Our journey continues...

Grade 1 students continue to explore a number of nursery rhymes which are based on sol and mi.  By adding non-pitched instruments and creative movement, students are bringing the nursery rhymes to life.  Grade 2 students' Musical Storytelling takes us to the east coast where the Acadians inhabited.  They are learning a number of songs from the Atlantic provinces and will be learning some songs in French.  

Grade 3 students continue to deepen their understanding and experience of "galloping time" vs. "marching time" by conducting the music in two-beat patterns.  They are also experiencing how a song can switch from marching time to galloping time part way through the piece.  While Grade 3 students focus on the study of "rhythm", Grade 4 students continue their inquiry on "texture", with a focus on performing different textures.  Using "Alberta" as the unifying theme, students will learn songs connected to the indigenous culture.

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Amanda Knuppel,

our student teacher who will be

working with different music classes.  

Music Inquiry

Through the singing of nursery rhymes, Grade 1 students continue to explore what makes one song sound the same as another.  So far, they have noticed that if songs have the same melodic contour and the same rhythm, they sound the same.

Grade 2 students continue their journey of Musical Storytelling.  They realized that opera is a form of musical storytelling in which the story is sung throughout.  They made the connection between the opera Hannaraptor, presented by the Calgary Opera, and some of the questions they had asked about musical storytelling.

By exploring "marching" music vs. "galloping" music, Grade 3 students expanded their collection of "musical legos".  They will soon be using these musical rhythmic blocks to create their own piece of music.

Grade 4 students continue their inquiry on "texture."  They listened to a piece of music called Scheherazade through which students were able to develop a basic understanding of "texture" or the "fabric" in music.  They will continue to develop the vocabulary necessary to describe what musical textures are.

Calgary Opera - Hannaraptor

On Tuesday, March 6, Calgary Opera will be bringing Hannaraptor to Elboya School.  In preparation for that, students from Grades 1 - 4 have been learning a little bit about opera.  Here is an interactive site that will be helpful:

http://classicalkusc.org/kids/opera/

By walking through this interactive site, no only will students listen to parts of Hansel and Gretel, a famous opera, they will also learn the ABC's of opera.

Enjoy!

Music Inquiry - our ongoing journey

As part of their inquiry, Grade 1 students have been examining the musical language called solfège.  Up to this point, they have discovered that in order for two songs to sound the same, they must have the same melodic contour and the same rhythmic pattern. Grade 2 students have enjoyed their inquiry, Storytelling through Music.  They brought to life stories about the Inuit way of living through singing, instrumental playing and movement.  Through this project, they learned two-part playing on barred instruments.

Using the song I Don't Know Why the Sky is Blue as an inspiration, Grade 3 students took their instrumental playing techniques to the next level as they explored a different musical meter through performing.  Grade 4 students explored multi-voiced texture through the performance of Song For Thunder.  They are beginning to learn how to notate the instrumental parts on five-line staff.

Music Inquiry

This poster captures well what I would like to accomplish over the next few months in music.  

Over the next little while, each grade will engage in a different music inquiry.  Some classes have started; others have yet to begin their journey: 

Grade 1 students are intrigued by the fact that many songs “sound the same.” They will explore the different shaping forces in music with a focus on the concept of “melody” in songs. 

Grade 2 students have begun their journey on  Storytelling through Music.  The first musical story they are telling has a curriculum connection to the Grade 2 Social  Studies curriculum.  They are currently learning songs that describe the Inuit community.

Grade 3 students will focus on Music and Structure, i.e. how to use rhythmic patterns has basic building blocks to create their own composition.  They have begun collecting various rhythmic patterns from the songs they have learned.

Grade 4 students will focus on developing an understanding of the concept of “texture” through singing and instrumental playing.  What does "texture" mean in music?

Music and Movement

Music has just as much to do with movement and body

as it does soul and intellect.  

~ Esa-Pekka Salonen

Finnish Musician

This week, students focused on the relationship between movement and music.  While Grade 1 and 2 students focused on responding to the mood of music through movements, Grade 3 and 4 students used movement as a way to represent their understanding of musical forms.  

The quote above sums up so beautifully what we hope to accomplish through these activities:

In order for students to respond appropriately to the mood of a piece of music, they actually have to analyze the music:  the tempo, the musical range, the articulation, the dynamics, etc. 

In order for students to represent their understanding of musical forms through movement, they actually have to analyze the phrase structure.  Students have to ask themselves:  are the phrases the same, similar or different?  How can one show these through movements?  

All of these have to do with the soul and the intellect.

Winter Celebration

Thank you to those who attended our Winter Celebration.  We had over 400 people in the audience.  I hope that gave you a small idea as to what our Elementary Music Program looks like!

Festival of Lights

This year, our Winter Celebration is entitled Festival of Lights.  Students from Kindergarten to Grade 4 have been working hard to put this celebration of learning together.  The Grade 3/4 choir will also be performing.  We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, December 14!

The Creative Process

The creative process is at the heart of my music program for two reasons:  (1)  through this process, students take greater ownership of their learning; (2)  during this process, students have to be able to make connection between one concept and another; hence, deepen their understanding. 

The starting point of the creative process for Grade 1 students is language.  By making a connection between monosyllabic words and the concept of "beat", students created their first rhythmic patterns.  Grade 2 students demonstrated their understanding of the natural rhythm of the English language and the musical language by re-writing the words for a chant entitled Canon for Canada.  Grade 3 and 4 students created some basic patterns by using a variety of note values.  They will be using these as basic building blocks to create musical phrases and larger musical structures.

Come On, Let's Celebrate

Students have started working on the songs for our Winter Celebration.  As we take on a multi-cultural approach to our celebration this year, you will hear a range of performances, including singing and instrumental playing.  Stay tuned for more information and updates!

The Sound of Music

Where do we find music?  Why do so many children's songs sound similar?  These are some of the questions Grade 1 students are exploring.  By comparing a number of familiar songs, they discover that many songs have similar melodic framework.  Grade 2 students are learning songs about the Northern Lights, which has a curriculum tie to the Social Studies curriculum.  Grade 3 and 4 students continue to work with rhythmic patterns using 16th notes.

Solfège Town

The term, solfège, will become a familiar term for our budding musicians as we continue to explore the musical language through singing and instrumental playing.  Solfège allows us to vocalize pitches.  Grade 1 and 2 students have been introduced to two members of the solfège language, sol and mi.  They noticed that these two pitches form the backbone of many songs that they have learned up to this point.  In addition to this, they explored the concept of beat.  Grade 3 students have been introduced to the pentatonic through singing and now through solfège.  Grade 4 students continue to consolidate their knowledge of 16th notes, or ticka-ticka and rhythmic patterns based on a combination of 16th notes and 8th notes (ti-ticka or ticka-ti.)

November, November

By now, students have experienced, in various degrees, what it means to be a performer, a listener and a composer of music.  Grade 1 and 2 students listened to In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg.  While Grade 1 students focused on responding to the music through free movement, Grade 2 students explored story-telling through music.  Grade 3 students took the first step in learning how to notate the rhythm of a familiar song by finding the beat and sub-dividing it.  Grade 4 students continued to consolidate their instrumental skills on barred instruments, i.e. xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels.