All our classes are enjoying studying the 4 families of orchestra instruments. Our Grade 1/2 classes are watching the Disney classic: A Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom!
Our Grade 3/4/5 classes watched the video about why the instruments are grouped in their families.
We will be watching the wonderful video and story by John Lithgow, The Remarkable Farkle McBride.
Another one of my favorites is The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket
Getting ready to watch the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Grade 4/5's went to a fantastic show at the Centennial Concert Hall this afternoon. We watched the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra play and heard the St. Jame's Children's Choir and Junior Choir sing several numbers. It was magical and informative as we learned about various Canadian composers and the interesting numbers they created. Other special performers joined the show including a special lyrical dance, a tabla drummer, a recorder and string group, and a French singer.
Thanks Mr. Johnson and his Grade 6 George Waters Showband for coming over and sharing with us your music and amazing playing on the woodwinds and brass instruments today. We were very impressed. To learn more about the band program at George Waters, check out Mr. Johnson's band website.
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!).
The other day I was driving to work and heard this song, La Danza by Gioachino Rossini on CBC Classic radio.
La Danza by Rossini
Presumably in Latin, I had no idea what the man was singing, but it made me laugh. It sounded silly and playful. The melody was memorable and brought me back to Bugs Bunny's operatic cartoons, like Figaro. Love it when songs jump out at you. Upon a little research, La Danza is a patter song which uses a fast tongue-twister of words to create a humorous effect. Patter songs are commonly used in comic opera and operetta. A few years back my students studied a patter song from the opera The Pirates of Penzance. It was Gillbert and Sullivan's Major-General Stanley's song, I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General. Check it out and have a good laugh.
On Monday, the Grade 2/3 classes had the amazing opportunity to go to the Centennial Concert Hall to hear our very own Winnipeg Music Symphony. Check out some of the students responses...
Before we even went, we did several lessons and activities about the music so we had some ideas of what we liked and what we could look and listen for. Check out the tab "WSO Gr. 2/3" for more of the songs and dances we heard.
Learning how to professional play the castanets. Not easy!
Thank-you Mr. Johnson and the Grade 6 George Waters Show Band for coming today to our music room to play for us. It was awesome to see some of our alumni and hear their stories about learning a new instrument. They sounded really fantastic and many of Grade 5's are excited to try-out instruments for band next year.
For more information about band, contact Ms. Rempel or Mr. Johnson @ GW band website.
Why is it important to learn a musical instrument? Here are some scientific reasonings.
Did you know that trash can be someone else's treasure? In some areas of the world, people are creating instruments from trash. Watch the video above and see how music is transforming a nation and giving hope to wasteful places.
The Kinders have been learning about French composer, Camille St. Saens and his brillant works from the Carnival of the Animals. Today we listened to several of the recordings of the animals and acted out the parts. We listened for the jokes that Camille hid in the pieces and identified instruments. We watched the 1985 zoo visit video, hosted by Gary Burghoff with Ogen Nash's poetry.
Here is a Youtube clip of the 1976 classic hosted by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
The Grade 1's have been studying the orchestra instruments and learning the famous story "Peter and the Wolf" by Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev. We read the story illustrated by Peter Malone and learned all the instruments in the story. We matched them with their sounds.
Today we watched Disney's 1946 version narrated by Sterling Holloway. We discussed how the name of the bird in the show was Sasha, just like our Russian dance. We also talked about the Russian hat that was worn and then compared the differences between the book and the movie. Most students liked the movie the best.
Here is a Youtube version of the story performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and narrated by conductor, Bramwell Tovey.
