A student requested the audio music for silver belt or Take Me Out to the Ballgame to practice with at home so I made this extra help video! It can also be found under important links on the right side of my blog page. Perfect for opening day for the Red Sox which is less than two weeks away!
February 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Chorus Celebrity Singers!
JFK 5th Grade
JFK 4th Grade
JFK 3rd Grade
Parmenter 4th Grade
Parmenter 3rd Grade
More highlights from February!
4th Grade Chorus Parmenter - sneak peek!
"Turn the World Around"
Here we are just beginning to add two part harmony to this fun Jamaican song!
K Mrs. Forde's Class Parmenter
"Valentine Rap"
This was so cute, I just had to share! Kindergarten reviewed their chanting voice and made the connection that rapping is really the same thing as chanting! Students also tried to move on the macro beat which is a key concept in K!
JFK 5th Grade Chorus
Vocal perc/Beat Boxing warm up
This is a great work out for the diaphragm and brings me back to my collegiate a cappella days!:)
GOALS JFK
"The Sled"
This is a great song to explore beat, form, phrasing, etc. I use it in K-3. This was the first day trying out our smaller parachute in GOALS!
Parmenter 3rd Grade Chorus
"Try Everything"
Here is a sneak peek at our spring concert song! I think this is going to be a show stopper!
March Culture of the Month!
Ireland
This month we will be doing our own Irish jig while also exploring some authentic Irish instruments. I love showing the below video because it highlights some of the instruments I bring in! Enjoy!
4th graders at JFK and Parmenter are off to a great start on the recorder! Check out our first song! "Hot Cross Buns"
Mrs. Wilmarth's 2nd Grade Class JFK
Students are working on building their rhythmic vocabulary and independence in triple meter. Here students created two ostinati (short repeating rhythms) to accompany a silly poem/chant.
"Hickory Dickory Dare"
Mrs. Wilmarth's 2nd Grade Class JFK
Notice in this version students are playing the ostinati on instruments while saying the words in their head. We call this audiating!
JFK 5th Grade Chorus "It's Possible"
Last year I was able to perform this with my Parmenter 5th graders but wasn't able to fit it in at JFK! Really looking forward to this piece from Seussical the Musical. Here's a little sneak peek! Reminder that all concert dates are on this blog under Important Dates.
JANUARY CELEBRITY SINGERS!
4th Grade JFK
3rd Grade JFK
5th Grade JFK
3rd Grade Parmenter
4th Grade Parmenter
February Culture of the Month!
AUSTRALIA
Here are some sneak peeks at what we'll be listening to in music!
Special thanks to the Teng family for letting me borrow some authentic Chinese items! I thought I took a picture but must have deleted it! Sorry!
Also, students asked me to share this video of a Chinese Lion Dance. Enjoy!
Thank you to all who submitted pop songs! You can click on the link below to listen to 5 songs selected by your fellow fifth graders. The link will bring you to my Youtube playlist. These were the five songs I thought were the most appropriate for you vocally and in terms of words/subject. On Friday, in general music, you will vote for your favorite pop song to sing in your final JFK chorus concert! Looking forward to seeing what you pick!
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!
