Vocal warmup- Slide whistle warm up with solos.
Echo Song- No More Pie!
Simple song- Frog in the Meadow-Today the children sang with me then without me as a group. Great job children!
Arioso- I demonstrated the difference between a speaking voice and singing voice...,i.e.,"I speak like this", "I sing like this"
Pitch Activity-See April 22nd.
Movement Exploration- I told the class I had an imaginary box and inside that box were many tiny elves. To warm up our bodies for movement activities we placed the tiny elf on our elbow. We gave the elf a tour of the classroom, switching elbows in the middle of the activity, some of us even imagined that we fed our elf a snack of a chocolate chip cookie! :) We also balanced the elf on our noses, shoulder, hip, toe...Background music: "Peer Gynt Suite, Anitra's Dance by Edvard Grieg"
Fingerplay-
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (bounce fists on thighs)
One named Jack (Thumbs up with right hand)
The other named Jill (Thumbs up with left hand)
Fly away Jack (Left hand behind back)
Fly away Jill (Right hand behind back)
Come back Jack (Bring left out)
Come back Jill (Bring right hand out)
At the Piano-The Woodpecker by Marilyn Lowe. To help your child play this at home on piano or keyboard:
First have them raise there arms in the air and drop them loosely, letting them swing. Ask "Can you feel the weight of your arms? Are they a bit heavy?"
Sit at the piano. Have them make two loose fists. Gently bounce right fist 4 times in the air. Without pause, gently bounce left fist 4 times in the air, repeat. Using the worksheet I sent home as a guide, find the groups of 3 black keys. Gently knock right fists 4 times on the black keys, gently knock left fists 4 times on the black keys, repeat. Hope this makes sense. :) If you have any questions parents feel free to call or email me!
We will begin to play many pieces from Music Moves for Piano, a wonderful curriculum by Marilyn Lowe, which builds on the suzuki method, kodaly, eurhythmics among others. It is also based on Edwin Gordon's theories of audiation and focuses on helping students to learn music as an aural art-"sound before sight".
Dance- Today we performed the a movement activity to "Walz in A flat by Johannes Brahms". See April 29th.
Song Tale- "Little Bird" as sung by Elizabeth Mitchell . The children took turns picking out which bird they wanted to sing about next, and making the bird call they imagined it might make!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Do Re Music Notes April 29th
Vocal warmup- Slide whistle warm up-Today each student got a chance to perform a glissando solo!
Echo Song- No More Pie!
Simple song- Frog in the Meadow-Today I had the group sing along with me and what do you know? They all knew the song and joined in with great enthusiasm and excellent pitch! :)
Arioso- Today I demonstrated the difference between a speaking voice and singing voice...,i.e.,"I speak like this", "I sing like this"
Pitch Activity-See April 22nd
Movement Exploration- To warm up our bodies for movement activities we did the Bubble activity again, this time, with music "Carnival of the Animals, Aquarium by Saint Saens" The children are pros at this one now but it is still as fun as ever. :)
Fingerplay-
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (bounce fists on thighs)
One named Jack (Thumbs up with right hand)
The other named Jill (Thumbs up with left hand)
Fly away Jack (Left hand behind back)
Fly away Jill (Right hand behind back)
Come back Jack (Bring left out)
Come back Jill (Bring right hand out)
At the Piano- Black Key's Discovery- See April 22nd.
Dance- Today we performed the a movement activity to "Walz in A flat by Johannes Brahms". These choreographed dance movements are from John M Feierabend and Peggy Lyman's Move It! curriculum which is a collection of expressive choreography to classical music. This piece had a calming effect on the class.
Song Tale- "I Had a Little Rooster"
Echo Song- No More Pie!
Simple song- Frog in the Meadow-Today I had the group sing along with me and what do you know? They all knew the song and joined in with great enthusiasm and excellent pitch! :)
Arioso- Today I demonstrated the difference between a speaking voice and singing voice...,i.e.,"I speak like this", "I sing like this"
Pitch Activity-See April 22nd
Movement Exploration- To warm up our bodies for movement activities we did the Bubble activity again, this time, with music "Carnival of the Animals, Aquarium by Saint Saens" The children are pros at this one now but it is still as fun as ever. :)
Fingerplay-
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (bounce fists on thighs)
One named Jack (Thumbs up with right hand)
The other named Jill (Thumbs up with left hand)
Fly away Jack (Left hand behind back)
Fly away Jill (Right hand behind back)
Come back Jack (Bring left out)
Come back Jill (Bring right hand out)
At the Piano- Black Key's Discovery- See April 22nd.
Dance- Today we performed the a movement activity to "Walz in A flat by Johannes Brahms". These choreographed dance movements are from John M Feierabend and Peggy Lyman's Move It! curriculum which is a collection of expressive choreography to classical music. This piece had a calming effect on the class.
Song Tale- "I Had a Little Rooster"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Do Re Music Notes April 22nd
Many of today's activities were a repeat of last week's. It is important for young children to encounter lots of repetition of songs at this stage. Following is an outline what we did...
Vocal Warmup:See April 15th.
Pitch Activity:Today I sang "Leaves are Falling": a short, simple song in a minor key. I invited the children to sing along on the syllable "ba". Short songs without words in different keys helps develop a sense of pitch awareness.
Echo Song:See April 15th."No More Pie" The students really enjoy this one, today they even began to predict which line of the song was coming next. Some of the students suggested that we change the words of the song a little, instead of singing "I think I'll take a car" one student suggested a bike! Being earth day we changed the words to bike. We're all trying to do our part. ;)
Simple Song: "Frog in the Meadow"-same as last week. For the next few weeks I will sing this song solo and have the children do the stirring motion with me. This listening activity will lead into each student singing the simple song by his/herself.
Arioso:See April 15th. What is Arioso? Well, for our class it means: singing your words. Singing a sentance, singing a conversation, singing a poem are some examples. We do this through improvisation of a melody.
Movement Exploration: See April 15th. This time we performed the motions without recorded music. The students were almost completely silent throughout the entire activity!
At the Piano:Today we learned about the groups of "three black keys". We improvised on the three black keys in triple meter aka waltz beat ( 1-2-3, 1-2-3) The children took turns playing and danced to the music while they were waiting for their turn.
Song Tale:Today we read Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton. This is a hilarious book! We also danced to the recording. To listen and download this song click here.
Vocal Warmup:See April 15th.
Pitch Activity:Today I sang "Leaves are Falling": a short, simple song in a minor key. I invited the children to sing along on the syllable "ba". Short songs without words in different keys helps develop a sense of pitch awareness.
Echo Song:See April 15th."No More Pie" The students really enjoy this one, today they even began to predict which line of the song was coming next. Some of the students suggested that we change the words of the song a little, instead of singing "I think I'll take a car" one student suggested a bike! Being earth day we changed the words to bike. We're all trying to do our part. ;)
Simple Song: "Frog in the Meadow"-same as last week. For the next few weeks I will sing this song solo and have the children do the stirring motion with me. This listening activity will lead into each student singing the simple song by his/herself.
Arioso:See April 15th. What is Arioso? Well, for our class it means: singing your words. Singing a sentance, singing a conversation, singing a poem are some examples. We do this through improvisation of a melody.
Movement Exploration: See April 15th. This time we performed the motions without recorded music. The students were almost completely silent throughout the entire activity!
At the Piano:Today we learned about the groups of "three black keys". We improvised on the three black keys in triple meter aka waltz beat ( 1-2-3, 1-2-3) The children took turns playing and danced to the music while they were waiting for their turn.
Song Tale:Today we read Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton. This is a hilarious book! We also danced to the recording. To listen and download this song click here.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Do Re Music Notes April 15th
Today's lesson was from First Steps in Music, a wonderful book by John Feierabend. First Steps in Music is a curriculum based on classic folk songs, chants and tunes. The children really had a blast today and I think that stands testament to the fact that not everything has to be new and modern. It's important that we do not forget about all the great music that has been handed down to us by the music makers of long ago...
Vocal warmup- To warm up our voices for class I played a slide whistle and the children imitated the sound it made.
Echo Song- The children echoed me as we sang the song. Oh my! (Oh my!) No more pie! (No more pie!)
Simple song- For the next few lessons I will be teaching the children a simple song using Do Re and Mi. This month's song is Frog in the Meadow.(Frog in the meadow, can't get him out, take a little stick and stir him about)
Arioso- These are tunes that the children create! Just as children develop a repertoire of words and are able to create original sentences, the children will be invited each class to make up original tunes and songs. Today I introduced this concept by demonstrating the difference between my speaking voice and my singing voice. Eg."I talk like this", and "I sing like this".
Movement Exploration-Today I pretended to have a bottle of bubbles and a bubble wand. I blew imaginary bubbles out to the group. Each child allowed a bubble to land in the palm of his or her hand. As we listened to "Carnival of the Animals, Aquarium" by Saint Saens we pretended to lift the bubble in the air as high as we could, watch it fall, quickly catch the bubble before it touched the ground. Using an imaginary straw we blew the bubble so large we could step inside it. We painted the inside of the bubble. At the end of the activity our bubble became smaller and smaller until it fit into the palm of our hand again. When the music was over, we popped the bubble!
Fingerplay-
Chop chop chippity chop (with one hand tap on the floor in front of you)
Cut off the bottom and cut off the top (continue tapping)
What there is left (scoop up chopped vegetables with both hands)
We'll put in the pot (place vegetables in the pot in middle of circle)
Chop chop chippity chop (resume tapping)
Beat Motions- As I played the hand drum I sang this song. "Listen , listen, here I come, Someone special gets the drum." Each child took turns drumming to the beat of the song.
Song Tale- I sang the song "I Had a Little Rooster". Children chimed in when they knew the lyrics. This is a really fun sort of alternate version of "Old MacDonald"
Vocal warmup- To warm up our voices for class I played a slide whistle and the children imitated the sound it made.
Echo Song- The children echoed me as we sang the song. Oh my! (Oh my!) No more pie! (No more pie!)
Simple song- For the next few lessons I will be teaching the children a simple song using Do Re and Mi. This month's song is Frog in the Meadow.(Frog in the meadow, can't get him out, take a little stick and stir him about)
Arioso- These are tunes that the children create! Just as children develop a repertoire of words and are able to create original sentences, the children will be invited each class to make up original tunes and songs. Today I introduced this concept by demonstrating the difference between my speaking voice and my singing voice. Eg."I talk like this", and "I sing like this".
Movement Exploration-Today I pretended to have a bottle of bubbles and a bubble wand. I blew imaginary bubbles out to the group. Each child allowed a bubble to land in the palm of his or her hand. As we listened to "Carnival of the Animals, Aquarium" by Saint Saens we pretended to lift the bubble in the air as high as we could, watch it fall, quickly catch the bubble before it touched the ground. Using an imaginary straw we blew the bubble so large we could step inside it. We painted the inside of the bubble. At the end of the activity our bubble became smaller and smaller until it fit into the palm of our hand again. When the music was over, we popped the bubble!
Fingerplay-
Chop chop chippity chop (with one hand tap on the floor in front of you)
Cut off the bottom and cut off the top (continue tapping)
What there is left (scoop up chopped vegetables with both hands)
We'll put in the pot (place vegetables in the pot in middle of circle)
Chop chop chippity chop (resume tapping)
Beat Motions- As I played the hand drum I sang this song. "Listen , listen, here I come, Someone special gets the drum." Each child took turns drumming to the beat of the song.
Song Tale- I sang the song "I Had a Little Rooster". Children chimed in when they knew the lyrics. This is a really fun sort of alternate version of "Old MacDonald"
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