Our Song

The Grade 4/5's are learning about the true stories behind our national anthem, "O Canada."  They were shocked!

This is the person who wrote the melody for O Canada.  His name is Calixa Lavallee.  He was a composer but also an adventurer.  The story goes that while at his Quebec home in St. Hyacinthe to give a concert in 1880, he was resting by the Yamaska waterfall when he heard the song in the pounding water.  The melody swept throughout Canada and was played in music halls, theatres, churches, and various festivities, capturing the heart of many.

Adolphe-Basile Routhier

The French words of the song then came from Adolphe-Basile Routhier who wrote the words for a Quebec city festival in 1880.  The French lyrics have never been altered!

Robert Stanley Weir

There have been several versions of the English words altered throughout the years, but the one that has stuck the most was by a Montreal judge, Robert Stanley Weir, who wrote a poem in 1908 to commemorate the 300th year anniversary of Quebec City.  He wrote 3 additional verses and made some changes to the poem along the way.  His version of the English lyrics were sung up until 1980.

See the song sung below with words from Weir's poem.  This recording was from 1914!

Youtube: O Canada 1908 lyrics by Weir

In 1980, the 100th birthday of O Canada, there was yet again disagreement about the English words and they were altered yet again to what we sing today.  The song officially became Canada's anthem in 1980 through the National Anthem Act.

To read more about the history and changes, check out this link.

Throughout Canada's history, there has been various important songs of the people of the land.  Check out this compilation of the historical anthems of Canada and other countries and colonies that are now part of Canada. 

Another interesting tidbit about our anthem is that it has a very similar resemblance to the "March of the Priests" from the opera the Magic Flute, composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Check this out!

Shining Stars

Congratulations on the fantastic singing today by the Grade 2/3 choir at the 99th annual Winnipeg Music Festival.  I was so proud of these 100 kids for the effort they put in to do their best.  We received a silver medal today.

Why singing?

Singing is...

= a part of our cultural heritage

= a way of exploring the elements of music

=  a way of exploring the forms and styles of music

= a way of expressing musical ideas

= a way of sharing music with others

= providing an opportunity to use your personal instrument (voice)

= allowing students to vocally manipulate sound

= a way of making music together

= as an ensemble, creating a musical statement that could not be created by an individual

= allowing everyone to be an artist

= enabling students to gain confidence in the sound and feeling of their singing voice

= a special experience of communication between composer and the singer

= enabling students to take part in musical activities that can be enjoyed and esteemed for their own sake

Winnipeg Music Festival

The times and dates are confirmed for our choirs to sing at the 99th Annual Winnipeg Music Festival. 

Grade 2/3 choir singing second 10:00 a.m. Friday, March 3, 2017

SONGS: Thunder and Lightning and World Without Music

Grade 2/3 choir is leaving at 9:30 a.m. sharp.

Grade 4/5 choir singing first 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2017

SONGS: J'Entends Moulin and Music Alone Shall Live

Grade 4/5 choir is leaving at 9:20 a.m. sharp.

Reminder to families - students are to wear black bottoms and a short-sleeve t-shirt.  We have choir shirts at school.

Westminster United Church 745 Westminster Avenue

Link to Westminister United Church

NOTE TO PARENTS: General admission has increased to $5 per session, with free admission for children 12 and under. $25 season passes (admission to all Festival sessions and concerts) and $10 programs will be available at the WMF office (Click on link for office address) in mid-February as well as at all venues during the 2017 Festival.

Sing It Together

Coming soon - May 1, 2017!

Music Monday celebrates Canada 150 with a new anthem, commissioned by the Coalition for Music Education. The new anthem 'Sing It Together' is co-written by Juno-award winning songwriters Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas.   Check it out on the Music Monday website.

Focusing on the power of voices, Sing It Together asks us to sing for joy, for truth, for healing and for freedom. The recording and video feature Inuit throat singing, Métis fiddling, indigenous drumming, and children’s choirs in celebration of Canadian musical heritages. Creating Sing It Together was a journey of discovery and the songwriters encourage music makers to continue this discovery where music lives in their schools and communities.

The 2017 hash tags are #MMC2C2C in English and #LEMCAC in French.

My Own Way to Rock

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 :)

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

Build a Burrito

This week, the Grade 2/3 classes were learning some Spanish and having some fun making a musical burrito on the instruments.  Lesson suggestions from Artie Almeida in Mallet Madness Strikes Again.

Here's a little video to practice counting from 1-10 in Spanish (Uno, Dos, Tres):

We also had spent some time in December learning songs from South America, including several Spanish songs.  Here's a fun one with some choreography called My Amigos from Plank Road Publishing.  What kind of flavour is the music?  Can you identify the Latin American instruments in the song?

Snuggle Up and Read

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.

Songs that Tickle Your Funny Bone

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.

Art Music Project

The Grade 4/5 classes have been using their listening skills to reflect on a song that we will hear at the Winnipeg Symphony concert in April.  The song is called "Contented House" by Canadian composer, Jean Coulthard.  After we listened to the piece several times, we discussed how art can reflect music and music can reflect art.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore, but many of the students were able to depict the music through an art picture.  Here is what they came up with.