MUSIC
It has been an honor getting to know the 3rd and 4th graders in music class! We have spent the first few weeks of September doing name game “mixers” in order to facilitate us all getting acquainted with one another. We are exploring movement, playing instruments, singing and generally speaking, bringing forth joy! We have even danced with a parachute as an ice-breaker and the kids loved it and asked for more (always a good sign!). The children in this class have beautiful, strong singing voices and I look forward to working more and more with guiding and developing these voices.
We are diving straight into Halloween material in preparation for the October 27th night time event that takes place at Orchard School. We are entertaining the idea of performing a simple piece for our Orchard School community! The 4th graders have been working on a spooky (and silly!) piece called “Knock,Knock.” Children are learning to hear the difference between a minor key and major key.The kids have learned the vocals to the song and are choosing to learn either the melody or the accompaniment on Orff instruments (the barred xylophones and metallophones). Those that are choosing to play accompaniment are creating their own “borduns” (repetitive patterns) that fit into 4 beat measures. Students choosing to learn the melody are picking it out by ear, translating the vocal melody onto the Orff instruments. Their findings are then reinforced by written out music that they can then study. We are about to sing "Ghost of John" which will lead us into exploring some round singing! We will then create an arrangement on the Orff instruments that will accompany the vocals.
We are also learning Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance. The students in this class are very confident and eager movers and I am so excited about this! Movement is a big part of what we do in music class. Movement is an extension of music, as it is phrasing, counting, and expression embodied.
I am looking forward to the kids continuing to explore their singing voices, composing, dancing and doing a lot of work with the Orff instruments this year. Please come and visit our class anytime you’d like! We always welcome visitors.
Elemental music is never just music. It's bound up with movement, dance and speech, and so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener but as a co-performer. --Carl Orff