What's Up?

The sing-along is over. Kids and adults sat together in the gym and sang mostly patriotic songs, along with a couple about taking care ot the planet, and "Over the River and Through the Wood". The kids were very supportive and appreciative of each other. It was very sweet.

This week, my after-school choirs start up again with a new set of songs. I also have a new recorder class after school for fourth- and fifth-graders. I'm so proud of the third-grade recorder players; not a single one has dropped out! Thanks for putting up with their practicing--THIS year no one has told me that his parents hid his recorder from him . . .

Kindergartners "went to the opera" today with a DVD of "William Tell". They watched Ricardo Muti conduct the overture, and then they saw the apple-shooting scene. You might ask them why Tell's son Jemmy was played by a woman. If that explanation turns out to be hard to follow, you could try asking why opera singers sing so loudly!

First-graders are practicing their eighth notes and quarter notes and rests using many little songs and rhymes. "Teddy Bear" is coming up soon.

Second-graders have been working with ostinatos, which are repeated patterns. Most of ours have been vocal. Often the trickiest part is to stop performing the ostinato at the right time, which is usually when the other group's rhyme or song is ending. Listening to the other performers is very important to making music!

Third-graders are still fitting their music and sound effects with their folk tales.

Fourth-graders have begun squaredancing. It's the Washington State Dance! They are rising to the challenges of learning the terminology and responding instantly to the calls.

Choir Concerts

Kids who are in my after-school choir are giving a concert this week. Wednesday Choir kids will have their concert on Wednesday, November 18th, and Thursdays on Thursday the 19th. Parents will be invited into the music studio at 4:10 p.m. on each day to hear their children's performance. When the concert ends at 4:30, singers may take home their folder of lyrics and an accompaniment cd. And when a new session begins December 2nd and 3rd, we'll start a new set of songs.

Here's What We're Up to in Music Class

Kindergarteners are learning to sing the first verses of "America" and "America, the Beautiful". We're also singing "This Land is Your Land" and learning "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Over the River and Through the Wood". Yesterday we played the steady beat on big conga drums while we sang "The Earth is Our Mother". And this year's kindergartners are standing so still and quiet for our national anthem--I'm very impressed!

First-Graders are learning the difference between steady beat and rhythm. Several times we've used quarter notes to mark the steady beats of a song or rhyme, then re-written beats which have two sounds (using eighth notes) or which are silent (using a rest). They're also reviewing the same patriotic songs I listed above for kindergarteners.

Second-Graders have also been reviewing those songs. We also heard and discussed the circumstances in which our national anthem was written, because in second grade I teach the children to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner". So now they understand what they are singing, and we're working on singing all the melismas correctly.

Third-Graders are beginning to work on the music for their Folk Tales program in December. Each class has a different tale, and therefore different music. I like to teach all the singing and instrumental parts to everyone, because (a) fitting the parts together is good practice to develop music skills, and (b) the more familiar everyone is with what everyone else is doing, the better the show will go.

Fourth-Graders have been introduced to gamelan orchestra music from the island of Bali. I've isolated a section of the music in which the parts are very clear, and we are working to re-create that music with our classroom Orff instruments. They've also been singing "Washington, My Home", "Roll On, Columbia", and "This Pretty Planet".