This week for Elementary Music, we are starting on Recorders. For our next class, we are to compose 8 bars of a simple melody using only C. B. A. and G.
It’s easy and fun for elementary students!
Grumpy Bird
For this weeks assignment “Lessons Based on Books” I have picked a children’s book by Jeremy Tankard titled “Grumpy Bird”. Moral of the story, if you are ever angry, there is always something that can put you in a better mood.
SINGING: “5 Little Birds”
LISTENING: “Cukoo in the Woods” by Saint-Saens
INSTRUMENTS: Keyboards/Recorders
CREATE: Drawings of the grump bird and the different animals that the grump bird encounters
RHYTHM/MOVEMENT: Walk around the class in a steady tempo. Using some emotions that depict what the Grumpy Bird is doing.
Listening! (In the Elementary Music Classroom)
For this weeks assignment, I have chosen “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” from The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. This selection is short and sweet. 🙂 It is a great piece to listen to around the holidays.
Here is a LINK to the YouTube video taken from Fantasia (1940). This video will give the students a great visual representation.
Coloring Page
Steps:
- We will listen to the recording all the way through
- I will hand out coloring page and color pencils/markers
- The students will use their own imagination and use whatever colors they think represents the song.
- Ask students questions
- what instruments do they hear
- Any dynamics?
- what is their favorite part about this song?
- Play the recording until everyone is finished coloring
- Hang up on wall for parents/teachers to see 🙂
Observation @Sequoyah Elementary
On September 19th, me and a few other students in our class went to observe Mrs. Curlins kindergarten music class. What I loved about this is that she has such high energy all of the time and keeps a smile on her face even when a student is misbehaving. I hope I get to observe in her classroom again in the near future! 🙂
Writing a Song! (For the elementary classroom)
For this weeks assignment we were to create our own song to teach elementary students. It should be easy and fun to listen to. The short song I wrote is simply called “Writing a Song”. It is based around the key of C. Enjoy! 🙂
Viva la Vida — Coldplay
One of my favorite pop tunes when I was younger was Viva la Vida by Coldplay. This tune is is fun and makes you want to get up and jump around! The chord changes are fairly simple to teach in an elementary classroom. Here is a LINK to the actual music video that was published in 2008. Below you will find the lyrics and chords to follow! I hope you enjoy!
D E A F#m (C#m)
(C#m is only to be used for the end of the chorus)
I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listened as the crowd would sing,
“Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you’d gone there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn’t believe what I’d become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?
I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know St. Peter won’t call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh [5x]
Hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know St. Peter won’t call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Sound before Sign
Today, I will be teaching the class the song we all knew as a child called “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. The reason I choose this children’s song is because it has a simple melody that elementary students can learn by sound and sight. Also, it is a great way to get the students out of their seats to participate in a fun exercise. Here is a LINK to a short video that demonstrates the song. The video will break down the song further but I will not go that far unless we have time. Below you will find the lyrics to this nursery rhyme. Enjoy! 🙂
Head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes)
Head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes)
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head and Shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes)
Concert Poster/ Recording devices
Along with tonight’s blog post, I am going to talk about recording devices. With today’s world, we have smartphones, digital handheld recorders, and programs/apps for editing and sharing the different types of recordings.
For an in-class recording, low to medium quality, I would use: Any type of smart phone. They are not all ways the best type of recording, but, it’s good for anything that you want to quickly record.
Approximate cost?.. Range of cost can go from $300-$1000. It really just depends what type of phone you get.
Other items I will need: If I were to use an actual recorder to record my ensembles, I would need a tripod to hold the recorder high enough above the ensemble so that I can get everything recorded.
Unfortunately, this is my last blog post for the semester. Hopefully I will be back sometime soon!
Have a great summer!
LTD
NEWSLETTERS
Tonight in class, we made our first newsletter. We made up a fictional school and fictional dates. Having a newsletter for parents and students is great for reminding them about upcoming events or performances. Here is a screenshot of my first newsletter!
I hope you enjoy!
Video Conferencing
In our class last week, we were able to explore applications used for video conferencing and telecommunication. There are a few examples that anyone can use: Zoom, FaceTime (Apple), and Skype.
I have used FaceTime and Skype before and I would prefer to use either of those.
Tonight, we explored Zoom. There was a small time lag between me and Jessica. The sound quality was decent. The only real problem I had while using Zoom was the time lag. Which, that would be an easy fix if we had better cell service.
Telecommunication is a great tool for interviews, student internships, private lessons, video conference calls. I would definitely encourage any parent, student, or teacher to use these applications for communication.
Until next time
LTD
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