SEPTEMBER MUSIC
Just a sample of the things we've been working on....!
Kindergarten - Learning to clap, tap, rap the steady beat, listening for loud/soft, high/low, counting
in 4/4 time, and learning the school song. We do lots of call and response, echo songs, nursery
rhyme songs, and music and movement songs. We also have been exploring how many beats
(syllables) are in our names. We broke out the rhythm sticks this week! So far, I think the everyone's
favorites are "Chay Chay Koolay," "The Freeze," and "Sammy."
For those of you who don't know the school song....
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, bless this school named after you, fill our hearts with love of learning, fill
our days with fun and friends. We are growing strong together, with our teachers guiding us. We are
looking towards the future working hard to make it bright.
In Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades, we've been discussing "where does sound come from?" and
exploring different ways instruments use vibration to make sound -- including our vocal chords!
In grades 1-4, we've been studying rhythm patterns using rhythm boxes (AKA "beat boxes") -
students create their own rhythms using quarter notes and eighth notes and rests, and then share
them with the class. We've also been doing the hand jive!
1st Grade: In September, we focus on the steady beat and melodic rhythm. In "Hello Everybody," and
"You're A Grand Old Flag," we show the steady beat by clapping, tapping, and marching to the music.
We're identifying and comparing whispering, talking, calling, and singing voices, and loud vs. soft
dynamics in music with the songs, "Peanut Butter," and "Goin' to the Zoo." Next week we'll learn the
Italian music symbols and words for loud, soft, and medium: Forte, Piano, and Mezzo! We've also
begun exploring pitch - high vs. low in "See-saw, Margery Daw," and "They Were Tall."
2nd Grade: Sounds are all around us! On the first day of music we listened to city sounds and talked
about the beats we hear on the streets. We learned some City Echo Rhythms that had long and short
sound patterns. In the echo song, "Hello There," we tapped and sang the steady beat. We sang
about our country and listened for the high and low pitches in "America." We learned the term
OCTAVE and took turns playing high to low octaves on the orff instruments we have in class, to "Old
King Glory." We listened to "The Aviary," from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens
and reminisced of the spring program from a few years back when we performed the many songs
from the Carnival of the Animals. Did you know that even trains have rhythm? In our "Sounds of
Trains" unit, we sang train-themed songs while finding high pitches and low pitches, counting the
beats, and taking a journey while listening to "The Little Train of the Caipira," from Bachianas
Brasileiras, No. 2, by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Can you hear the whistle blowing and the steam being let
off?
The weather has inspired us to explore the rhythm of the rain! The pitch goes high and low in "Rain,
Rain, Go Away," and in the poem "Happiness" (John is Ready when it rains), there are sounds and
silences. Students were able to pick out short beats (eighth notes), long beats (quarter notes), and
silences (rests).
3rd: September's Theme: American Music... Beat, Strong Beat, and Melodic Rhythm in "You're a
Grand Old Flag." Finding patterns with long and short notes in "Long Legged Sailor." Identifying
melodic direction...ascending and descending pitches in "Old Blue," and "Oh, Susanna." Discussing
how music can suggest stories and listening for changes in tempo and dynamics to recognize
sections..."Desert Water Hole," from Death Valley Suite by Ferde Grofe'. Everyone scored well on the
Unit Review - yay! And we performed our American Songs on the stage for the PK students who
were getting their pictures taken in Casey Hall!
Terms: tempo, dynamics, pitch, fermata, ABA form,
4th and 5th: We've been discussing and singing the song "What Would the World be Like Without
Music." Students wrote short stories, essays, or poems expressing their feelings about music:
Alex Villasenor
M magical
U unique
S soothing
I irresistible
C classical
Ola Borysiewicz
Music, oh music. The notes you can see, the notes that it forms, how wonderful they can be. When
your fingers strike the keys, they make a sound, a pretty sound, that goes all around. so think of the
future, how the future would be, if music did not surround you and me.
Taylor Simon
Music, the beat of the drums. Drums, the rhythm of the piano. Piano, the strings of the guitar.
Guitar, they strum with the beat of the drum, the rhythm of sound, the tempo of the piano, the
strings of the guitar.
4th grade- We've been reviewing quarter notes and half notes, whole notes and eighth notes. We've
also reviewing instrument families, focusing particularly on the Woodwinds Family. Do you know why
these instruments are called woodwinds? Then last week we started recorders --- we labeled the
parts of the recorder and discussed proper use. We've learned our first 3 notes...B, A, and G. Next
week we'll learn our first song!
5th grade - Beautiful sounds are coming out of our 5th graders... we're beginning part-singing!
We've been creating harmony by singing a countermelody in the songs "Roll On, Columbia," and
"This Land is Your Land," - both songs by Woodie Guthrie. We've also been learning some facts
about Woodie (Woodrow Wilson) Guthrie and his influences in folk music, but he is best known about
his songs about this country. Wherever he went, he wrote songs about the people, the geography,
and the region.
