YEE-HAW!!!!!

    In 2nd-5th grade we learned about songs of cowboys and the Wild West.  There is a rich history of music and melodies that come from the time of cowboys moving cattle along the dusty trail.  In second grade we learned two songs, "Lone Star Trail," and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe."  When learning about "Ragtime Cowboy Joe," we discussed what the genre of ragtime was watched several videos of player pianos and ragtime music.

Maple Leaf Rag

Player piano playing "The Entertainer."

    Third grade learned two cowboys songs named, "Railroad Corral," and "Texas Cowboy."  4th and 5th also learned cowboy songs and talked about Will Rogers and his rope tricks. Ask your child what their favorite cowboy song was. 

From High to Low and Low to High

    In first grade we learn about pitch and how it can move from high to low and low to high. I often use songs to teach different musical ideas and knowledge. I used a song about a frog called, "The Little Green Frog," to teach about pitches that go from low to high. We then learned a song called "Leaves" to learn about songs that have pitches that go from high to low.  First grade did a wonderful job singing and moving to these newly learned songs.

The Little Green Frog

Leaves

Fifty-Nifty

    Can you name all 50 states?  Can you name them in alphabetical order?  That is something that the song, "The Fifty Nifty United States," helps our 3rd-5th graders learn.  It seems like a very daunting song but they learn it very quickly and it becomes one of their favorite songs to sing.  Below is a video of the song.

    The composer of this song may come as a surprise but the Georgia native, Ray Charles,  We talked about who Ray Charles is and some of his big hits.  Hopefully this song will help our kids know the names of our states and hopefully next our capitals. 

Drumming in Music

Drumming In Music

   Last year the wonderful CFES PTO came to me and asked if there was something I would like for my classroom.  I told them that I would love to have a classroom set of djembes and they made it happen.  

   We are already using them in our classes and below you can see a short video of 5th grade using them along withe song, "Haida."  

   It's going to be a great year in music. I am going to try very hard to keep my blog updated this year with what is happening in music class. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me. 

TIMBER!!!!! No, I said timbre.

    Timbre is likely the most common mispronounced word in  music vocabulary.  Timbre is pronounced tam-bur.  Timbre is the unique quality or tone colors of sound.  In other words, it's how you know the difference between talking to your Mom or Dad on the phone.  Even though you can't see them you can tell by the timbre of their voice who they are.  In fourth and fifth grade class we listened to several different styles of singing from all over the world and describe their timbre.  We came up with a list of words that we could use to describe these different timbres.  A few of our description words were:

High

Low

Rough

Smooth

Dark

Bright

Nasally

Loud

Soft

Warm 

Big

Small

Straight

Vibrato

Harsh

Shouting

    The singing selections that we listened to were not what the students were used to hearing and we talked about how we had to listen with mature ears.  Our first selection came from the European country, Bulgaria.  One quality of Bulgarian vocal music is harmony created by singing notes very close together, producing a special ringing sound.  The students used the words high, full, complex, and straight to describe the timbre.  Click the link below to watch a video of the singing.

Click to hear the Bulgarian Women's Choir.

    Tuvian Throat singing is a style of singing that has been in existence for thousands of years.  Men from Tuva will sing in a choomej technique that originated in Mongolia.  They will change the inside shape of their mouths to make the higher and lower pitches sounds.  Students thought this style was by far the most different sounding singing technique.  They described the timbre as, high pitch, rough, loud, and unique. Watch the video below to listen and see this throat singing technique.

  Click to hear the Tuvan Throat Singing

    We listened to several other styles such as Native American Powwow singing, opera singing, and traditional choral music.  The kids really enjoyed listening to all the different timbres of the world. 

    

Ms. Mary Mack-Mack-Mack!

    Who doesn't remember learning and playing a few clapping games with your friends at recess?  In 2nd grade this week the students learned, "Ms. Mary Mack."  The Ms. Mary Mack clapping pattern is very simple it goes like this:

1. Cross your arms, hands on shoulders.

2. Pat your thighs

3. Clap your hands.

4. Clap your partner's right hand.

5. Clap your hands.

6. Clap your partner's left hand. 

7. Clap your hands.

8. Clap both of your partner's hands.

Repeat

    "Ms. Mary Mack," went great with our music vocabulary word tempo.  Tempo is how fast or slow the music is or the speed of the music. With each verse we sang, our singing and clapping would grow faster or faster. Which brings us to our next vocabulary word, accelerando.  Accelerando means that the tempo grows faster and faster.  Give "Ms. Mary Mack" a try.  

Lets Do the Twist! The Peppermint Twist!

Third grade got its twist on this week by learning about the "Peppermint Twist."  We started to talk about the style of rock and roll and its origins.  They were all surprised that this is what was considered rock and roll in the 1950s and 60s.  The "Peppermint Twist," is the lesser known twist dance.  Chubby Checker's (the kids loved that name)  is the much more famous and well known of the twists dances.  In 1961 Joey Dee and the Starliters had a hit with the "Peppermint Twist."  You can watch them perform the hit below.

Our kids had a great time learning the dance and song.