February Band Songs

Our White Band students have been working hard!  Now they are playing eighth note rhythms and are looking forward to learning some new notes soon!  Hear some of their hard work below:

Michael Finnigan:

 

Baja Breeze:


To hear Baja Breeze live, come see students perform at Evening with the Arts on Tuesday, March 28th at 6:30pm at Leicester High School. 

10 Skills

This is a great description of some of the skills students learn from music:

I hope you're enjoying your snow day!

Big Pig

We start each class with a vocal warm-up or pitch exploration activity.  Especially at a young age, this is important for our students to figure out how their voices work.

Preschoolers have been working on pitch exploration with "Big Pig."  In this poem, they explore their "high squeaky voice" and their "low pig voice."

Where are you going, big pig, big pig?

Out in the garden to dig, dig, dig.

Out in the garden to dig, dig, dig?

Shame on you big pig, big pig!

I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm only a pig,

And all I can do is dig, dig, dig.

Hear Mrs. Mueller's preschool class recite this poem in the video below.

Charlie Over the Ocean

1st Graders have been enjoying a new echo song called Charlie Over the Ocean.  We sing echo songs at the beginning of every class to help students practice singing tunefully.  This is a special echo song because there is a game that goes with it.

To play the game, one student walks around the circle.  At the end of the song, they tap the student who is nearest to them.  Then, the student who is "it" and the student who got tapped need to skip around the circle to race back to the empty spot.  Students have liked being able to echo and play at the same time.

Have your child share this song with you.  Maybe you can echo them!

Charlie over the ocean (Charlie over the ocean)
Charlie over the sea (Charlie over the sea)
Charlie caught a big fish (Charlie caught a big fish)
Can't catch me. (Can't catch me.)

Hear Mrs. Bayer's 1st Grade class sing this song with Miss Dagenais in the video below.

Closet Key

1st Graders are working on a new simple song called Closet Key.  A simple song is a song with relatively few pitches (this one only has three), that students learn through repetition.  They listen to the song many times before ever trying to sing it themselves.

This song has a game that goes with it.  One student is "it" and they look away while a key is hidden with one of the students in the circle.  When the student who is "it" returns, the class sings the song.  The class sings loudly (but not in a shouting voice!) when "it" is close to the key and softly (but not in a whisper voice!) when "it" is far from the key.  At the end, the student who is "it" guesses who has the key.

Not only does this song help students work on singing in tune and singing independently, but it also helps them to control the volume of their voices.

Ask your child to sing this song for you.  They may want to look at the lyrics as a reminder.

I have lost my closet key,
In my lady's garden.
I have lost my closet key,
In my lady's garden.

Help me find my closet key,
In my lady's garden.
Help me find my closet key,
In my lady's garden.

I have found my closet key,
In my lady's garden.
I have found my closet key,
In my lady's garden.

Hear Miss Carroll's 1st Grade class perform the song below.

January Band Songs

Our White Band members have been working hard since their winter concert.  Students have learned some new notes and some new vocabulary, including tie, 2/4 time, slur, and articulation.  Though our next concert isn't until Evening with the Arts on March 28th, we wanted to share some songs with you now.

Serenity:


London Bridge:


Russian Folk Song (woodwinds only):


Up next, we will be learning about eighth notes!

Yellow Belts!

4th Graders just earned their recorder Yellow Belts!  To earn these belts, the class needed to play three songs: Acka Backa, Ickle Ockle, and Mill Wheel.  These songs all contain common melodic elements (notes E, G, and A) and rhythmic elements (ta, ti-ti, and ta rest).  All fourth grade classes were able to earn their belt!

Now, students have the option to test individually on the songs Come Butter Come and Bell Horses to earn beads.  These songs contain the same rhythmic and melodic elements, but are a challenge because students need to learn them on their own from the notation and play them by themselves.

Congratulations fourth graders!

Hear Mrs. Hyland's 4th Grade class perform "Acka Backa" in the video below.

Aiken Drum

Kindergarteners came back from winter break and began working on the song "Aiken Drum."  The preschoolers had so much fun with this one before Christmas that I was excited to do it again.

Aiken Drum is a very strange man.  He lives in the moon and his entire body is made of food!  To make it even stranger, his body is made of different kinds of food every time we see him.

 
    

Sometimes, our friend Aiken Drum is made entirely out of fruits and vegetables...

  

And sometimes he's made entirely out of candy!

  

This song is a great way to help children practice keeping the steady beat.  As we sing, we tap the beat on the part of our body we are singing about.  Have your child create their own Aiken Drum for you!

There was a man lived in the moon, 
lived in the moon, lived in the moon.
There was a man lived in the moon, 
and his name was Aiken Drum.

And his head was made of pizza, 
of pizza, of pizza,
And his head was made of pizza, 
and his name was Aiken Drum.

And is __________ was made of _________, 
of __________, of ___________.
And his ____________ was made of ___________, 
and his name was Aiken Drum.