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.