rhythmic patterns.  They also started learning about "complementary rhythm" which allows them to create multi-voiced texture.

Grade 5 students began by experiencing what jazz music is like.  They played multi-voiced textures which feature the "swing" feel.  Apart from that, they performed complex rhythmic pieces on various body percussion sounds. 

After choosing various instruments to represent the main characters in the story Mother Frost, students played this.  Through this learning task, students learned to follow the conductor's cues.  Grade 1 students explored the concept of "beat" and came up with examples of mechanical sounds that give us the "beat".  They also played barred instruments for the first time.  Through this learning task, they explored the different timbres of the barred instruments.  Grade 2 students continued telling musical stories.  This time, they chose a First Nations story. 

Grade 3 students continued their study on "musical legos" and extended their knowledge of the solfège system to include la, sol, mi, re and doh.  Grade 4 students created more rhythmic pieces as they made a connection between music and their social studies curriculum, i.e. Alberta.

Grade 5 students said goodbye to the general music program as they will be moving on to the Band program for the second semester.  The students who were attending the Band program will be attending the general music program starting next week.

Kindergarten chose different non-pitched instruments to represent different characters in the story Mother Frost.  Through this, students learn to represent different personalities through sound.  Apart from telling musical stories through nursery rhymes, Grade 1 students are learning the basic solfège sol and mi.  Grade 2 students are building good instrumental techniques as they perform a piece inspired by the poem I Shall Wait and Wait.  

Grade 3 students learned about the famous Classical composer Ludwig von Beethoven as they listened and analyzed the Fifth Symphony.  They also learned about the different ways Beethoven used in order to create interest while using a very simple motif "short-short-short-long."  Grade 4 students started exploring Alberta through music.  They will be applying what they learned about rhythm and texture to create their short musical performances about Alberta.  Grade 5 students had fun exploring jazz and the idea of "swing." 

Reminder:  Grade 5 students will be moving onto Band in February.  

Music is story

Kindergarten enjoyed listening to the story Mother Frost and they are in the middle of choosing the appropriate instruments to capture this story.  Grade 1 students began exploring a series of nursery rhymes including Wee Willie Winkie, Engine Engine and Hickory Dickory Dock.  By adding non-pitched instruments, they brought these well-known rhymes to life.  Grade 2 students are deepening their understanding of the Inuit way of life by singing songs about this culture.  They are also expanding on their instrumental techniques.

Grade 3 students created "musical questions" by linking "musical legos" together.  Next week, they will continue by creating "musical answers" to these questions.  Through this activity, they come to understand how musical structures are built.  Grade 4 students notated and performed their "Fantastic Musical Machines".  The activity allowed them to demonstrate their ability to perform complex rhythmic patterns with precision.

Grade 5 students produced artwork to show their understanding of elements in music vs. elements in arts.  Their written description showed their ability to analyze and critically respond to music through visual arts.  Their works show a wide range of style, choice of colour and medium, texture, etc.  We look forward to displaying some of their work.

Welcome Back!

What I like is not a particular genre,

it's storytelling.

There's a lot of great storytelling in jazz,

and in folk and in country music...

~ Lizz Wright

I couldn't agree more with American jazz singer Lizz Wright.  We start off our year with many musical storytelling opportunities.  Kindergarten students are exploring the story Mother Frost.  They will be orchestrating this story with different non-pitched instruments.  Grade 1 students chose to experience Nursery rhymes in a different way.  They will be singing and performing familiar nursery rhymes in a medley.  Grade 2 students are inspired by a poem entitled I Shall Wait and Wait by Alootook Ipellie.  They will be performing pieces through singing and instrumental playing.  Through these pieces, they will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Inuit way of life.

While Grade 3 students are in the midst of creating their original percussion pieces using basic building blocks which we call "musical legos," Grade 4 students apply the concepts they have learned in rhythm to create "Fantastic Musical Machines."  Grade 5 students are experiencing storytelling in the most unique way:  just as artists are often inspired by music and vice versa, these students are doing an interdisciplinary project to show the relationship between music and art.  We draw parallels between the two disciplines and try to represent what we hear through abstract visual arts.

Thank you to those who attended the K-4 Winter Celebration!  I look forward to seeing some of you at the Grade 5/6 concert.

The Nutcracker

As Winter draws near, students learn songs and poems about the wintery season.  Needless to say, one of the most popular and well-loved classical works is the ballet The Nutcracker by Piotr Tchaikovsky.  Over the past week or so, students have been listening to excerpts from the ballet suite. 

If you want to learn more about the composer, you may click on the following link:

https://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composer_profile.php?id=75

If you want to learn more about The Nutcracker ballet, you may click on the following link:

https://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/shows.php?id=93

Classics for Kids is an excellent website for anyone who wants to learn more about classical music.  Enjoy!