PIERCE SCHOOL MUSIC - What's Happening in Music? 2022-23

PIERCE SCHOOL MUSIC

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5th Grade

3/17/2023

Our 5th graders have been very busy learning a digital composition program called Noteflight. This program allows them to compose music, play it back, edit and revise, and ultimately share their final result in a printed score. Today as I worked with students, I heard a project in which a student was recreating a piano piece they are learning. Another student was composing for a brass quintet. Another student was experimenting with a Jazz drum kit and how to create a percussion accompaniment that complimented their vocal line. This type of individualized and personal music making can be hard to manage in a tradition general music class setting, but Noteflight makes this possible. Our PTO helped make this possible too! They generously funded a set of 24 new headphones for my classroom. These headphones allow our students to tune out the world around them and drop into the musical one they are working to create. Thank you Pierce PTO!!!

3rd grade

3/14/2023

3rd graders continue to work hard on their music literacy skills and their recorder playing skills. They have mastered our newest note and are working through a few new songs that feature low D. They are also practicing improvisation as we warm up each day and they are getting more comfortable and more creative with the patterns they choose. For the past few classes, they have had the opportunity to transfer this knowledge onto the xylophone! They have been working in pairs to play recorder and xylophone at the same time. It's harder than it looks!

1st Grade

3/1/2023

1st graders have been loving this traditional dance called "The Noble Duke of York". Students can practice finding a partner, remembering the sequence of the dance steps, moving to a steady beat, following the musical cues and working with a partner. It also gets them moving, singing and giggling!

2nd Grade

2/27/2023

2nd graders have been studying Ghana in their classrooms and learning about Ghanaian songs, games and instruments in music class. They have played two passing games: "Obwisana" and "Sansa Kroma". Here they are dancing to a song called "Tue Tue". They have learned about the djembe, axaste, the gankogui (or double bell) and more!

In addition, they have begun learning some songs that they will share with you at their spring concert on May 2nd at 8:15 am in the Pierce School Auditorium. We can't wait to share our music making with you!

Kindergarten

2/20/2023

Kindergarteners have been learning about a piece of music called "The Carnival of the Animals" written by a French composer named Camille Saint-Saens. Saint-Saens originally composed this suite of 14 short pieces as a joke for his music Conservatory students but it has become one of his most famous works! So far, our students have learned about all of the instruments used to play each piece. They have explored creative movement for the Elephant, Hens and Roosters, Kangaroos, Aquarium, Lion, Mules, Cuckoo and more! If you play the music at home, I'm sure you'll be learning some of the moves too! In the two clips below, you can see a class practicing some mindful visualization as sea stars resting on the ocean floor. Being still and deeply listening are skills that need practice as much as moving and responding! Each child got a chance to share what they imagined as the music washed over them. In a following lesson, we explored how we can move fluidly to the phrases of the piece as if we were seaweed swaying in the tide.

Kindergarten

2/10/2023

Kindergarteners love to dance and they love the surprise of a new partner in each turn of this dance called "Heel and Toe". I love watching them practice being flexible and inclusive as they welcome each new friend for a turn. These kids are such a delight to teach each day!

4th Grade

2/7/2023

Our 4th graders have been so excited to finally begin learning recorder. They are doing an amazing job! In just 3 short classes, they have learned how to play a number of songs and are working to produce a consistent, gentle and musical sound. Their excitement is contagious and we have decided that they will perform a few recorder songs at their concert on May 23rd at 8:15 am in the Pierce School Auditorium!

5th Grade

2/1/2023

5th graders have been exploring form in music through a piece called "The Viennese Musical Clock" by Zoltan Kodaly. This piece of music is in rondo form. This means there is a repeating "A section" of music after each new section is introduced. Students experienced this pattern through tap charts (see below) that had an icon for every beat in the music. This visual map is really helpful for giving students a more concrete view of an abstract idea. Students worked in small groups to create original choreography for each different section of music. Their movements were inspired by mechanical, automated and robotic machines. Putting this all together required a lot of collaboration and cooperation. I was so proud of the final results!

After completing their movement project as a class, they began to work in pairs using the xylophone to decode the main theme of "The Viennese Musical Clock" piece by ear. We introduced notation and began playing it as an ensemble. This week, they are composing original music in pairs to create a class composition in the rondo style. Looking ahead, students will begin learning the notation program "Noteflight". This program is free and will allow our students to create scores of their compositions to print our and bring home!

1st Grade

1/31/2023

First graders have been working on moving to the beat within a song. In this dance, called "Kings and Queens", they get to practice partner work which takes a lot of self control, focus and cooperation. They also need to keep track of the entire sequence of movements within the song. You can hear me helping with this in the video, but our goal is complete independence. Students particularly enjoy when they get to the top of the set and we all bow and show our respect as they promenade down the middle.

Kindergarten

1/24/2023

Kindergarteners have been decoding quarter note and eighth notes patterns. They really enjoyed using the animals of the Chinese Zodiac to create these rhythmic patterns. You can see some students "building" these patterns with popsicle sticks below. In addition to this rhythm work, we have been singing, dancing and sharing some special stories around celebrating Lunar New Year as well.