What's Happening in Music?

3rd Grade

3/4/2020

3rd graders have been exploring the art of storytelling and the powerful role that music can have in telling a story. They are using the story "Jabuti the Tortoise" by Gerald McDermott. Jabuti (zha-boo-CHEE) is a trickster tale from the Amazon rain forest and he just happens to play recorder! Musicians, actors, narrators and sound effect technicians are busy planning their in-class performance creating original theme music for central characters, blocking the action on "stage" and running a rehearsal of all the moving pieces that are involved. Ask your child what their role is on their class project!

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2nd Grade

3/4/2020

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Our 2nd graders have begun studying Ghana in their classrooms and have been singing songs and playing games from West Africa in music class as well. All 2nd grade classes will perform a pourquoi tale called "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" for their families and friends on Tuesday, April 14th at 8:15 am in the Auditorium. Mark your calendars now! We can't wait to share our learning with you.

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5th Grade

2/12/2020

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5th graders have been analyzing form in music and breaking larger pieces down into smaller chunks. Analyzing music can often feel abstract. I work to make their experience of the music as physical and engaging as possible. Here, you can see a bean bag circle activity that combines feeling the beat and unusual meter of the jazz standard "Take Five" with the challenge of hearing the sections change from main theme, to improvisation, back to main theme. Students show their understanding and recognition of the sections by switching direction or pattern in response to the music. In the second video, you see a class composition of mechanical movements inspired by the "Viennese Musical Clock" by Zoltan Kodaly. The way that students are moving, and the order that the groups perform, that reflect the "rondo" form. Ask your student to explain rondo form and talk about why their group chose the choreography you see here!

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4th Grade Concert!

2/11/2020

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Our 4th grade concert was a huge success! Students sang with pride and joy and it was a wonderful showcase of their learning so far this year. Thank you to all who made time to come join us!

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All Town Choral Concert

2/6/2020

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The Pierce 6/7/8th Grade Chorus participated in the All Town Choral Concert this month at Brookline High School. Runkle, Driscoll, Lawrence and Pierce shared the stage with the Brookline Camerata, Concert Choir and A Cappella Choir in a fabulous showcase. They performed two songs alone and joined in with all the other groups for an impressive combined number at the end of the evening. The video here shows a short part of their rehearsal before the concert. Mike Driscoll, BHS choral director, led hundreds of students on stage through their first time singing all together. This is always a special evening and I love seeing Pierce alumni singing at BHS!

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Kindergarten

2/5/2020

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Kindergarteners have been exploring dynamics in music and learning about piano, mezzo and forte through the wonderful story of "Pokko and the Drum" by Matthew Forsythe. Pokko is a sweet frog who loves music but her parents are full of regret after giving her a drum. It's just too loud! When she learns how to play at different volumes and recruits an animal band in the forest, they are both surprised and impressed. Students used drums and shakers to accompany the story and showed amazing self control and musicality!

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2nd Grade

1/27/2020

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Students in my 2nd grade classes have been singing, dancing and playing instruments each day in music. This week, they have been learning about Lunar New Year, singing "Gong Xi Fa Cai!", discovering traditional Chinese instruments such as the Erhu and Guzheng, practicing their rhythm reading skills, and learning to improvise on a pentatonic scale using xylophones! The class shown here is practicing a favorite mixer called "Sasha!". I love teaching mixers because they give students many opportunities to hone social skills as they work with a different partner each time the music and dance steps repeat. As you can see, this class loves dancing "Sasha!"

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3rd Grade

1/27/2020

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3rd graders have been challenging themselves by learning new notes on recorder and trying more complicated songs such as "Xin Nian Kuai Le", a well known Chinese melody adapted for recorder. Happy Year of the Rat! This class worked hard to coordinate their playing and singing of this melody and we felt proud of this arrangement they made at their last class.

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5th Grade

1/27/2020

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My 5th grade classes have been exploring and composing using two different digital platforms over the past few classes. They began by exploring the Chrome Music Lab which has many interesting and engaging applications for teaching about the science of sound and composition. They used Song Maker to create an original piece. Then, they began to explore the Tone Matrix, a pentatonic step sequencer. Through this program, they experimented with harmonic patterns, geometric shapes and got "pretty zen" as they worked. Ask your student to show these creative and fun tools at home!

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Winter Chorus Concert

1/23/2020

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Chorus students in grades 5-8 sang a beautiful winter concert in the end of January that showcased months of preparation and hard work. The 5th grade sang three songs, including a premiere of "This Is Who I Am" composed by Jim Papoulis. He created the song with Brookline students through a songwriting workshop generously funded by the Brookline Education Foundation. Our 6/7/8 group performed several challenging pieces including a contemporary a cappella piece, "High Hopes" by Panic at the Disco and a traditional Panamanian folk song. Thank you to all who came out to support our students in their music making!!

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