For Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, nature and nature's music continue to be a source of inspiration.  Inspired by the book, Rain, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students looked at how they could translate the onomatopoeia found in the book into musical sound and pitches.  

Interdisciplinary studies often open up new possibilities for learning.  Grade 2 students are currently learning songs about the Prairies.  Grade 3 students learn about Ukrainian (and also Russian) folksongs.  They listened to music by Igor Stravinsky and tried to see folksongs and folklores inspired him to write some of the greatest ballet music of our times.  Using The Elders are Watching by David Bouchard as a starting point, Grade 4 explored a number of songs which address the relationship between people and nature.  

Grade 5 students continue their study in the jazz idiom.  They are consolidating their skills in ensemble playing and improvisation skills based on the blues scale which is foundational to jazz music.

As we are wrapping up the year, Grade 5 students are getting ready to celebrate their learning on June 4.  Save the date!  They will be performing the jazz pieces they have learned in class.

Kindergarten students explored the concept of "musical form".  After listening to Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons, they were asked to represent their understanding using a variety of approaches.  Inspired by the science topic of five senses, Grade 1 students explored the concept of "texture".  They brainstormed a list of words to describe the texture of different objects and then used these words to describe a number of musical excerpts.  As part of their "Acadian experience", Grade 2 students continued to refine their skills on playing spoons.  They also learned a number of French folksongs.

Grade 3 and 4 students have taken their first step in learning how to sightread 4-beat melodic fragments on the recorder.  They are applying what they have learned in rhythmic reading as well as treble clef reading in order to tackle this task.  Grade 5 students are getting their first exposure to 12-bar blues.  Some of them are taking on the challenge to improvise short 12-bar phrases using the blues scales.

While Kindergarten students continue to learn songs connected to Spring, Grade 1 students are consolidating their knowledge of solfège.  They have extended their solfège vocabulary to sol, mi and la.  Being inspired by the social studies curriculum, Grade 2 students are learning songs from the Atlantic provinces.  They are also experiencing, for the first time, how to play spoons. 

Grade 3 and 4 students have started learning how to read notes on the 5-line staff and refining their recorder skills.  Grade 5 students' interdisciplinary project is well on its way.  They have listened to two contrasting musical excerpts, identifying key elements in arts and music:  colour, lines, texture, etc.  They will be creating an original work of art to represent what they hear in the music.

Rhythms and Sounds of Nature II

K, Grade 1 and 2 students continue to explore the rhythms and sounds of nature through music.  Using Spring as the inspiration, students experimented with creating soundscapes on barred instruments. 

Grade 3 and 4 students started their first lessons on the recorder.  Apart from learning about how to produce a quality tone on the instrument, students learned their first "BAG" songs, i.e. songs based on the notes "B", "A" and "G".  They also learned about the "recorder consort".

Grade 5 students took a short break from the study of "improvisation" and started a new interdisciplinary project which allows them to examine elements in arts and elements in music.  We looked at some of the basic elements in arts ---- lines, colours, texture, etc. ---- and draw comparison between the art concepts and that of music.

Rhythms and Sounds of Nature

“The rhythms of nature – the sounds of wind and water, the sounds of birds and insects – must inevitably find their analogues in music.”

~ George Crumb, American composer

This is what Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 students have been doing:  helping the rhythms of nature find their analogues in music.  Using "Spring" as an inspiration, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students have created different soundscapes to go with poems and stories.  They also looked at how composers like Vivaldi capture the rhythms and sounds of nature.  

While Grade 5 students continued to refine their improvisation skills in the style of jazz, Grade 3 and 4 students are getting ready to learn how to play the recorder.  Just a gentle reminder:  we will begin our recorder unit next week.  Please bring your instrument!

What is Musical Improvisation?

As students enter their second week of musical improvisation, they realize that improvisation in music is more than just "making something up on the spot."  This week, they learned that in order for a piece to sound "good" or "right", there are certain "norms", "rules" or "performance practices" that one has to follow... 

Grade 5 students discovered that in order to make their improvisation sound like jazz music, there are certain rhythmic "feel" that they have to create.  They learned that there is something called "blues scale."  They learned that a melody has a contour.  Grade 3 and 4 students came to realization that music has a pulse and phrases have certain structures and that our prior experience shapes what we expect as the "right length" in a musical phrase.  But they also understand that within this parameter, we still have lots of room to be creative and original.

Students will soon be applying what they have learned now to improvisation on the recorder.

 

When improvisation is properly applied,

it is compositional thinking sped way up.

~ Kurt Elling

American jazz singer and songwriter

As creativity is a central part of the elementary music program here at Elboya School, I am introducing the students to the idea of improvisation.  While most of the students from Grade 3, 4 and 5 started off with improvising musical questions and answers using various rhythmic patterns, they have extended the practice of improvisation to include melodic elements.  Students were introduced to the concept of pentatonic scale ---- a five-note scale used in many cultures ---- which forms the basis of the melodic language that students have been learning up to this point.  Grade 1 and 2 students used melodic fragments from the pentatonic scale.  By adding or changing the rhythm, students changes the melody.   Through this learning task, students are experiencing the compositional process which is "sped way up." 

People make music to get a reaction.

Music is communication.

~ Yoko Ono

Kindergarten students learn how music and lyrics can help them communicate their emotions.  By changing the lyrics, the dynamics, the articulation of the music, they experience a range of expression.  

Grade 1 and 2 students are extending their understanding of solfège to include sol, mi and la.  They also learned how music can be made up of sections.  Grade 3 and 4 students focused on the different families of the orchestra.  They are currently learning about the string family.  We listened to excerpts from Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler and discovered a "sad version" of Frère Jacques.  

Grade 5 students are exploring jazz music.  They perform some of these pieces which are adapted for barred instruments.

Winnie the Pooh, a Birthday Party

In April, Grade 7-9 students will be presenting the musical, Winnie the Pooh, a Birthday Party.  Please check the school website for more details and information about ticket sales.  See you there!

Music develops analytical thinking because it requires students to be creative.

They don't just regurgitate memorized facts.  They have to apply those facts.

~ Dr. Kevin Strother

This quote captures so well what I believe music education is about and what our elementary program is about at Elboya School.  For the past two weeks, students have been focusing on using some of the basic building blocks, i.e. rhythmic patterns and melodic fragments, to create their own music.  The musical structures that the students have created reflect what they have learned in terms of musical concepts and the images/emotions they try to evoke.  

                              Music education can help spark a child's imagination or 
                              ignite a lifetime of passion. When you provide a child with 
                              new worlds to explore and challenges to tackle, 
                              the possibilities are endless. 

~ Hillary Clinton

This quote captures really well what is at the heart of the elementary music program.  Kindergarten students use their imagination and make a connection between mechanical sounds and the concept of "beat" in music.  As they move to the tick-tock sounds of a clock, they experience the steadiness of beat.  Similarly, Grade 1 students continue their study of "beat" and extend their conceptual understanding to include "ta" and its corresponding rest.  

Grade 2 students continue to look at story and how to tell these stories through music.  After the story of Nanabosho and Kitchie Odjig, they will do a musical rendition of the Raven stories.  Grade 3 students continue to create musical questions and answers by using a variety of musical rhythms.  Grade 4 students continue to refine their Alberta homesteaders' piece by featuring on "complementary rhythms" in their work.  Grade 5 students continue to perform pieces featuring the "swing."

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.