Spring has finally sprung! March and April are almost done, and summertime has yet to come!
March's Composer of the Month, Amy Cheney Beach, was born in Henniker, NH in 1867. She was one of the first woman to achieve recognition as a composer in the United States. Although she was very successful as a concert pianist, and showed much promise as a composer in her late teens, her marriage to a well known physician in 1885 limited her musical development. After her husband's death in 1910, she resumed touring as a concert pianist, and composed many works for voice, piano, and orchestra. She wrote almost 300 pieces of music, virtually all of which were published and performed during her lifetime. She traveled back and forth between Germany and New York until she died in 1944.
April's Composer of the Month is Claude Debussy. Debussy was born in France in 1862, and he lived there until his death in 1918. Debussy entered the famous Paris Conservatory at the age of 10, and studied music there for the next 11 years. He won the Prix de Rome for a cantata, and wrote a large number of very popular art songs that are widely performed today, in addition to many other works for various instruments and ensembles. Debussy is considered an Impressionistic composer, and was heavily influenced by the gamelan music of Java. (The gamelan ensemble was also one of the inspirations for our Orff instruments...)
And specifically in each grade....
Kindergarten: The Kindergarten classes have been enjoying our World Music unit, learning songs, games, and dances from India, Ghana, Japan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Ireland. This unit will continue into May, and covers topics such as instrument families-specifically percussion instruments, form and patterns in music, very basic science of sound, storytelling in music, and cultural connections between music, dance, and folklore. Some of the video clips we have sampled are on this youtube playlist. Ask your Kindergartener to do the "Fisherman's Dance!" (They may call it the "Doh-koh-show" dance.)
First Grade: The first graders have learned a new note-La, and are practicing their "La, Sol, Mi" hand signs, sightreading melodies using these notes, and practicing reading and writing them on the correct lines and spaces of the staff. They are also continuing to practice reading and writing rhythms, and are discussing the tempo, dynamics, and instruments of familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music. We are also learning about Form in music through folk dancing. "Chimes of Dunkirk" is a new favorite (our version is slightly different).
Second Grade: The second grade classes have learned a new note, as well; Re, which is in between Do and Mi. They have learned (and will continue to learn) a number of games and songs with 5 notes (Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La) and will be playing these patterns on instruments by reading the music, and improvising new melodies. They have also been discovering how the timbre of each instrument in the classroom produces different effects and how each instruments' timbre is more appropriate for some songs and parts than others.
Third Grade: In third grade, we have been practicing sixteenth notes and are just starting a unit on meter. The third graders were interested to find that "meter" in music is very much like "meter" in math and science! The third grade classes also finished a project with the books Cloud Dance and Water Dance by Thomas Locker. They identified all the verbs in each book, and created movement and pictures to go with them. They then worked in groups to create movement and music to accompany each page of the book, taking into consideration instrument timbre, ensemble-work, descriptive movement, and composition of melodies and rhythms. We are continuing with the "earth" theme and singing "This Pretty Planet" in a 3 part round, and doing some instrument work with "Windy Day."
Fourth Grade: The fourth graders are feverishly preparing for their upcoming concert. Each class has been working on an instrumental piece, and although it has been difficult to put all the many parts together, they are really starting to come together as an ensemble. They have also been creating movement to go with the instrumental pieces, based on games or activities they like to do during recess. Given the melody, length of the music, and the elements of movement that we studied previously, the class was divided into 2 groups and given 2 class periods to create a "performance-ready" movement piece. There are some really creative dances to look forward to! Don't forget to visit the 4th grade chorus section of this site to download the practice tracks for the chorus music.
March's Composer of the Month, Amy Cheney Beach, was born in Henniker, NH in 1867. She was one of the first woman to achieve recognition as a composer in the United States. Although she was very successful as a concert pianist, and showed much promise as a composer in her late teens, her marriage to a well known physician in 1885 limited her musical development. After her husband's death in 1910, she resumed touring as a concert pianist, and composed many works for voice, piano, and orchestra. She wrote almost 300 pieces of music, virtually all of which were published and performed during her lifetime. She traveled back and forth between Germany and New York until she died in 1944.
April's Composer of the Month is Claude Debussy. Debussy was born in France in 1862, and he lived there until his death in 1918. Debussy entered the famous Paris Conservatory at the age of 10, and studied music there for the next 11 years. He won the Prix de Rome for a cantata, and wrote a large number of very popular art songs that are widely performed today, in addition to many other works for various instruments and ensembles. Debussy is considered an Impressionistic composer, and was heavily influenced by the gamelan music of Java. (The gamelan ensemble was also one of the inspirations for our Orff instruments...)
And specifically in each grade....
Kindergarten: The Kindergarten classes have been enjoying our World Music unit, learning songs, games, and dances from India, Ghana, Japan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Ireland. This unit will continue into May, and covers topics such as instrument families-specifically percussion instruments, form and patterns in music, very basic science of sound, storytelling in music, and cultural connections between music, dance, and folklore. Some of the video clips we have sampled are on this youtube playlist. Ask your Kindergartener to do the "Fisherman's Dance!" (They may call it the "Doh-koh-show" dance.)
First Grade: The first graders have learned a new note-La, and are practicing their "La, Sol, Mi" hand signs, sightreading melodies using these notes, and practicing reading and writing them on the correct lines and spaces of the staff. They are also continuing to practice reading and writing rhythms, and are discussing the tempo, dynamics, and instruments of familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music. We are also learning about Form in music through folk dancing. "Chimes of Dunkirk" is a new favorite (our version is slightly different).
Second Grade: The second grade classes have learned a new note, as well; Re, which is in between Do and Mi. They have learned (and will continue to learn) a number of games and songs with 5 notes (Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La) and will be playing these patterns on instruments by reading the music, and improvising new melodies. They have also been discovering how the timbre of each instrument in the classroom produces different effects and how each instruments' timbre is more appropriate for some songs and parts than others.
Third Grade: In third grade, we have been practicing sixteenth notes and are just starting a unit on meter. The third graders were interested to find that "meter" in music is very much like "meter" in math and science! The third grade classes also finished a project with the books Cloud Dance and Water Dance by Thomas Locker. They identified all the verbs in each book, and created movement and pictures to go with them. They then worked in groups to create movement and music to accompany each page of the book, taking into consideration instrument timbre, ensemble-work, descriptive movement, and composition of melodies and rhythms. We are continuing with the "earth" theme and singing "This Pretty Planet" in a 3 part round, and doing some instrument work with "Windy Day."
Fourth Grade: The fourth graders are feverishly preparing for their upcoming concert. Each class has been working on an instrumental piece, and although it has been difficult to put all the many parts together, they are really starting to come together as an ensemble. They have also been creating movement to go with the instrumental pieces, based on games or activities they like to do during recess. Given the melody, length of the music, and the elements of movement that we studied previously, the class was divided into 2 groups and given 2 class periods to create a "performance-ready" movement piece. There are some really creative dances to look forward to! Don't forget to visit the 4th grade chorus section of this site to download the practice tracks for the chorus music.