O Canada Multilingual

I really love this new version of O Canada arranged and recorded by Tech Voc High School here in Winnipeg.

This is a multilingual version of “O Canada” including Cree, English, French, Ojibway, Inuktitut, and Tagalog.

Another Year...

Grade 5 girls singing and dancing.  I am sure gonna miss you!

This is my 9th year end at Stevenson.  It's been a really low key year and I've needed a break from all the business and events.  We've had some lovely moments this year and also learning to adjust to our split classes has been both joyful and challenging.  Split classes are always difficult in music as we often build on previous years, with certain music skills and concepts that are age appropriate.  This year there was a large gap in the span and a variety of abilities.  We want all students making music but also knowing and understanding concepts, communicating effectively and appropriately, and gaining proficiency in skills and confidence in individual and group tasks such as reading, writing, playing, performing, music listening/appreciation, and improvising.  This is an unending huge task and my students didn't disappoint as I saw many grow through failure and triumphs.

To my Grade 5s - thank you for the years of making music together.  I hope and pray that you continue to find nuggets of life and joy through music making experiences and will look back on your years of plays, choir, Orff, games, dances, solos, and drumming with fondness.  I look forward to seeing you in the future bands, choirs, and ever appreciating the vast colorful wonders of music throughout the rest of your lives.

See you at our final assembly at 10:00 a.m. in the Stevenson gym.

Have a wonderful summer and see you all in September!

Kinders exploring sounds

Making a band

Grade 5s who have passed and surpassed their Level 1 Recorder Karate tests.  Congrats!

Performing for our peers

Outdoor Music - Drumming station

Room 5 Tapping our Potential Music Monday performance

Orff Club performing pieces from our story plays

Term 1 Learning Gr. 3/4/5

Our Grade 3/4/5 classes were busy this term creating, reading, writing, and playing rhythms.  Here's a little glimpse into some of our work.

Yes I Can!

This week I attended several professional development workshops and one particular person that I am in awe of and appreciate with so much respect is Canadian musician, Alvin Law.  I think there are many lessons, for the young and old, that we can learn from and aspire to as we hear Alvin's story.

Alvin had a great honor to be the drummer for this amazing song, We're the Superhumans.  From this day on, no matter, the challenge or difficulty, we all need to adopt the "Yes, I can!" attitude.

Drums Alive

We've been learning about playing in a beat along to music.   We are using exercise balls on pails.  This program is for exercise and it's called Drums Alive, but a super great way to practice our music skills.  Here are a few of our favorite songs.

Cup Song Pattern

POINTERS - Use your right hand to pick up cup and the sweep.  When you grab the 'bottom' it's with your left hand.

CHALLENGE - Once you've mastered this pattern, how can you do it with a partner.  Check out the other groups in the song.  How else are they making new routines?

Muted Trumpet

As we were listening to the opening of White in the Moon the Long Road Lies by the amazing Sri Lankan/Canadian composer, Dinuk Wijeratne, we were wondering what instrument was playing during the introduction.

We discovered it was a mute or plunger or stopper that is placed in the bell of a trumpet that created that buzzy, hazy sound.

We have been learning about East Indian music and the tabla drums in White in the Moon the Long Road Lies.  Several students have a connection with these drums in their culture and we are going to attempt to learn a 14 beat rhythmic cycle called Deepchandi and see if we can incorporate some of the drumming techniques (which are VERY difficult!).

Arrangements of Songs

Today the Grade 4/5 classes watched this video of Alexander Misko playing an original arrangement of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean.'  Super cool!

Some of the words we were using to describe what we saw and heard were:

percussion, rhythm, melody, strike, strum, vibration, fret, tap, drumming, thump, pluck, ringing, high, dab, hold, beat

Outdoor Music Challenge

The fields are alive... with the sound of music!

I have been planning these last couple of weeks of music for atleast a year now.   When I first read @prairiemusik's blog on outdoor music learning, I started to see more possibilities and benefits of getting outside the 4 walls of the music room.  Our professional discussions on staff included the benefits of play and connecting with the outdoors.  We were all inspired by our next door neighbours, Discovery Children's Centre and the 2 week outdoor challenge taken on by many in our school, our division, city, and province .

I grew up on a farm and played outdoors alot.  Now that I am living in a city of concrete, it's hard to find time and space to connect with the beauty around us.  I wanted to give the Stevenson students a little taste of inspiration in their playing, singing, and dancing and above all, give them some platforms to create and use their imaginations to make music.

Here is a short video that captured some of the precious discoveries and activities going on throughout the past 2 weeks.

Outdoor Challenge

Recorder time!

For the past 2 weeks, various classes have been having music outside.  Next week we are going to be doing some music exploration stations.  It's been a lot of fun!

Practicing together

Duet time!

Really focused on practicing.  Great job!

Singing songs with the guitar and making up rhymes 

Creating a dance to an original song.  We will be sharing it on June 22.

Exploring materials for their sounds

Creating drum jams with our friends

Learning some skipping rhymes and showing off our moves

Hanging out in the audience. Watching the action as we keep cool.

Global School Play Day

Today was http://www.globalschoolplayday.com/ and we got to have 'play time' in the music room.  We explored the arts - music, visual art, drama and dance.  Lots of great ideas and time to express ourselves.  One of my favorite quotes from musician and supporter of music play is from  Carl Orff -"Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study.  They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play; they will find that what they have mastered is child's play."

The animals like to talk to each other - Questions and Answers!

Writing songs and playing them.  This is Twinkle Twinkle :)

Working as a team, making up a drum song.

He even came and sang it for me!  Nice job!

SJCI Sr. Jazz Band came and jazzed us up today.  Awesome talent!

Building Community in September

The music room has been a busy place for the month of September.  Our big theme this year is all about building community.  Here's what we've been up to:

ASSEMBLY:

Assembly song leaders

Our classrooms had a wonderful sharing time during our October assembly.  We shared important things that make our classrooms special.  We sang our music room rap and Stevenson's theme song, Reach For the Stars.  A shout out to all the students who rehearsed, shared and performed.  It was awesome!

MUSIC CLUBS:

Tinikling club choreographing parts

2 clubs have started up which include the Philippino stick dancing called Tinikling. This team is learning to work together and designing a dance routine to an upbeat pop culture song.  We meet on Day 6 at lunch.

Drumming club getting their jam on

The Grade 3 Drumming Club is learning to play a variety of rhythms on the tubano drums. We are working on playing together in beat.  Our latest chant is Jeremiah Blow the Fire and we are working on getting a unified sound on the tone and bass parts of the drum.  We meet on Day 2 at lunch.

Drum rhythm patterns 

KINDERGARTEN:

MUSIC IS IN ME - In this unit, students are building awareness of the group and becoming more comfortable with music class routines and procedures. They are presented with a variety of chants, singing moving and imaginative activities and games that will teach rhythm and expression, exploring what it is to be music smart.  We explore our different voices and work on matching our singing voices.  We like to have fun singing, moving and imagining.

Kinder dancing to Elephants Have Wrinkles

Practicing using sticks to Listen to the Ducks song

GRADE 1:

MUSIC CONNECTS ME TO OTHERS - In our Term 1 unit, the Grade 1 classes have been working on music room routines.  We've been exploring different instruments and proper playing techniques for each instrument.  We are learning to play together as a team.  When a problem arises, we stop and figure out together how to solve it.  We are also learning to keep the beat and match our singing voices.  Here's one of the songs we learned.  How else can you count to eight?

Grade 1 exploring the piano

Back to school song

GRADE 2/3:

MUSIC CONNECTS US - Students have been looking at classroom citizenship and how we share our music experience.  Music activities center around team-building so we will understand our rights and responsibilities in the music-making community.  How do you contribute to the team?  What does a great choir look like and sound like and feel like?  How do certain songs connect us?  As we look into these questions we will see how music influences our identity (traditions, celebrations, play, media, arts, games and places).

Room 11 choir

Room 12 excited to sing!

Room 17 ready!

Room 18 choir!

Practicing beats and mallet techniques on the bars

Hey There Neighbour!

Instrument sort

Instrument technique and keeping the beats

Circle games and singing

GRADE 4/5:

MUSIC MAKES IMPACT - In this unit, students will look at the impact that music has on them.  They will look at the influences that play factors into creating music (elements, techniques, concepts).  When creating music, they will identify points of inspiration through history and present sources.  They will work to see how collaboration and individual voice are important to accomplish a task. Students will also look at what makes a performance memorable.

Looked at different ways we are smart.  We also discussed how a person can show these intelligences in music class.

Ready, set, sing!

Sharing ideas about how to make choir the best!

Presentations on what music is.

Listening to music to analyze

Music sharing on ipads