4th Grade Music News
December 2019/ January 2020
The fourth graders have been doing amazing work practicing the recorder repertoire for the Link Up concert at Carnegie Hall. Some songs we've enjoyed are "I've Got Rhythm," "Duke's Place," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "Come to Play." Please see the following link for a digital copy of the student workbook and other information about the program.
https://www.carnegiehall.org/en/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Swings
November 2019
This month, we began practicing the recorder music that we will play at an interactive concert at Carnegie Hall. The theme of the concert is "The Orchestra Swings." The first song we learned is called "Duke's Place." The fourth graders did a great job practicing the music in centers. You can find out more about the program here: https://www.carnegiehall.org/en/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Swings
After Halloween, we also loved dramatizing the "scary" story of, The Strange Visitor by adding a simple recorder melody, percussion instruments, and acting.
The fourth graders have been doing amazing work practicing the recorder repertoire for the Link Up concert at Carnegie Hall. Some songs we've enjoyed are "I've Got Rhythm," "Duke's Place," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "Come to Play." Please see the following link for a digital copy of the student workbook and other information about the program.
https://www.carnegiehall.org/en/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Swings
November 2019
This month, we began practicing the recorder music that we will play at an interactive concert at Carnegie Hall. The theme of the concert is "The Orchestra Swings." The first song we learned is called "Duke's Place." The fourth graders did a great job practicing the music in centers. You can find out more about the program here: https://www.carnegiehall.org/en/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Swings
After Halloween, we also loved dramatizing the "scary" story of, The Strange Visitor by adding a simple recorder melody, percussion instruments, and acting.
October 2019
This month, we enjoyed practicing “The Purple People Eater” song for the Halloween Parade. We also reviewed reading notes on the treble clef staff and applying this knowledge by playing the song, “Best Day of My Life,” on xylophones. We had a blast trying out the ukuleles by learning how to hold and strum the instrument, playing along with the song, “Rollin’ on the River” and accompanying ourselves while we sang “Best Day of My Life.”
This month, we enjoyed practicing “The Purple People Eater” song for the Halloween Parade. We also reviewed reading notes on the treble clef staff and applying this knowledge by playing the song, “Best Day of My Life,” on xylophones. We had a blast trying out the ukuleles by learning how to hold and strum the instrument, playing along with the song, “Rollin’ on the River” and accompanying ourselves while we sang “Best Day of My Life.”
September 2019
We are reviewing rhythmic notation, reading quarter notes, paired eighth notes, quarter rests, and half notes through a variety of games and songs, such as "Button You Must Wander," and "quiz-quiz-trade."
We also enjoyed performing the folk dance, "Sasha," as a mixer for the beginning of the school year (you can find a similar version to what we did in the youtube link above) and singing the song, "Count on Me."
We are reviewing rhythmic notation, reading quarter notes, paired eighth notes, quarter rests, and half notes through a variety of games and songs, such as "Button You Must Wander," and "quiz-quiz-trade."
We also enjoyed performing the folk dance, "Sasha," as a mixer for the beginning of the school year (you can find a similar version to what we did in the youtube link above) and singing the song, "Count on Me."
March and April, 2019
Ukuleles- We are enjoying learning how to play the ukuleles. Students are reading tablature, playing such as "Smoke on the Water," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
Carnegie Hall Link Up Curriculum-
"Cidade Maravilhosa"- We sang this song in Portugese and danced a basic samba step.
"Toreador"- We sang this tune from the opera, Carmen. We added our own dynamic markings to the song and discussed how dynamics (the volume of the music) can affect its expressive quality.
Ukuleles- We are enjoying learning how to play the ukuleles. Students are reading tablature, playing such as "Smoke on the Water," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
Carnegie Hall Link Up Curriculum-
"Cidade Maravilhosa"- We sang this song in Portugese and danced a basic samba step.
"Toreador"- We sang this tune from the opera, Carmen. We added our own dynamic markings to the song and discussed how dynamics (the volume of the music) can affect its expressive quality.
February 2019
On 2/4, we watched a concert at our school, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. We will continue to practice the songs on the recorder from Carnegie Hall's Link Up curriculum, such as "The Blue Danube."
On 2/4, we watched a concert at our school, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. We will continue to practice the songs on the recorder from Carnegie Hall's Link Up curriculum, such as "The Blue Danube."
January 2019
We sang a song called "The Dream of Martin Luther King." We created rhythm patterns to accompany the song and played along with the song on the recorders. Then, we self-critiqued our performance and adjusted it accordingly.
Once there was a gentle man who talked about the promised land.
He reached out and took the troubles of his people in his strong hands.
He had a dream that everybody got to hear the bells of freedom ring.
Now the people shout and sing about the dream of Martin Luther King,
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
He was a man who knew peace.
He found a faith in belief
He preached that violence was wrong
He knew the fight would be long.
Oh the dream,
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
We sang a song called "The Dream of Martin Luther King." We created rhythm patterns to accompany the song and played along with the song on the recorders. Then, we self-critiqued our performance and adjusted it accordingly.
Once there was a gentle man who talked about the promised land.
He reached out and took the troubles of his people in his strong hands.
He had a dream that everybody got to hear the bells of freedom ring.
Now the people shout and sing about the dream of Martin Luther King,
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
He was a man who knew peace.
He found a faith in belief
He preached that violence was wrong
He knew the fight would be long.
Oh the dream,
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Oh, the dream.
The dream of Martin Luther King.
Sing about the dream of Martin Luther King.
|
|
November, 2018
Carnegie Hall, Link Up Curriculum:
On May 23rd, we will attend an interactive concert at Carnegie Hall. We are getting ready for it by learning the repertoire we will hear and play.
Come To Play: This is the introductory song to the concert. We are practicing Part 2. We sang it and played it on the recorder.
The Blue Danube: We had fun singing the song and practicing the "waltz step" (step-tip-toe).
Instruments of the Orchestra: We used descriptive words to characterize the sounds of the instruments in the orchestra. We learned about some unfamiliar instruments, such as the oboe and bassoon.
Carnegie Hall, Link Up Curriculum:
On May 23rd, we will attend an interactive concert at Carnegie Hall. We are getting ready for it by learning the repertoire we will hear and play.
Come To Play: This is the introductory song to the concert. We are practicing Part 2. We sang it and played it on the recorder.
The Blue Danube: We had fun singing the song and practicing the "waltz step" (step-tip-toe).
Instruments of the Orchestra: We used descriptive words to characterize the sounds of the instruments in the orchestra. We learned about some unfamiliar instruments, such as the oboe and bassoon.
October, 2018
On November 13th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center will perform a concert at our school, similar to last year. Feel free to listen to this spotify playlist containing the music we will hear:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bnQCBYTgz8yCLrgAaI1BQ
To get ready for the concert, we read the book, If I Only Had a Horn, about Louis Armstrong's childhood.
In October, students also worked in groups to compose rhythm patterns to play on the recorder to accompany the song, "The Monster Mash."
On November 13th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center will perform a concert at our school, similar to last year. Feel free to listen to this spotify playlist containing the music we will hear:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bnQCBYTgz8yCLrgAaI1BQ
To get ready for the concert, we read the book, If I Only Had a Horn, about Louis Armstrong's childhood.
In October, students also worked in groups to compose rhythm patterns to play on the recorder to accompany the song, "The Monster Mash."
|
|
10/6/18
On November 13th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center will perform a concert at our school, similar to last year. We will start learning about the music they will perform this month. With your student, have fun listening to this spotify playlist of some of the music we might hear:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bnQCBYTgz8yCLrgAaI1BQ
Here is what we have worked on during the first month of school:
Singing: We LOVED starting the year by singing the song, "Count on Me." The fourth graders did a great job discussing the message of the song and meaning behind the lyrics.
Folk Dancing: We had a blast performing a "mixer" folk dance called "Sasha," where students practiced working with various partners.
Recorders: We reviewed the notes, G and A, by playing a simple accompaniment to the song, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Jimmy Cliff.
On November 13th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center will perform a concert at our school, similar to last year. We will start learning about the music they will perform this month. With your student, have fun listening to this spotify playlist of some of the music we might hear:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bnQCBYTgz8yCLrgAaI1BQ
Here is what we have worked on during the first month of school:
Singing: We LOVED starting the year by singing the song, "Count on Me." The fourth graders did a great job discussing the message of the song and meaning behind the lyrics.
Folk Dancing: We had a blast performing a "mixer" folk dance called "Sasha," where students practiced working with various partners.
Recorders: We reviewed the notes, G and A, by playing a simple accompaniment to the song, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Jimmy Cliff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3/15/18
Instruments: This month, we have really enjoyed singing and dancing to "Funga Alafia," a greeting song from Western Africa. We also accompanied the song on xylophones and glockenspiels. Students had to work on their ensemble skills in order to be able to hear each instrumental part and stay together as a group.
Music Literacy: We reviewed the notes of the treble clef staff through a kinesthetic game in which I taped lines on the floor, representing the lines of the staff. While I sang a song, "Engine Engine Number Nine," the leader of each group improvised a creative way to walk down the lines corresponding to specific notes.
3/15/18
Instruments: This month, we have really enjoyed singing and dancing to "Funga Alafia," a greeting song from Western Africa. We also accompanied the song on xylophones and glockenspiels. Students had to work on their ensemble skills in order to be able to hear each instrumental part and stay together as a group.
Music Literacy: We reviewed the notes of the treble clef staff through a kinesthetic game in which I taped lines on the floor, representing the lines of the staff. While I sang a song, "Engine Engine Number Nine," the leader of each group improvised a creative way to walk down the lines corresponding to specific notes.
Jazz for Young People Curriculum:
On January 31st, musicians for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Educational Outreach Program will perform a concert at our school. We have been learning about Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and comparing different renditions of the songs we will hear at the concert, such as “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Take the A Train.”
Ukuleles:
With partners, we created a Jazz Lick (a short melody) to play on the ukulele. Students performed their “licks” for the class and received peer feedback on the following criteria:
- played with a swinging rhythm
-created a melody that is simple and easy to play.
-pressed hard on the strings in the fret spaces to produce a clear tone.
On January 31st, musicians for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Educational Outreach Program will perform a concert at our school. We have been learning about Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and comparing different renditions of the songs we will hear at the concert, such as “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Take the A Train.”
Ukuleles:
With partners, we created a Jazz Lick (a short melody) to play on the ukulele. Students performed their “licks” for the class and received peer feedback on the following criteria:
- played with a swinging rhythm
-created a melody that is simple and easy to play.
-pressed hard on the strings in the fret spaces to produce a clear tone.
12/8/17
We are learning how to play the Ukulele!
Students are reading tablature and practicing songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle," "Smoke on the Water," and "Jingle Bells" with partners.
Students are reading tablature and practicing songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle," "Smoke on the Water," and "Jingle Bells" with partners.
11/2/17
|
|
11/2/17
On November 8th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Educational Outreach program will perform the first of three concerts at Peck Slip. We are getting ready to be educated audience members. Two important ideas in jazz that we experienced were Swing at The Blues.
Swing is the basic rhythmic attitude of jazz--"the groove that makes it move." We listened to "It Don't Mean a Thing if it 'Ain't Got that Swing" by Duke Ellington. Then, students worked in groups to perform the rhythms from the poem, “Boom Chicka Boom” on percussion instruments of their choice. The rhythm of these words match the swing rhythms a jazz drummer might play. (Activity taken from Now’s the Time: Teaching Jazz to All Ages by Doug Goodkin)
I said boom chick a rocka chick a rocka chick a boom (hi hat)
I said boom chick a boom chick a boom chick a boom chick (ride cymbal)
I said boom chick a rocka chick a rocka chick a boom (bass drum)
Next, we learned about The Blues. We listened to "The Backwater Blues" by Bessie Smith, and discovered its AAB lyric form--very common in blues music. We had fun creating our own blues lyrics in AAB form and performing them for the class. Here is an example created by fourth graders:
A: Homework is annoying for us.
A: Homework is annoying for us.
B. If we forget, then we have to do it on the bus.
I am looking forward to the concert!
10/9/17
We are off to a wonderful start in music class. Each student was given the opportunity to experience playing all of the instruments offered in our band program (flute, alto sax, clarinet, trombone, trumpet) at our Instrument Petting Zoo on September 26th and 27th.
Here are the skills we have worked on in this month during our weekly music class:
Treble Clef:
Students are able to identify both, line and space notes, on the treble clef staff. We use the pneumonic device, "Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday" to figure out the names of line notes, and "FACE in the space" to identify the space notes. We discussed how the treble clef is also called the "G Clef" and practiced using it to locate the note, "G."
Recorder:
We are playing songs with the notes A, B, and C such as "Star Light Star Bright."
Rhythm:
We are reading rhythms with quarter notes, paired eighth notes, quarter rests, and whole notes!
On November 8th, musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Educational Outreach program will perform the first of three concerts at Peck Slip. We are getting ready to be educated audience members. Two important ideas in jazz that we experienced were Swing at The Blues.
Swing is the basic rhythmic attitude of jazz--"the groove that makes it move." We listened to "It Don't Mean a Thing if it 'Ain't Got that Swing" by Duke Ellington. Then, students worked in groups to perform the rhythms from the poem, “Boom Chicka Boom” on percussion instruments of their choice. The rhythm of these words match the swing rhythms a jazz drummer might play. (Activity taken from Now’s the Time: Teaching Jazz to All Ages by Doug Goodkin)
I said boom chick a rocka chick a rocka chick a boom (hi hat)
I said boom chick a boom chick a boom chick a boom chick (ride cymbal)
I said boom chick a rocka chick a rocka chick a boom (bass drum)
Next, we learned about The Blues. We listened to "The Backwater Blues" by Bessie Smith, and discovered its AAB lyric form--very common in blues music. We had fun creating our own blues lyrics in AAB form and performing them for the class. Here is an example created by fourth graders:
A: Homework is annoying for us.
A: Homework is annoying for us.
B. If we forget, then we have to do it on the bus.
I am looking forward to the concert!
10/9/17
We are off to a wonderful start in music class. Each student was given the opportunity to experience playing all of the instruments offered in our band program (flute, alto sax, clarinet, trombone, trumpet) at our Instrument Petting Zoo on September 26th and 27th.
Here are the skills we have worked on in this month during our weekly music class:
Treble Clef:
Students are able to identify both, line and space notes, on the treble clef staff. We use the pneumonic device, "Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday" to figure out the names of line notes, and "FACE in the space" to identify the space notes. We discussed how the treble clef is also called the "G Clef" and practiced using it to locate the note, "G."
Recorder:
We are playing songs with the notes A, B, and C such as "Star Light Star Bright."
Rhythm:
We are reading rhythms with quarter notes, paired eighth notes, quarter rests, and whole notes!