Welcome to Jeanmarie's Class

Hello and Welcome to the Lower El Music Classroom!

Week of January 31, 2012

We worked up another recorder-Orff instrument piece-'Hop old Squirrel'. It's another B-A-G piece, which means it uses notes played in the left hand only on the recorder.  Recorders play the melody and for the accompaniment, the children brainstormed ideas of what squirrels love to do.  Climb trees, eat nuts and acorns... These phrases became repeated rhythmic patterns on the Orff instruments and small percussion.  Hope you enjoy the video clips of one of the classes this week!  

Clip 1
Clip 2

Week of January 23, 2012

This week we took a look at a perennial favorite ‘Hot Cross Buns’ played on recorder and orff instruments.  Third years have graduated on the recorders from one note to three notes this week.  To play music together, we work on becoming more aware of others.  It is really lovely to see your children concentrate on their work, yet open themselves to another friend’s music-making.  The second half of class is a hands-down favorite:  Music story time.  The characters in the stories come to life with the musical motives chosen by the children.  Each child takes a personal responsibility for active listening and musical participation in the story.  I personally enjoy the ‘hush’ as we start…’Once upon a time’…

Week of January 16, 2012

This week was very exciting for the third years because it was the day they received their very own recorders! This frees up some of the other instruments so the 1st and 2nd year students had a bit less competition for their favorite Orff xylophone and percussion instruments. We worked a simple piece called 'Polka Hop.' Little by little, each instrument adds a bit of color to the piece until everyone is playing together. For the recorder players this was a bit of a 'one note wonder.' Just learning how to hold the instrument properly and the use of the breath and fingers is enough for the first day!

Week of January 9, 2012

Martin Luther King was the subject of our opening class discussion, The children and I read a brief story of his life and learned a song about MLK, which was reminiscent of a spiritual.

Martin Luther King

He wanted peace and love all over this land
Martin Luther King was a peace loving man
He wanted peace and love all over this land...

Using phrases from the song and part of the "I have a Dream" speech:

Peace and Love
walked for you and me
died for freedom's cause
I have a dream

...the children composed short rhythmic patterns with 'body' percussion (clapping, stomping) and later percussion instruments. Put all together, these little patterns became a larger composition. Staying together and keeping a steady beat was greatly enhanced by listening and watching each other.

A coloring activity of MLK's portrait brought on some interesting discussion about his life and untimely death, as well. It was a pleasure to honor the life and spirit of this great American with your children.

Week of December 12, 2011

Our classroom has been filled with the sounds of holiday songs on the Orff instruments, pianos and the beautiful sound of children singing. Fun holiday note-reading worksheets will be coming home. Learning to read music is very similar to reading any language--it takes practice! Third years will begin learning to play recorder in January.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Holiday Sing!

Week of November 14, 2011

More note reading! We identified the Bass clef practiced note reading with more worksheets, and did a guitar maze-just for fun. Some of the children wrote down a song they knew and liked on manuscript paper-(such as 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'). Others played melodies and read simple nursery rhyme pieces such as 'Hot Cross Buns', 'Twinkle...' and 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' by reading the music and playing it on the Orff instruments. -Happy Thanksgiving!

Week of November 7, 2011 

This week we worked on note reading with turkey find-the-note handouts. We identified other musical symbols such as the Treble clef, the staff and notes in the treble clef The children then read the notes and played them on the orff instruments.

Week of October 31, 2011

Our music this week was inspired by the weather. We worked on an Orff arrangement of 'Rain, Rain Go Away'. Building our piece little by little we began with a simple ostinato (repeated) pattern on the bass xylophones, added improvised rain sounds on hand drums and alto xylophones and finally a conductor. It was delightful to watch one of our students conduct the ensemble and to observe the focus of the group in making music together. We added a new piece to our work-in-progress 'The Instruments'-a big challenge here is keeping a steady beat. One last Halloween song-'Craney Crow' a song about a witch that picks a chicken for herself after each verse. The song ends with a music-room-version of 'tug of war' -with the witch's (or wizard's) chickens on one team and 'safe' chickens on the other.

Week of October 24, 2011

The song for the day was an old Texas singing game-'Weevily Wheat.' We learned the song then made circles of four players, numberd 1-4. he players skip 'round the circle, then back again and then it's time to put a hand in -each in turn. It's a great counting game and an opportunity for left/right hand awareness.

'Clifford the Skeleton' made a comeback today and we included rhythm sticks and a line dance. They are getting really good at this one!

New October song: 'Don't Go in the Forest'. We learned this song and a simple accompaniment on the Orff instruments. The children provided action to the words in the song. Some children chose to be the musicians, some were the spooky trees in the forest, some were the children who decided to go into the forest anyway and get the big scare at the end of the song: "BOO!" Lots of the children went home with copies of this song, and 'Clifford...'

Week of October 17, 2011

This week we reviewed the bass xylophone part to 'The Instruments' and added an alto xylophone part. Each week we will be trying out a new part to add interest and challenge to our music.

Everyone loves a good story. 'The Three Sillies' is an fable orchestrated for Orff instruments and narrator. The children get to pick a character and improvise a sound that represents the character for the play-through. Ask your child if they remember in the story how the wife got back the $50 after her husband made a poor decision and sold the cow.

We discussed the orchestral instruments on a poster in the music room. It is interesting how children can decide just by looking at an instrument if they would like to play it. Some of them were familiar to the children and some were not. Then played a clapping game going 'round the circle with a clapping ostinato (repeating) pattern, each child saying a different instrument in turn. If you forget or can't think of one-oops, you're out!

Week of October 10, 2011

We talked about the musical term 'cantus firmus' a latin term for 'fixed song'-or 'strong song' and how it does not change and is an important piece of a larger musical work. One 'cantus firmus' that probably we are all familiar with is the bass line from Pachelbel's Canon in D (http://www.last.fm/music/Johann+Pachelbel/_/Canon+in+D+major ) the beloved wedding musical choice. It is lovely and I wanted to share this with the children because I had just played it on Leelanau beach over the weekend for a wedding. We practiced the bass line (cantus firmus) of Pachelbel's Canon this week and we will be working on a simple arrangement of this piece for Orff instruments over the next several weeks.

We also started work on another composition called 'The Instruments' for Orff ensemble. We will learn each part together and will work each week to incorporate the other parts. The children really enjoy the opportunity to play music together, to try out the different parts and play them for their friends.

October songs are so much fun to sing! Ask your child to teach you the 'Clifford the Skeleton' song.

Week of October 3, 2011

The rainy weather inspired an original rainy-day composition with creative sound effects using the Orff instruments. The instruments were used to add another dimension to a poem by James Horner. Each stanza had a special sound effect on the instruments, either with mallets, hands, fingers. The children first observed some examples of improvised sound effects, explored their own and created a unique piece using this poem.

Rain Rain

Rain Rain
Rain rainfalls on the street,
mud in puddles
cleaning my feet.

Thunder thunder
rumble and roar,
close the windows
and lock the door.

Clouds clouds
black and gray,
heavy with water
to drop all day.

Sun sun
is breaking through,
clouds are moving,
the rain stops too.

Rainbow rainbow
across the sky,
see-through colours
to tickle my eyes.

Then, it was time to dance. We danced a folk dance from Bolivia. The line starts out with one person, and grows to include the entire group. Everyone had fun joining the growing line of friends. The step slow-slow-quick-quick-quick step is not so easy to put in the feet-but it's fun to watch them try it!

Week of September 26, 2011

This week we took lots of care in cleaning and polishing the Orff mallet percussion instruments. The children took to the task with gusto! The instruments have never looked so beautiful. The children worked on a piece with the orff instruments called 'two blackbirds' using a 'glissando'-a glide from one pitch to another on the instrument. We noted that the best instrument in the room for glissando is also the tiniest-the glockenspiel.

Next was a cirlce game about Miss Muffet and the Spider and beginning music notation with the pitches sol-mi. Using little cut out spiders on the white board, we 'played' the spiders on the instruments while playing a circle game like 'duck-duck-goose'. The child going 'round the circle was Miss Muffet, and the chosen child the spider who chases her.

Week of September 19, 2011

We have all kinds of instruments in the music classroom-a clavinova, and upright piano, a baby grand piano, assorted drums, recorders, and Orff instruments and various small percussion equipment. What instrument do we carry around with us all day long-even into the shower? Our voices, hands and feet-so we can sing, slap, clap, pat, cluck, snap-we call this 'body percussion.' The children created their own body percussion composition. First we made up a chant about our favorite desserts:

'I like ice cream
I like cherry pie

I like cup cakes
I like choc -'late cake

Please give me some cup cakes! Please give me some choc -'late cake!
cup cakes! choc -'late cake!
Please give me some right now!'

Then substituted body percussion (snaps, claps, pats) for the desserts. Remember the childhood song B-I-N-G-O and how Bingo's name ends up with all claps at the end?

We are very fortunate to have a collection of fine Orff mallet percussion instruments. These are easy for the children to play and they make a beautiful sound. The children had a lesson on the bass xylophone-ask your child how we take the bars off the bass xylophone and how we hold the mallets. Next week-playing, care and cleaning of the Orff instruments!

Week of September 12, 2011

This week we all got acquainted and re-acquainted with each other with some play party dances and mixer activities. Most everyone knows the song BINGO...but not this one! It was BINGO with a twist, and some fun steps. The new word for the day is accelerando-(Italian for getting faster). This dance does just that! We also sang and danced in concentric circles 'Jolly is the Miller'. A fun way to learn music is to watch someone else having fun with it, imitate, then experiment.

We sang a song "Bill Grogan's Goat"-an echo song story about a misbehaving goat and its owner. The lyrics suddenly stop at a crucial point...letting imagination take us where it will, the children added their own touches. We talked a lot about what it means to be a team because in music class, sometimes we are a team. 'Strategy, helping your friends, explaining, listening, having a common goal'...were some of the responses. When we join our voices, move our bodies to the music and play music together in class we have a unique team experience. I look forward to exploring the wonderful world of music this year with your children!