Greetings from the MUSIC ROOM! :>)
Lots of exciting things are planned this year for music class. To keep you abreast of what’s going on, “Notes From The Music Room” will be sent out at least once a month.
The National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
We will be addressing the above list of Music Education standards through a variety of activities and lessons:
ACTIVITY/TOPIC STANDARDS ENCOMPASSED
MUSIC GAMES 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
MUSIC VIDEOs
Instructional 2, 3, 8, 9
Performance 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
MUSIC HISTORY 6, 7, 8, 9
MUSIC APPRECIATION 6, 7, 8, 9
INSTRUMENT PLAYING 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
PERFORMANCE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
The songs that students will be learning to sing and play are chosen based on the following criteria:
1) they are among the all-time classics of their genre, and
2) their chord structure is excellently suited for the students to be able to create their own accompaniments on xylophones, autoharps, and recorders (as opposed to just singing along with a CD.)
So far, grades K-3 are involved in the hands-on experience of learning how to play the recorder (a member of the flute family.) They have also recently seen and discussed the animated short feature "Peter and the Wolf" - an iconic example of the inter-relationship between the three art forms of music, story-telling, and animation.
If you like, you can engage your child in a review of the characters, their names, and the orchestral instruments that represent the appearance of each character.
If you like, you can engage your child in a review of the characters, their names, and the orchestral instruments that represent the appearance of each character.
KEY: character name instrument
Boy Peter String quartet
Grandfather Grandpapa Bassoon
Bird Sasha Flute
Duck Sonya Oboe
Cat Ivan Clarinet
Wolf - French Horn
Hunters - Kettle Drums
Grades 4 & 5 have completed both an overview of the plans for this year and a three-session hands-on lesson in how to play the Chinese violin, the "Er-hu." Next, they will learn how to play the clarinet.
"OPEN MUSIC"
This year the music room continues to be available for any interested 4th and 5th graders to come during their lunch recess period. So far, eighty-five students (38%) have taken advantage of this extra opportunity to explore/learn/ practice (averaging about 33 students per day.)
As you can see, there is a lot going on in the music room. Please invite your child to talk with you about the exciting things happening in music class.
