December was an incredibly fast month! We were able to squeeze in music from Greece, Russia, and Romania! Special thanks to the families who helped me select music and activities to show off these great cultures. Fifth grade at JFK really shined in their concert and showed that hard work pays off! Students in 3rd and 4th at JFK and Parmenter auditioned for solos for their January concerts. I could not believe how brave the students were and how supportive their friends were! First through fourth grades were able to show off their musical talents for music "show and tell." On top of all of this, each grade began a new tonal and rhythm objective that we hope to challenge ourselves with in the new term. Below I hope you enjoy a small window into our music classes! Wishing everyone a happy holiday and restful vacation filled with family and fun!
2nd Grade Mrs. Maiato JFK
"Trepak or the Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker
Students moved with the music and made the form of the music come to life through dance!
1st Grade Mrs. Arnold JFK
"Dance of the Reed Flutes" from The Nutcracker
Students in K and 1 once again explored form by moving and listening for parts that sound same and different. My third graders still beg me to play this!
3rd Grade Mr. Tighe Parmenter
"The March" from The Nutcracker
Students were able to identify and perform the form using instruments!
3rd Grade Mrs. Henneberry JFK
"The March" from The Nutcracker
Students were able to identify and perform the form using instruments!
4th Grade JFK Chorus
4th graders at JFK and Parmenter were very creative changing the lyrics to the round "Donkeys Always Love their Carrots." Here is just one example!
1st Grade Ms. Fitzgerald JFK
Students at JFK and Parmenter in 1st-3rd grade really enjoyed learning about Greek dancing and trying it themselves! We also compared it to dancing in Romania! Here we are trying to master a step to a Greek dance "Hasapikos."
Thank you to the Stoddard family for letting us borrow these authentic Greek clothes that children would dance in! Students loved modeling them for their classmates!
December Celebrity Singers
Parmenter 3rd Grade
Parmenter 4th Grade
JFK 4th Grade
JFK 3rd Grade
*Concert dates are on the right side of my blog. Fliers will also be sent home the day after vacation! 5th grade did not have Celebrity Singers in December due to the concert. Looking forward to seeing families in January!
January Culture of the Month
CHINA!
Here is some music to help not only celebrate our New Year but also the Chinese New Year on January 28th!
Mrs. Grinley's 3rd Grade Class Parmenter "Pepsi Cola"
In 1st-3rd Grade we explored music in the Caribbean and Brazil. We sang in Spanish and Portuguese, danced to "Si, Senor" and learned about the different drums in both regions. Here 3rd grade students are using drums including the bongos and conga which are very popular in Latin America. At the same time, students are exploring their rhythm objective of playing, saying, audiating and identifying different patterns (Macro/micro and Division/Elongation) in triple meter!
Mrs. Kolodny's 1st Grade Class JFK "Who Stole My Chicken and My Hen?"
Here students are singing and identifying the resting tone using boomwhackers! They were a big "hit!":)
Mrs. Coffey/Trockman's K Class JFK "Hope Old Squirrel"
Here students practiced their singing voices and later their audiating voices! Ask your K/1 students if they can sing this song while audiating (singing in their head) different parts like the word "hop!"
Mrs. Logan's K Class Parmenter "5 Fat Turkeys"
K loves playing this fun game while singing "5 Fat Turkeys." A great activity right before Thanksgiving and also lots of great rhyming words!
Mrs. Forde's K Class Parmenter "Alligator Pie"
This is a fun poem or chant I love doing before Thanksgiving as well. We like to sub in Alligator pie for all different kinds of pie! This is also a great way for Kindergarten to explore their objective of using and differentiating between different voices such as singing, speaking, chanting, shouting, whispering and audiating.
3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Chorus
All choirs have been learning or reviewing their chorus objectives. So far we have done...
1. We can sing with the 5 points of posture.
2. We can sing with great breath support!
3. We can sing with diction to make the words clear.
4. We can shape vowels to create a great and unified sound.
5. We can use expression to connect with the music and the audience.
6. We can use a variety of dynamics!
Reminder that concert dates are on their right side of this blog page. These kids are going to sound amazing!
Reminder: JFK 5th Grade Concert Thursday, December 15th! *All fifth graders should be practicing recorder 5x a week for at least ten minutes each time. This is reflected in their participation Report Card grade.
4th Grade Recorders go home in January!
5th Grade Ukuleles are tuned and ready to go!
Parmenter Ukes
JFK Ukes
November Celebrity Singers!
JFK 3rd Grade
Parmenter 3rd Grade
Parmenter 4th Grade
JFK 4th Grade
JFK 5th Grade
December Cultures of the Month
Europe: Romania, Greece, and Russia
Students are going to listen to some Romanian carols, learn some Greek dancing and perform/explore a song from the Russian composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky's famous Nutcracker Suite!
Here is one dance from the Nutcracker we will not be learning!:)
*Thank you to all the families who submitted their cultures and are helping me with their countries' music!
Every month I'm going to be posting pictures of celebrity singers in chorus. I will also be posting the culture of the month for first through third grade. (Thank you for all of your suggestions!) Finally, I'm trying to include more pictures and videos of what goes on in the music room! I teach 33 classes a week (21 JFK and 12 Parmenter) so while I can not capture every class every month, (I would need a personal videographer!) I'll do my best to capture each class before the end of the year. Hopefully, by seeing another class in your child's grade you'll still be able to have a great conversation with your child about what they're doing in music!
Thanks for reading! Mrs. Mac(Murray)
Kindergarten:
This first term students are focusing on two things. 1. Learning that the beat is a steady pulse. (We've been exploring our surroundings and finding the beat everywhere! Our hearts, tools, clocks, music, instruments, our bodies, buses, windshield wipes, swings and so on can all move with a steady pulse!) 2. We can use our voice to shout, speak, whisper, sing, chant, and audiate! (Ask them to show you all the voices we use in music!)
Mr. McCarthy's Class JFK
"Ghostbusters!" Students explored moving the light to the beat.
Mrs. Trottier's Class JFK
"Skin and Bones" Students explored walking to the beat and using their singing voices.
Mrs. Bigos' Class Parmenter
"Pumpkin Patch" Students explored walking to the beat and using their chanting voices.
*See first grade's video for another song we did in Kindergarten!
1st Grade:
In first grade we took a month to review our concepts from kindergarten. We are now focusing on two learning objectives. 1. We can echo patterns in duple meter using syllables. (We are using syllables such as Du (pronounced Doo) and Du de (pronounced Doo day). This is the second step in learning how to become fluent in rhythm.) 2. We can accurately find and sing the resting tone. (The resting tone is one of the most important notes in a song sometimes referred to as "Do" pronounced "Doh".
Mrs. Zarrella's Class Parmenter
"Little Ghosty" Students sang and audiated this song, ending on the resting tone. Students also reviewed "flow" which is moving to the space between the beat.
*See K's videos for some more activities we did in first grade.
*See 2nd grade for a song we did in first grade.
2nd Grade:
In second grade we spent a month reviewing end of the year first grade objectives. This year we are echoing and identifying two different kinds of patterns in duple meter (Macro/micro patterns and Division/Elongation patterns). We are also learning to sing patterns in major tonality using solfege! (Think Sound of Music Do-Re-Mi:)
Mrs. Henault's Class JFK
"Te Ve Orez" Students danced to this Israeli song (Israel is our culture of the month!) and moved to the macro and micro beat in duple meter.
3rd Grade:
In third grade we spent a month reviewing end of the year second grade objectives. This year we are echoing and identifying two different kinds of patterns in triple meter (Macro/micro patterns and Division/Elongation patterns). We are also beinging to not only echo but also improvise our own patterns using solfege in major tonality.
Mrs. Schreiber's Class JFK
"Te Ve Orez" Students danced to this Israeli song (Israel is our culture of the month!) and moved to the macro and micro beat in duple meter.
Mrs. Lussier's Class JFK
"Witch Witch" Students sang patterns in major tonality.
Mrs. Trotin's Class Parmenter
"Zum Gali Gali" Students explored barred instruments and finger cymbals using different patterns in duple meter. This Israeli traditional song was also picked because of our culture of the month, Israel!
4th Grade:
Students in fourth grade spent a month learning the names of the notes on the treble clef staff and reviewing rhythms in duple meter and their names. Just a couple of weeks ago, students received their recorders and are learning how to play the note B without squeaking. Recorders will be coming home in January!
Mrs. Hefler's Class (Parmenter) first time playing B on recorder!
Mrs. Hefler's Class (Parmenter) playing B after some special instruction. (Leaks cause squeaks and blowing too hard.)
Mrs. Merten's Class (JFK) playing our first song, "All Alone" on the recorder.
5th Grade:
We have been so busy catching up on recorder from last year, I'm sorry to say I didn't get any videos! We are reviewing notes from last year and adding some new practices to our bag of tricks! Students are learning how to count rhythms (their middle school teachers will be so impressed!) and we're really focusing on making sure students can read and write their own music in duple and triple meter. I'm happy to say all students learned a mystery song earning their turquoise belt and "Skin and Bones" earning a pumpkin green and orange belt. Right now students should be busy learning "Quest of the Three Kings" which will be played at our concert in December! Remember, recorders should always be in backpacks and every student should be practicing the recorder 5x a week for 10 minutes each time. Can't wait for ukuleles will begin in January! *Practice video and ukulele information is in my previous post. 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Chorus All choirs have been learning or reviewing their chorus objectives. So far we have done... 1. We can sing with the 5 points of posture. 2. We can sing with great breath support! 3. We can sing with diction to make the words clear. 4. We can shape vowels to create a great and unified sound. Reminder that concert dates are on their right side of this blog page. These kids are going to sound amazing!
4th Grade Chorus JFK
Warm Up "Old Abram Brown" Students enjoyed experimenting with different ways to perform this song. All ideas were provided by students!
Here they tried the song again as a 3 part round.
4th Grade Chorus Parmenter Warm up "Old Abram Brown" Students also experimented with different ideas. Unfortunately, due to an iphone storage issue the performance got cut short! However, you still get an idea of what a great group this is!
5th Grade Chorus JFK Warm Up "Ghost of John" This is a new warm up this year that I might be tempted to add to our concert. Once again students decided how to perform this round. Spooky! September and October Celebrity Singers
September JFK 3rd
September 5th JFK
September 4th JFK
October 3rd JFK Ariel moved but we still wanted to celebrate her as one of our celebrity singers!
October 4th JFK
October 3rd JFK
October 5th JFK
September 3rd Parmenter
October 3rd Parmenter
September 4th Parmenter
October 4th Parmenter Culture of the Month! October: Israel This month we danced to Te Ve Orez, sang and played Zum Gali Gali, and thanks to the Nelson family I was able to show students an Israeli instrument called the Shofar. However, I didn't get to show students some popular music from Israel. Here is a new artist Liran Danino with his new single, Harbe Mimrech. He was featured in an Israeli version of American Idol. His new album is predicted to be a big hit! Click here to listen to his hit, Harbe Mimrech!
If you have not already heard, the Franklin Elementary music staff wrote and received a grant from the FEA to start a ukulele program for 5th graders at all of the elementary schools in Franklin! With the grant and generosity of the Franklin Music Boosters we were able to buy enough ukuleles for at least half a class!
Unlike recorders, the ukuleles will have to stay at school. Many parents have been asking about ukuleles as a gift for their child for the holidays!
I thought I would share the ukuleles we purchased to help guide you in getting a ukulele that will be durable and have a great sound!
Ukuleles:
These are the ukuleles we purchased. We received it at a discount because of our large order but you may be able to shop around and find it at a better price. http://www.musicarts.com/Kala-Makala-Soprano-Ukulele-MAIN0113851-i4728379.mac Description from West Music rep below:
For
the classroom, I highly recommend the 303685 Makala (by Kala) MK-S Soprano
Ukulele. It is a traditional wood model that plays really well - with nice
geared tuners and the highly sought after Aquila nylgut strings. The bridge is
set up to have the strings wrapped around and knotted in place, which is the
most reliable and secure for peace of mind. I know that you will be pleased with the
quality and sound of this ukulele! Here is a
link:
The
Makala Dolphin model you mentioned is in the same series. It features a molded
plastic body over a wood top and painted in a variety of bright colors
(black, blue, green, pink, purple, red, white, etc.) and is comparable in
price. These play really well due to the Aquila nylgut strings, metal
frets, and rosewood fretboard and bridge. The tone is not as warm as the MK-S
wood model, but has plenty of volume and projection. These Dolphin models are
extremely durable due to the plastic construction. Here is link for more
info:
Ukulele String Tuner:
I also recommend getting your child a tuner to help them tune their strings. Here is the one we purchased. http://www.musicarts.com/Lanikai-Clip-on-Ukulele-Electronic-Tuner-H71317-i1789759.mac
JFK 5th Grade HW!
Practice 5x a week for 10 minutes
Please make sure you practice the A section of Quest of the Three Kings this week and be ready to play it for me next Friday! Here's a video for when you're ready!
*Reminder, extra copies of music are always left on my counter. It is your responsibility to grab another copy if you lose yours or are absent.
Any student who is taking private lessons came home with a green paper. Feel free to return the green paper to recommend your child's teacher OR just click here!
In the past few years, in an effort to enrich your child’s musical experience, I have created a bulletin board for first, second, and third graders that ties their birthdays to famous composers and musicians. While every year I try to draw music from around the world I hope this year to bring special attention to musicians and styles from different parts of the world. My hope is that in addition to helping them grow as musicians it will also help them grow in their acceptance of people’s differences.
While I hope to present music with as much authenticity as possible, I know I will be learning much of the music alongside your children. I also recognize that within a small region there are many different musical styles. Therefore it will be impossible to represent all regions and styles.
Here is where you come in! If you have any knowledge of music from another part of the world or you would like me to celebrate music from your family's country please take this short survey below to share your idea!
I decided to start with music right here in the USA. Here is a popular blues musician, B.B. King! Born September 16, 1925.
CHORUS and CONCERT DATES
All concert dates can be found on the right side of my blog page under important dates. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
For those of you new to JFK and Parmenter or have students in 3rd grade who are hopefully coming home excited about chorus here is a quick overview! Chorus is a 45 minute block once a week in addition to general music where students come together to sing as a group. My goal is to help students grow as musicians, gain confidence, and have fun! As a special incentive, I pick celebrity singers every week. Find out more below!
Q: What's a celebrity singer?
A: A celebrity singer is a student in chorus that demonstrates great effort, leadership, and focus. They also show great singing technique such as good posture, vowel shapes, pitch, breathing, etc. Sometimes I also pick a student whom I feel has shown great improvement. With the help of the educational assistants and celebrity singers from the previous week, I try to chose one boy and one girl per week. Some weeks I can't help myself and pick more!
Q: Where did this idea come from?
A: I wanted to show students that anyone can join and love chorus and become a singer. It's not just for a certain type of person, everyone was born to sing! I began thinking about celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Beyonce, Matt Damon, Theodore Roosevelt, etc. that were all in chorus when they were younger. Sometimes the best singers are the people you would least expect!
Q: What can I do to help?
A: Never tell your child they can't sing! Also be careful about how you joke about your own singing. We're all born with the right equipment to sing. Some of us unfortunately just never learned how to use it! Anyone can learn to sing!
PRIVATE LESSON REFERRALS
Every year parents ask for recommendations for private teachers for all different instruments. The music department has a running list of well qualified teachers in the Franklin area. However, every year we see incredible talent throughout Franklin and realize there are teachers we are missing. If your child takes or has taken private lesson and you would like your child’s teacher to be recommended, please fill out the below referral or direct your child's teacher to this link. Your child's teacher can also contact me at macmurraym@franklin.k12.ma.us if they would like to be added to the list.
I'm so excited for our new year together! I've been busy this summer planning new activities, playing the ukulele, and setting up my new classroom at JFK! My new room at JFK is rm. 16 off the cafeteria. Looking forward to seeing all of you soon!
Sorry! But this news is too good not to share! The elementary music teachers put in for a FEF grant for next year and we are excited to announce we received the grant! Next year 5th graders will be learning the ukulele! Woo hoo! Looks like I better start planning!
While I'm at it, I'd like to share another really original show n' tell here at Parmenter today! This is the Ototo. What a cool instrument to add to the electric family! Thanks Sawyer for sharing!
What a great year it has been! I was so proud of my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at JFK and Parmenter over the last two weeks! Their concerts really showed all of our hard work! These awesome kids are what makes my job so fun!
Wishing you all a relaxing summer, enjoying your families! Looking forward to seeing everyone again next year!
"Get Up and Dance"
Are you a fan of Jimmy Fallon? Jimmy Fallon and the Roots do a variation of various pop songs with the artist and elementary classroom instruments. I had an extra 5th grade class last week at JFK and the 5th graders in Mrs. Vicente's class and I put this video together in just 30 minutes. We had fun and hope you enjoy it too!
Music Show n' Tell Highlights:
Nigamanth 3rd Grade on the Mrdangam
Elijiah 3rd Grade Electric Guitar
Dylan 3rd Grade Electric Guitar
John 4th Piano and Singing
Musicians of the Month
In the spirit of recognizing rockin' female musicians, I went to see the Dixie Chicks Tuesday night at "Great Woods". What a talented trio!
This final month we will be celebrating women who have paved the way for other women in music. Below are some amazing women. Feel free to comment with more women musicians who you think have made their mark in music. I always love suggestions!
Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Marin Alsop, Amy Beach, Carole King, the list goes on!
Jazz Vocalist and Bassist: Esperanza Spalding and former Musician of the Month, Bobby McFerrin!
Fun in the music room!
I thought I would share some photos I offered to take for Mrs. Maiato of her second grade class. These kids make my job fun!
Snap with me! A 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade favorite! Students sing and move to a jazzy song in minor tonality and triple meter while exploring high, medium, and low space.
My Pony Bill! Once again students are exploring triple meter and minor tonality. I couldn't resist bringing in my friend Bill to liven things up a bit! Students sing the resting tone in minor and then get a turn on Bill. Once they have had their turn they go to the temple blocks to improvise in triple meter. Let's just hope my son doesn't notice his trusty steed missing!:)
Mrs. Mac loves using instruments! I try to use instruments at least once a lesson. To end the year each class is taking a popular nursery rhyme such as "Humpty Dumpty" (What do you know? Triple meter!:) And creating their own ostinati (short repeating rhythm) to accompany the poem and add instruments. It'll be interesting to see what these sound like when we're done!
Special thank you to Rory in 3rd grade and his family for sharing their mandolin! And a big thank you to Mr. Lee for joining myself and the 3rd graders at chorus Friday to play it for us! We really enjoyed learning about this unique string instrument!
Parmenter 5th Grade Chorus auditions are next Monday! Looking forward to hearing you all!
JFK 5th Grade Proud To Be and American solo auditions will be the week of May 9th. Some videos to help practice with can be found here PTB Audition PlaylistBest of luck to all!
What a week! On Tuesday, I traveled with my Parmenter 5th graders and Thursday I traveled with my JFK 3rd and 5th graders to Providence, RI to sing, listen, and play recorders with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra! This year the theme was The Orchestra Moves! We got to see professional musicians, singers, conductor, actors, and even some local dancers! To show our school spirit we all wore our Parmenter and JFK colors! Every adult on the field trip was so impressed at how respectful our students were.
Thank you so much to the Parmenter and JFK PCC that helped make this field trip possible! Looking forward to next year, The Orchestra Rocks! Here are some pictures and videos of this amazing performance!
Also, Bravo to all my JFK 5th graders today as they performed their final 5th grade chorus and recorder concert! Next up, Proud to Be An American show!
