Musical Learning in January

Kindergarten students began the new year with a new instrument – the xylophone!  After experimenting with fingers and mallets, each class used this new sound to retell Robert Munsch’s book Up, Up, Down.  Every time Anna climbed up, we played a slow ascending scale and her inevitable fall was marked by a descending glissando, followed by a loud “Ouch!” on the drum!  Students also learned about the steady beat during our building project, in which we accompanied our poems with other percussion instruments. 

Grade One students deepened their understanding of ta (one sound on a beat) and ti ti (two sounds on a beat) in their Winter Song.  After blowing like snowflakes on the wind around the circle, partners landed behind a short rhythmic phrase which they used to improvise a melody.  Then we compared these rhythm with the beat by marking the beat of the old classic The Ants Go Marching One by One. 

In response to their inquiry work in the homeroom classrooms, Grade Two students put their heads together to create some music about the building of Alberta’s railway.  We gathered their ideas into a sung chorus which alternated with commentary about different community’s response to the train.  Then we layered in an instrumental accompaniment inspired by the sound of the wheels passing by.  After all that work, students explored a different period of Alberta history by retelling the book The Drumheller Dinosaur Dance with drama, dance and instruments.

 

Grade Three students also learned a new instrument in January – the melodic chimes.  Each musician played a single note of a chord to accompany the sung chorus of the book The Snowy Day.  Then they exchanged their chime for another percussion instrument to create a soundscape to retell the story.  Each class had the opportunity to perform for a class of Kindergarten students – who were of course thoroughly impressed by the big kids and their awesome musical skills!