A Grateful Nation

Chorus students are preparing a song to sing at our Veteran's Day assembly next week.  This song is called "A Grateful Nation."  Though their performance on Veteran's Day is just for Memorial students, we will be performing this song again for family and friends at our Winter Concert in December.

 

Fall Concert

Congratulations to our Maroon Band members on their first Middle School concert!

Students performed two songs: "Creature Feature" and "Freedom Finale" with the Middle School Band.  They did a fantastic job!  If you missed the concert, see their performance below:





Their next concert with the Middle School Band will be Thursday, December 15.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Second and third graders have been exploring some harmony using the song "Pumpkin, Pumpkin" (or "Leaves are Falling").

Ask your child to sing the song for you:

Pumpkin, pumpkin
Round and fat.
Turn into a jack 'o lantern
Just like that.

Or a fall variation:

Leaves are falling
All around.
Rake them in a big leaf pile
On the ground.

After learning this song, we added a rhythmic ostinato (repeating pattern).  This help students develop independence between parts of music.  It is difficult to sing and clap a rhythm at the same time!

Third graders moved on to singing this song as a round (singing in two groups and starting at different times).  This added an extra challenge!

Then, both grades added some movement to the song with a partner switching, clapping game!

Musical Form

Fifth graders just completed a unit about form in music.  They learned that the form of a song is determined by the sections that are the same or similar, and the sections that are different.  We used two songs that the students are familiar with: "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake and "I'm on Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons.

Students listened to the songs and used shapes to show where they heard similar and different sections.

Then, we added rhythms to the form.  Each shape was assigned a different rhythm.  We were able to play our rhythm patterns along with the songs on rhythm sticks, which really helped us to feel the different sections.  This was also a great way to practice the rhythms we learned in fourth grade!

White Belts!

Fourth grade students earned their white belts!

Students have been using a new recorder book this year, so we started our Recorder Karate program over.  For each concept that students learn, their class has a chance to earn a karate belt (yarn) for their recorder by showing mastery on the topic.

The white belt topics were notes E and G and rhythms "ta" and "ti-ti."  Students showed mastery by performing "Lemonade," "No Robbers Out Today," and "Quaker, Quaker."  All classes did a fantastic job!

Students will also have the chance to test individually and earn beads to add to their belts.  For white belt, students could earn beads on the songs "See Saw" and "Starlight Star Bright."

Frog in the Meadow

Students have been working on the song "Frog in the Meadow" as their first simple song of the year.

"The chief purpose of these songs is to encourage independent singing from children while they assimilate the whole song."  - Dr. John M. Feierabend in First Steps in Music

First, students listen to the teacher sing the song for several weeks.  Students have taken turns playing the frog guiro (pictured above) while they listen.  After a few weeks, the whole class was able to sing the song together without help from the teacher.  Now, brave volunteers are starting to sing the song by themselves.

See the lyrics below and ask your child to sing for you:

Frog in the meadow

Can't get him out.

Take a little stick and

Stir him about.

Hear Mrs. Armington's class sing the song below:

No More Pie

Preschoolers and Kindergarteners start off almost every class with an echo song.  I sing first, and then the children echo the words and tune I just sang.

"These songs are significant in the development of children's musical skills because they provide an opportunity to sing a short phrase alone.  Echo Songs invite the child to repeat the same tune and words.  Echo songs are easier [than Call-and-Response Songs] because children only have to remember one pattern and sing it back."  - Dr. John M. Feierabend in First Steps in Music

Students' first echo song has been "No More Pie".  See the lyrics below and ask your child to sing it for you.

Oh my,

No more pie.

Pie's too sweet,

I want a piece of meat.

Meat's too red,

I want a piece of bread.

Bread's too brown,

I want to go to town.

Town's too far,

I think I'll take a car.

Car won't go,

I stubbed my toe.

Toe gives me pain,

I think I'll take the train.

Oh my,

No more pie.

This song is especially fun, because children can come up with more rhyming verses and the song can go on and on.

Hear Miss Randell's kindergarten class perform this song with Miss Dagenais below:

Johnny Works With One Hammer

A huge part of becoming tuneful, beatful, and artful is learning how to keep the steady beat.  First graders practice that through songs and rhymes with beat motions.


"Having an intuition for the beat in music is central to all later rhythmic development.  Certain beat motions have been found to be easier than others for young children.  Performing those motions at specific tempos will better enable children to be successful.  Maintaining beat motions with a group is more difficult for young children but can be successful if the proper motions and tempos are used." - Dr. John Feierabend in First Steps in Music

This songs involves keeping the beat with our whole bodies, and we found that it's a great workout!  Try it with your child!

Johnny works with one hammer,
One hammer, one hammer.
Johnny works with one hammer,
Then he works with two.

Johnny works with two hammers...
Then he works with three.

Johnny works with three hammers...
Then he works with four.

Johnny works with four hammers...
Then he works with five.

Johnny works with five hammers...
Then he goes to sleep.

Hear Miss Carroll's class perform this song here!

There Was a Little Turtle

First graders just learned a new fingerplay!  This one is called "There Was a Little Turtle."

Ask your child to perform it for you (don't let them forget to show you the motions!).



There was a little turtle, 
Who lived in a box.
He swam in the water,
And he climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at the minnow,
He snapped at the flea,
He snapped at the mosquito,
And he snapped at me!
He caught the minnow.
He caught the flea.
He caught the mosquito.
But he didn't catch me!

Hear Mrs. Larson's class perform this fingerplay here:

Family Rental Night

Our Family Rental Night was last night at Memorial School.  Thank you so much to Steve Testa from Music and Arts in Westborough for coming out to set our students up with instruments!

White Band rehearsals are starting next week.  Please check our rehearsal schedule as it was modified to accommodate for Columbus Day.  Students should come to rehearsal prepared with their instrument, book, and music stand.
Tuesday, 10/11 at 7:15am - All Brass and Percussion students
Thursday, 10/13 at 7:15am - All Woodwind students

Our regular rehearsal schedule is as follows:
Mondays at 7:15am - Woodwinds
Tuesdays at 7:15am - Brass and Percussion
Thursdays at 7:15am - Full band (all instruments)

Please be sure you sign up for text updates through the Remind app to stay up to date on band news.  Text @lmesbandw to 81010.

Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop

Preschoolers and kindergarteners have been working on lots of movement to show form and expression.  Some of these activities are called fingerplays.

"These activities help children experience the expressive qualities in music through movement.  At the same time, these activities also enable children to experience musical form through organized movement.  Classical music examples, songs, and rhymes can be used.  When using songs and rhymes, the motions should be performed in the expressive spirit of the song or rhyme and vice versa." -Dr. John Feierabend in First Steps in Music

"Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop" is a chant about making soup.  Ask your child to perform it for you.

Chop, chop, chippety chop,
Cut off the bottom and cut off the top.
What there is left,
We'll put in the pot.
Chop, chop, chippety chop.

Hear Mrs. Mueller's preschool class perform this chant here: