Can you believe we have reached the end of music classes? And that the school year is almost over?! I dearly wish we could have had this time to sing and make music together in person, but I am really looking forward to meeting you all next year! One final Music Listening piece for the school year. I thought this was a beautifully appropriate song to close us out. Pay special attention to the words Kermit is singing in this classic from the Muppets, "Rainbow Connection." Let's pretend we are giving our final performance of the year. Grab your parents and siblings if you want an audience as we sing and dance along to some of our favorite songs from this school year. Of course, we will start it all off with "Hello There! Now we will sing the lovely "Peace Like a River." See if you can perform it with the American sign language. "Li'l Liza Jane" is a great American folk song. Enjoy singing along! "Train is A-Comin'" is an African American spiritual that dates back to the terrible time of slavery. This song gave slaves a hope for a better future, and I think it still can do the same for us. If you would like, you can also perform this on your recorder. The American work song, "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" tells the tale of a different kind of train, and the prosperity that the Trans-Continental Railroad brought to this country. This is another one that you can both sing and play recorder on. "Old Dan Tucker" is another classic American folk song. Try the recorder countermelody after you sing it! "America" is full of beautiful poetic language and imagery of this great nation. See if you are able to sing it from memory. We learned to sing and play two different versions of "Hot Cross Buns." Try singing and playing both versions on recorder. To show off your skills as a recorder player, choose some of your favorite songs from the Beginning Recorder Book to perform. Sing along with "Rockin' Robin"- if you are really brave see if you can figure out how to play the "tweedle-li-tweedle-li" part on the recorder. Let's close our year with some fun dancing. Our two favorite dances this year were "The Dinosaur Dance" and "Doin' the Penguin!" Have a great summer! I hope to see you in music classes starting in September!
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Hello, my dears! Can you believe that we are almost finished with music for this school year?! Juts one more week left after this one. Let's start with listening to some beautiful music. This Csardas by Vittorio Monti is a beautiful piece of Romantic gypsy music performed on violin and piano. Let's begin singing. We will start, as always, with "Hello There!" and "The Solfege Song," followed by some Call & Response Solfege Practice. What did you think about our rockin' song from the 50s, "Rockin' Robin?" I thought you might enjoy listening to the original version sung by Bobby Day from 1958. A very young Michael Jackson recorded his own version in 1972. Now let's sing our own version of "Rockin' Robin." Before we move on to the recorder, let's sing "Old Dan Tucker" together. We will be learning a simple countermelody that we can play on the recorder today. It's Recorder Time! You can continue working through the songs in your Beginning Recorder Book, as well as some of the songs I have introduced in the past few weeks. The only new thing I wanted to add for this week is the countermelody that you can play along with "Old Dan Tucker." It uses the notes G and A and is mostly half notes, with a few quarter notes thrown in. I'll walk you through how to play the countermelody before we put it together with the song. Let's finish our lesson off with a dance! "The Dinosaur Dance!" Two of the greatest, and most diverse, musical geniuses of our time collaborated on an album together in 1992, and the result was amazing. Bobby McFerrin is an African-American jazz vocalist who can do amazing things with his voice. (Your parents probably know "Don't Worry, Be Happy" one of his best-known songs.) Yo-Yo Ma is a Chinese born cellist who can do amazing things on the cello. Watch them perform a fun version of "Hush Little Baby." (And if you enjoy that and want to listen to some more, "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Vocalise" are amazing performances!) You know what comes next! "Hello There!," "The Solfege Song," and then some Call and Response Solfege Practice! We have a few new songs to sing this week. First, let's sing through "America" and see how much you have memorized! Our first new song is "Old Dan Tucker," which brings back fond memories of my childhood and watching Little House on the Prairie. (Mr. Edwards always sang this song.) Next week we will be adding a recorder countermelody. "Rockin' Robin" is another song that brings back fond memories for me. I sang this in chorus in 9th grade, and I still remember every word! Have fun singing it, and we will see about doing a dance with it next time! One of my favorite books about music, and a great introduction to the musical instruments, is "Zin, Zin, Zin, A Violin" by Lloyd Moss, with illustrations by Marjorie Priceman. Watch this read-along video, which includes clips of all the instruments playing "Ode to Joy." Which instrument is your favorite? It's Recorder Time! Last week we added some recorder songs to some of our favorite songs we have been singing. Let's see how well you are doing and play through those! First up, let's play both versions of "Hot Cross Buns!" Now for our train songs, "Train Is A-Comin'" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Of course, you can continue to work on any song in your Beginning Recorder Book. You can find videos for many of those songs on my YouTube channel. If you want some challenging new music to play, check out the tab above for Core Music. As promised, I have a new dance for you this week, to the song "Dinosaur Dance." This silly song has an A-B form, with a special little extra Coda at the end. Watch the introductory video to show you how to do the dance, and then we can dance it together! I would love to see videos of you doing it at home. Send them to [email protected]. I wanted to start this week with some music listening. I'm sure you are all quite familiar with the song "Let It Go!" from Frozen, but I bet you've never heard it played like this before! It is played by a group of (mostly) teenagers on both orchestra and traditional Chinese instruments. Blew me away! Let's warm up our voices and brains by singing our Welcome Song "Hello There!" and "The Solfege Song." We are going to practice our Solfege skills with some Call & Response singing. As always, I will sing first and you will echo me. See if you can do the hand signs as you sing! Time to sing our Patriotic song, "America." How many of you have it memorized? We are going to quickly sing through some of our songs, and then we will revisit them in just a little while when we learn some recorder parts to play along. It's Recorder Time! Continue to play through the songs in your Beginning Recorder Book. You can find the YouTube playlist to practice with here. Make sure you spend some time working on our newest (and final!) song in the book, "Amazing Grace." This week I want to add some simple, fun recorder parts that you can play with some of the songs we have been singing. First up, is "Train is A-Comin." It uses the notes G and A, You can print out the sheet music here.
In this first video I will teach you the recorder part, and in the second video you can play it along with the song (and me.) The next song we are adding a recorder part to is "I've Been Working on the Railroad." This countermelody played on the recorder uses the notes B, A, G and has quarter and half notes. The recorder part is only played with the A section ("I've been working on the railroad") and you stop playing for the fast part ("Dinah won't you blow" .) You can print out the sheet music here.
We will do it the same way. In the first video I will teach you the recorder part, and then we will play it with the recording. And as promised, here is the recorder countermelody to our "Hot Cross Buns, Version 2." Here is the part for you to print.
Just for fun, let's close with a dance. Now let's finish up our time this week with some dancing! Let's see how well you remember the moves to "Can't Stop the Feeling!" I have a special new dance to teach you next week that goes with a song about dinosaurs! I'm sure you are getting into my routine by now, so let's get straight to making music! We will start with "Hello There!" and "The Solfege Song." Let's continue developing our Solfege skills with some Call & Response singing. I will sing first, and then you can echo me. Make sure to practice using your hand signs! Now that our voices are warmed up, we will start with singing our Patriotic song, "America." Last week we learned a new song, a Spiritual called "Train Is A-Comin.'" Join me as we sing it one more time. "Train Is A-Comin'" was a song about the Underground Railroad, where slaves and sympathetic white people would pass messages that would help the slaves escape to the north where they could live free lives. Our next song is about a different kind of train. The American West was opened up to expansion when train tracks were first laid to cross the country starting in 1862. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. The workers who were actually doing the hard work of laying the tracks would sing work songs to help them pass the time, and this is the most famous example of those work songs. The song that we know today as "I've Been Working on the Railroad" is actually a mashup of three different folk songs from that time, so it has an A, B, and C part for its form. It is one of the most beloved American folk songs around, and every child should know it. In the past few weeks, we have sung and played "Hot Cross Buns" on the recorder. This week we will be learning to sing a slightly different version of "Hot Cross Buns" before we learn a counter melody to play with it on recorder next week. It's Recorder Time! First, I'm going to give you a fun opportunity to be a composer. Print this "It's in the B-A-G" Composition Worksheet and compose your own song. Please email me completed composition so I can have a look at it. For a special bonus, send me a video of you playing your song! You can email me at [email protected]. Let's start off by playing the version of "Hot Cross Buns" we have been working on. Make sure your left hand is on the top of the recorder, and that you are blowing with steady, warm air. Now go ahead and review some of the other songs at the end of your Beginning Recorder Book. You can play along with the YouTube videos if that helps you. Last week we did some pre-learning practice to help us get ready for the final song in our book, "Amazing Grace." Take a moment to review that video lesson, I like to end class with something fun when I can! This week you can dance along to "Can't Stop the Feeling." Hello 3rd Graders! Welcome back for another music lesson! I hope you enjoyed last week- so let's get right into it with our Welcome Song- "Hello There!" Moving right along, we will practice our Solfege skills with the "The Solfege Song." Do you know why we practice solfege? It's to help strengthen our skills reading music and to train our ears. It will also allow us to play songs on instruments more easily. Now that you have reviewed all of the Solfege hand signs, let's practice those skills with some Call & Response singing. I will sing and sign first and then you echo me. Now let's move on to singing some songs together. Just so you know, I typically repeat songs for a couple of weeks. This allows us to learn them and be comfortable singing them, and lets us add more depth to our songs by adding movements or dances, and by adding instruments. First up, we will be singing "Li'l Liza Jane." Now we will sing and perform the American Sign Language for "Peace Like a River." (If you need a refresher on the signs you can watch this video. We are going to sing one new song this week. "Train Is A-Comin'" is an African American Spritual. Many Spirituals were sung by slaves as they worked in the fields and were used to send messages along the Underground Railroad. As you listen to this song the first time, what message do you think this song was sharing? Try singing along once you have listened to it one time through. One more song to sing before we move on to playing the recorder. "America" is our Patriotic song that the whole school is learning. Ready for RECORDER TIME?! Let's warm up our fingers and ears as you play along with this Call & Response video. I will be playing first and you echo me. Last week you sang along with "Hot Cross Buns." This week I would like you to try playing it on the recorder with the accompaniment. Next week we will learn a different version to sing and play along with. Continue working on our other songs- you can play along with this playlist There is one last song left in our Beginning Recorder Book! "Amazing Grace" may be familiar to many of you as it is often sung in Christian churches. You may have even heard it on TV at some point. But if you aren't familiar with it, don't worry because I will walk you through playing it the next couple of weeks. This week I am going to do some simple exercises with you that will make it easier for us to actually play the song next week. I love to start class by making music right away, so join me in singing our Welcome Song- "Hello There!" You will be echoing me for most of the song, but at the end we will sing "But we're all here together again!" Excellent! This is another song I like to sing at the beginning of every class, because it helps us to learn and sing our solfege! It's called "The Solfege Song." This one has some fun motions, so join me! Now let's do some solfege practice. Repeat after me! Ready to sing some songs together? Let's go! I know you have learned to play "Hot Cross Buns" on the recorder, but can you sing it? Next week we are going to add a slightly different version that is a lot of fun to play, but for this week we will stick to the original. For an extra challenge, see if you can play along on your recorder! I love including American folk music in my classes. "Li'l Liza Jane" is a fun song to sing and dance to- and if we are feeling really adventurous, we may even learn how to play the REFRAIN on the recorder in a few weeks. Here is a video of another 3rd grade class learning to sing this song. Learn along with them! Now sing it on your own. "Peace Like a River is a beautiful Spiritual first sung by African Americans in the 1700s. This is a beautiful song to sing, and we will also be learning the American Sign Language to be able to perform it for our friends who are hearing and non-hearing alike. Take time to review this video first to learn the signs. Now sing and sign along with "Peace Like a River." The last song we will sing together before we start playing the recorder is "America." This is a great Patriotic song about the USA, and the entire school will be learning to sing it. Recorder time! Just in case you need it, you can print out your Beginning Recorder Book. Start by watching this video where I review how to play all of the notes with you. You will be echoing me. Now that we have reviewed all of our notes, let's review some of the songs you have already been working on in class. Just to get the cobwebs out, let's start with "Hot Cross Buns." You can play along with me on the video or practice on your own. Now for one of our more recent songs, "Shake Them Simmons Down." Try playing "The Noble of Duke of York." Don't forget that it is a pickup, so you won't start on beat one. "Hush Little Baby" is a beautiful lullaby. Make sure you are playing with soft, gentle breaths so you don't wake the baby! Our last song for this week is "Scotland's Burning." When you get really good at it, we can try playing it as a round! |
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