Musical Learning in March

Kindergarten students spent the month of March in the company of stinky, grumpy trolls.  We first met the Troll in the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, in which students represented quiet, medium and loud sounds with their voices, bodies and instruments.  Then we tried to cross the bridge like the goats.  At first the Troll said we could not cross but when we asked nicely with our singing voices, he agreed.  We discovered that the Troll actually enjoys beautiful sounds and movements, so students waved scarves and improvised rhythms on instruments as they danced across the bridge.

Grade One students have continued to deepen their understanding of the melodic notes So and Mi by composing and performing short melodies for their peers to transcribe.  It has been exciting to hear students begin to justify their choice of notes to their partners, describing the rise and fall of the melodic contour or recognizing repeated sections.  Then, to balance off this academic work, students have also been slowly transforming into bunnies to retell the story Muncha, Muncha, Muncha, in which students are challenged to face the conflict between humans and the wildlife in our communities as rabbits repeatedly forage in the Greamly family’s garden. 

In Grade Two, students have been exploring Edward Grieg’s orchestral piece, In the Hall of the Mountain King.  We listened to the music over and over again, analyzing it through a different lens each time.  The concepts of beat, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and form all contributed to the students’ appreciation of the final performance, in which they enjoyed the folk story represented by the composition and were able to play along with the orchestra as they listened.  Ask your student how the story ended – did the little boy Peer escape or was he captured by the Mountain King?

Grade Three students began composing and performing with the melodic note Re this month, first practicing it in the song So Mi Re Do on a Sunday Morning and then creating their own melodies to share with their peers.  Then they played around with the traditional song My Aunt Came Back, and created movements and then rhythmic instrumental patterns to perform as contrasting sections to the chorus.  It was a lot of fun to watch the students’ creative compositions unfold, and it was even better to witness their pride in sharing their work with their classmates!

Musical Learning in February

This month, our Kindergarten students went looking for one friend, then two friends, and then three as they sang together.  Once the friends had found each other, they then played the beat (the steady pulse in music) on a shared drum, checking to make sure they were playing at the same time as the others who shared their drum.  We also explored different sounds that we could make with just our voices – what a wonderful cacophony of noises we made!  Students then transferred this diversity to start differentiating between our speaking, whispering, shouting and singing voices.  This turned out to be a very important skill when we met “Teddy Bear”, who loves to do trick but only understands a “Singing Voice”. 

Grade One students celebrated chickens this month. First, they played the poem “What Can a Hen Do?”, in which teams took turns representing the rhythm of the text on the djembe, cymbals, spoons and wood blocks. Then they reinforced their sense of steady beat as they sang a version of the old folk song “Chicken on the Fence Post”. And, as no chicken project is complete without a chicken dance, the students learned to move with their first ostinato (a repeating rhythmic pattern – in chicken language of course!)

The Grade Two students filled the music room with delicious pizza!  Students had their first opportunity to compose in a small group, putting together the ingredients of the perfect pie.  They then used the rhythmic structure of this short composition to improvise a melody on the xylophone.  Between each team’s pizza order, the class sang “Rico’s Pizza Restaurant” accompanied by an ostinato (repeating pattern) on the xylophone.  As we prepared our “food” in this project, students developed that essential musical skill of listening to each other and working as a team, even when performing music in two parts!

This month, the Grade Three classes have each worked on their own miniature project, marching, chanting, singing, as well as playing the melodic chimes, xylophones, tambourines, djembes, spoons and bells.   Each group’s piece tells one element of the traditional Indian story of “Muna and the Grain of Rice”, which are looking forward to sharing at the Grade Three Celebration of Learning.  Look for further information from your child’s homeroom teacher!