Ms. Rempel's Music Blog: Fall Learnings

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Fall Learnings - Term 1

September, October and November 2013 were busy months in Stevenson's music room. Students learned music routines and had a focus on becoming more comfortable using our singing voices. In preparation of Remembrance Day, students rehearsed and discussed what an excellent singer and looks like and sounds like. Here was our list:

KINDERGARTEN LEARNING:

Kinders showing what some excellent singers look like. What can we do in improve ourselves?

Often during music, we'll practice good listening skills. We like to play the 'Dream Game.' As students are listening to a song, they imagine an image(s) about what the song is about, like a movie scene, colors or pictures. We reflect and discuss ideas like the following questions -

1. Talk about the dynamic levels of the song. When is it the loudest? When is it the softest?

2. Is the song instrumental or have singers? How many singers are there in the song? Is the song sung by one or more singers? Male or female? Are there back up singers?

3. Was the song smooth or choppy?

4. Do you notice any repeating parts of the song? What part repeats? What parts are different?

5. What instruments do you hear in the song? What kind of effects are created?

6. Is the song fast or slow? Does it change speeds?

7. How does the song make you feel? Does it make you happy? sad? excited? angry? Why?

8. What images or colors come to mind when you hear this music? What do you think the composer is trying to say?

Kinders playing the "Dream Game"

Kinders are learning to follow directions and cues. As we sing songs, we like to do actions. Here is some students performing one of our favorites - Elephants Have Wrinkles.

During music listening, we heard 2 songs by the composer, Johan Sebastian Bach. As we listened we, imagined how the songs made us feel and noticed certain characteristics.

GRADE 2/3 LEARNING:

Group instrument practice

The Grade 2/3 classes were busy making music in Term 1. We were practicing matching our voices to sing in tune with each other, keeping a steady beat, conducting in 4/4 time, practicing solfege hands signs, reading music and practicing rhythms, learning and practicing patterns on the glockenspiels, metallophones and xylophones.

Drummers practicing their part in the song, "Freedom March"

"Light a Candle for Peace"

Grade 2/3 choir

GRADE 1 LEARNING:

Grade 1s have learned how to show excellent singing. We practiced matching pitches and sang in a singing circle to learn our parts.

Grade 1 singers

During a Halloween activity, we practiced being good listeners. Students listened to short clips of music that was either happy or scary sounding. Students held up the face they felt showed the correct sound. We almost got them all right!

Is the song happy or scary?

Room 14s faces

Room 16s faces

Our Remembrance Day song included a snare drum. Here we are comparing and testing the sounds between a snare and timpani. Which one is lower?

Drum roll please!

Creative expression and movement is an important part of music. Here we used scarves to show the different parts in the song (seaweed or fish?)

GRADE 4/5 LEARNING:

In term 1, the Grade 4/5 classes settled into the music room routines quickly. We explored reading music and playing in an ensemble on non-pitched instruments. We did warm-up songs and voice techniques in choir as well as learning to read 2 parts music score in "If You're Out There." On the barred instruments, we practiced various bordun patterns on the barred instruments while singing a song.