March Highlights and much more!

March Celebrity Singers!

Parmenter 3rd

Parmenter 4th

JFK 4th

JFK 3rd

JFK 5th

March Highlights!

4th Grade Mrs. Murphy's Class Parmenter

Purple Belt - "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"

4th Grade Mrs. Consilvio's Class Parmenter

Purple Belt - "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"

Despite all the sickness the last few weeks at JFK and Parmenter, students are still moving ahead with recorder karate! I can't believe in just a few short months how far they've come! We're aiming for all black belts and I can't believe how many students are already there! Make sure you don't miss our June concert where we will perform all of our recorder songs for you! 

Parmenter 4th Grade Chorus

Sneak Preview - "Take Me Out the the Ballgame" Go Sox!

JFK 5th Chorus 

"Snaps" warm up 

JFK 4th Chorus

"Why Are You Milking My Cow?"

Check out the expression!

JFK 3rd Grade Chorus 

"Many Mumbling Mice" warm up

Same warm up but adding solfege Sol-Mi-Do

Mrs. Grinley's Class 3rd Parmenter

"Leprechaun" Game

Students practiced their solfege in minor tonality while having a little St. Patrick's Day fun! This lesson was also used in 1st and 2nd grade but differentiated to meet the students' skill level and grade level objectives.

Mrs. Lussier's Class 3rd JFK

"Leprechaun" Game

Students practiced their solfege in minor tonality while having a little St. Patrick's Day fun! This lesson was also used in 1st and 2nd grade but differentiated to meet the students' skill level and grade objectives.

March Culture - Ireland

Students had a blast listening, dancing, playing instruments and learning about music from Ireland. The last week of March, I showed students this video so they could see Irish Step Dancing. Many of you are probably familiar with the show "Riverdance". I promised students I would share. They were mesmerized! Enjoy!

April Culture of the Month

India!

We have so many amazing families at JFK and Parmenter who are from or have family from India. Please feel free to share any music or videos of musicians or your children performing music from India!

We're starting the month with two very famous Indian musicians, Ravi and Anoushka Shakar. Did you know Ravi Shankar taught George Harrison from the Beatles how to play the sitar? Did you know that Norah Jones is also Ravi Shankar's daughter? Looking forward to exploring even more this month!

Check out the video with Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones! 

Music Happenings in Franklin!

Summer Musical Theater Camp with Mrs. Mac! (see below) Also, on the same website check out Star Wars with Mr. Mac and many other cool offerings! 

The music department is excited to announce two upcoming performances great for all ages. 

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is a musical that tells the story of a young, peasant girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy and is sent on a journey by the gods to test the strength of love against the power of death. This high energy show with a cast of 35 talented high school students is colorful and musical and fun for the whole family.  

FHS presents the musical

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND 

April 7 & 8 at 7:00

Tickets $10 at the door

Thanks to a grant from the Franklin Cultural Council and the Franklin Music Boosters, we will be hosting the Brian Thomas/Alex Lee Clark Big Band as an artist in residence. This professional big band will work with both middle and high school jazz students and perform on Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. There is no charge for this concert, however $5 donations are accepted and greatly appreciated.

4th Grade Recorder Extra Help Video

Hi Everyone!

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!

Enjoy! Mrs. Mac

February Highlights!

 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!

Music Room Update!

What we've been up to in music!

Mrs. A. Williams' 4th Grade Class JFK

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!

2017 JFK 5th Grade Chorus Pop Song Finalists!

Dear JFK 5th graders,

       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!

                                                                        Sincerely, 

                                                                                 Mrs. Mac

JFK 5th Pop Songs 2017

Check out December in Music!

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! 

Listen to a Chinese Orchestra here!

November Music and December Cultures of the Month!

November Music!

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!