Music is Everywhere

While we may associate music with the orchestra or the choir, concert halls or churches, music is actually found everywhere.  And...musical instruments are also found everywhere.

Grade 1 students has been focusing on "body percussions", i.e. using our body to create percussive effects such as snap, clap, pat and stomp.  Don't under-estimate the expressive power of body percussion.  Did you know that Steve Reich, a minimalist composer, wrote a work called Clapping Music, which features nothing other than "clapping?"  Grade 2 students are exploring different vocal qualities (i.e. speaking voice, singing voice, stage voice and whispering voice), non-pitched instruments (i.e wood, metal, membrane and shake-and-scrape families).  They also try to vary the dynamic levels when performing.  Grade 3 students are being introduced to the three different types of barred instruments ---- xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels while Grade 4 students had their first experience of performing a multi-voiced texture on barred instruments.