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. 

Autumn...

From nursery rhythms to poems, from songs to instrumental works, Autumn has been one of the inspirations for many composers and authors.  Grade 1 students created a soundscape using the non-pitched instruments.  Using their imagination, they tried to capture the sounds from nature by using some basic instruments such as the wood, metal, shake-and-scrape and membrane families.  Grade 2 students interpreted the songs through "free movement."  Grade 3 students explored different dynamic levels and various mallet techniques on the barred instruments so as to achieve a range of effects.  Grade 4 students performed their rendition of the nursery rhythm Intery mintery cutery corn on barred instruments.  All of the songs and poems center around Autumn.

Towards Music Literacy

In the book The Child as Musician, Gary McPherson describes music literacy as a result of children "having developed their capacity of make music; reflect on the music in which they are engaged; express their views on music which they play, hear or create, speak about, and listen to in order to form judgments; and read, write comprehend, and interpret staff notation."

During the past few lessons, Grade 1 and 2 students were introduced to a new language called "solfège."  They also develop the competency to listen attentively to the melodic contour and to compare like/unlike/similar phrases.  Over the past week, I was impressed with how Grade 1 students identified songs that sound similar and how Grade 2 students made a connection between music and music, i.e. identifying patterns in songs.

Grade 3 students took on the challenge to perform three-voiced texture.  Through this task, they worked on developing a sense of "inner hearing."  Grade 4 students focused on reading "ticka-ticka's" (i.e. 16th notes.)  All of these skills and competencies form an integral part of what constitutes "music literacy."

At the Heart of Music-making

In the Program of Studies, we find a statement which captures very well what I strive to accomplish in my music program: The sense of meaning in music can be developed by the students as performer, listener/evaluator/consumer/historian and composer.

Building on what they have learned about "high" vs. "low" pitch, Grade 1 students notated "high" and "low" pitches on a two-line staff notation.  The task engages young budding musicians as "active listeners" during which they must analyze whether one pitch is higher or lower than the other before notating the music.  Grade 2 students applied what they have learned about the four families of non-pitched instruments ---- wood, metal, membrane and "shake and scrape" ---- to tell the story Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The task gives Grade 2 students a taste of what it is like to think and work like a composer as they make decisions around what instruments and how to use them to best represent the different characters in the story.

Performance is an important part of any music program and making music in the company of fellow musicians takes our "intentional listening" to a different level.  On that note, Grade 3 students started to explore the barred instruments and learned various mallet techniques while Grade 4 students continued to build on their ensemble experience by performing multi-voiced texture.  The experience of "performing" is extended to our extra-curricular activity during which Grade 3 and 4 students enjoy some choral singing.  Our first practice took place on Tuesday and we had quite a turnout!

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.  

Making a Joyful Noise!

Grade 3 and 4 students, are you interested in making some joyful noise with me over the lunch hour on Tuesdays?  For details, please read the choir notice that has gone home.  If you are interested in joining the choir, please sign and return the tear-off slip to Ms. Ling.  See you at the first practice on Tuesday, October 3!

Sing, Move, and Play

Language and music are inseparable and it is on this belief that I build my music program.  During the second week of learning, Grade 1 and 2 students focused on the concepts of loud and soft, high and low pitch as well as exploring different vocal qualities.  Grade 3 students tapped into their imagination by designing creative movement and soundscape based on two poems, namely, The Wind Song by Lillian Moore and Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rosetti.  Grade 4 students explored, for the first time, xylophones and basic mallet techniques.

First Week of School

I was completely thrilled about my first week of music class and I hope your child felt the same way. Through singing and movement, children experienced some basic music concepts at an age-appropriate way.

Here are some of our highlights so far:
Grade 1 and 2 students focused on experiencing body percussion and listening for beats vs. rests. Grade 3 students began working on the creation of a "soundscape" by using non-pitched instruments (e.g. wood, metal, membrane and shake/scrape instruments).  Grade 4 students had an African experience as they sang and moved to the song Funga Alafia accompanied by the djembe.

Welcome to Music!

My name is Ms. Ling and I will be teaching music to the students in Grades 1 to 4 at Elboya School this year.  I am thrilled about the opportunity to make some "joyful noise" together with the students.  

"The true beauty of music is that it connects people.  It carries a message, and, we, the musicians, are the messengers."

~ Roy Ayers

Music is a unique and powerful language.  As children make music, they develop self-awareness and express themselves in many different ways.  This year, Grade 1 to 4 students will have the opportunity to enjoy and gain an insight into music through exploring, improvising, and performing while combining elements of speech, rhythm, movement, dance, and song. They are active participants in a process which allows for differing musical abilities.