The Grade 4/5 classes have been talking about Canadian and Winnipeg musician, Burton Cummings and the rockin' roll band, The Guess Who. Check out this link to Burton's biography.
We have been learning about the 12-bar blues. This pattern is found in many styles of music, including jazz, gospel, pop, boogie woogie, and of course, rock. Check out the structure and have your child explain what it means. Burton's song "My Own Way to Rock" is set in the major key of C.
Here is the boomwhacker version that I made up for us to play along to :)
Yesterday the Grade 4/5 classes dusted off our boomwhackers for a little end of the week fun. Boomwhackers are a RAINBOW of colors and notes that lead students to a pot of musical gold. They are tuned plastic percussion tubes that vary in lengths according to their pitches. We play by (gently!) striking almost anything: a table, the floor, your thigh or hand, a shoe. They are not only WHACKY and fun – these instruments are therapeutic and accessible for all.
This following activity hit many outcomes and skills in a very short amount of time.
We also learned about octaves. We know that the musical alphabet has 7 letters.
Once we get to repeating the pattern, that next note becomes the eighth note, which is an octave. One is the high and one is the low. When we add a special cap to the boomwhacker, we can create a high and low note that is exactly 8 notes apart.
