Canadian Musicians

A couple of Canadian musicians we are looking at include co-host of the Juno's and artist nominee, Serena Ryder.  In 2009, our school learned one of her songs, Sing Sing, for Music Monday.

One of her songs from her nominated album is Stompa.

Another Canadian artist that has been making headlines for a few years is Michael Buble.
Here is his Juno nomimated song, "It's a Beautiful Day."

Celine Dion is back on the scene with her 11th English album.  Here is "Loved Me Back to Life."

A Montreal based independant band is also up for a Juno.  Here is Arcade Fire's song "Reflektor."

During "We Day" Canada, students were introduced to Vancouver's band, Hedley.  Here is one of their songs, "One Life."

* Note: The songs have been screened but please watch with parental permission / supervision and be advised that advertisements do pop up on Youtube that are not always appropriate and endorsed by this blog.

Juno Week in Winnipeg

It's Juno week in Winnipeg and we've been having some discussions on Canadian musicians we know.

Check out the 2014 Juno Nominees List.  How many artists do you know?  Tune into the awards ceremony on Sunday, March 30 CTV, 8 p.m.

Staff Wars

The Grade 2/3 classes and Grade 4/5 classes are learning and reviewing note reading on the treble clef staff.

We have learned the following song (fill in the blanks) to help us remember the lines and space names.

The staff has 5, it has 5 lines  ____, ____, ____, ____, ____; 

____, ____, ____, ____, ____; 

Inbetween each line, there lies a space  ____, ____, ____, ____, 

They spell the word ____, ____, ____, ____!  :)

One of our favorite games we've been playing is called "Staff Wars"

Staff Wars is a free game for the computer, but it does need to be downloaded by an adult before you can play it. Click HERE for the link.  You can also buy the app for the Ipad for $0.99.  There are many other cool games that you can download from this page.  Some do cost money, but there are others that are FREE!

My Many Colored Days

The Grade 1 classes have read through Dr. Seuss's book, "My Many Colored Days."  We are exploring feelings with color, movement and music.

We are also learning to identify the instruments we hear in songs.  Do we hear one instrument, two, or more? What kind of color sound does the instrument make?  Is it high or low?  Could it be a piano, violin, double bass or flute?  Is the music fast or slow?

Here is a link to Instruments in the Orchestra.  How many do you know?

Choir Congratulations!

Our Grade 2/3 and 4/5 choirs sang at Westminster United Church  in the 97th annual Winnipeg Music Festival.  Congratulations to the Grade 2/3 choir on your silver medal performance and the Grade 4/5 choir on your gold medal performance!

The Grade 2/3 choir had a time of reflection on our singing and this is what the students had to say:

Term 2 School Videos

Term 2 was a busy few months which included the Stevenson Winter Concert, Winnipeg Music Festival, I Love to Read month activities, SJSD Music Celebration, Heart & Stroke Dance-a-thon, and the World Olympics.  Not to mention the business of many indoor recesses and regular music classes of writing and playing rhythms, instrument playing, rehearsals, sound poem recordings, note reading and rondo creations.

                    

Grade 4/5 Winter Concert Highlights                                   Grade K-3 Winter Concert Highlights

                    

                   

Grade 2/3 Choir Winnipeg Music Festival                     Grade 4/5 Choir Winnipeg Music Festival    

          

   Kindergarten American Folk Dance "Jump Jim Joe"      Grade 1 Russian Folk Dance "Sasha"                       

                       

 Grade 1 Room 16 "Daddy Fell Into the Pond"                  Grade 1 I Love to Read "The Crocodile"     

                    

Kinder Room 7 "The Gingerbread Man" Sound Story    Kinder Room 8 "The Gingerbread Man" Sound Story

                        

Heart & Stroke Dance-a-Thon

MB Legislature Noon-hour Concert

The Matheson Island School Fiddlers performing in 2013

Our awesome Grade 4/5 choir has been selected to sing on the grand stair case at the noon-hour Manitoba Legislature concerts on Wednesday, April 23 to celebrate music across Manitoba.  Details to follow but here are some new pieces we are working on.

SOUND LINK: Mursame (The Mists of the Evening)

This gentle original setting of an eleventh-century Japanese text captures the mystery and flavor of ancient Japan and frames the middle section, which is in English. Haunting melodies and simple harmonies are complemented by optional chime tree and rain stick for a distinctly Asian mood. (jwpepper.com)

SOUND LINK: Haba Na Haba (Little by Little)

African proverb: Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba

Language: Swahi

Meaning (literal): Little by little, the container/pot gets filled.

Calvary Place Carehome

Our Grade 2/3 choir is preparing some new repertoire to sing to the residents at the Calvary Place Carehome on Tuesday, April 15.  We are very excited about this and look forward to sharing our love for music with the seniors.  In the next few weeks, we will have some conversations around who our audience is, what kind of music we should share, why and how music makes us feel.


Here were some of the ideas we will explore and discuss.
- Music can be soothing and helps us feel happier.
- Music is entertaining.
- Music is exciting, engaging and memorable when we can sing along and participate as the audience.
- Certain types of music are better to sing at a carehome.  Playing the latest hit song will not help the residents connect with our concert.  Playing an old favorite gives joy and helps them connect with memories of childhood.
- Playing and singing 'old' music helps us connect with our past and history.

Here are the song lyrics to the versions we are learning: Calvary Place song lyrics

Danny Boy (1st half of the video)

Danny Boy lyrics

If I Only Had a Brain (from Wizard of Oz)
SOUND CLIP:  If I Only Had A Brain song
If I Only Had a Brain lyrics

Whistle While You Work (from Snow White)
Whistle While You Work lyrics

You are My Sunshine (Anne Murray)

You are My Sunshine lyrics

Sweet Home Chicago (Blue Brothers)
Sweet Home Chicago lyrics