As always there is a lot going on in music class.  Here is a quick recap across the grade levels!

KINDERGARTEN – We are well underway for our Spring Musical.  This week we had a lot of fun groovin’ out to “Tap It! Rap it!” our rap song that is part of the musical.  Here is Mrs. Brooks’ class performing that song:

 

1st GRADE – We learned about the quarter rest this week.  We practiced reading it, performing it, and playing games to help us with those skills!

2nd GRADE – We have been practicing improvising different types of patterns.  Here is a video of Mrs. Levin’s class performing “Naughty Tabby Cat.”  In this song, students learned the melody for the song and then created a word chain about cats.  Students improvised different patterns to the rhythm of the word chain as they rotated through the instruments.

3rd GRADE – Last week we learned high and low tone drumming to perform “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.”  This week we reviewed those techniques and used them in a call and response game to accompany the song “Salamanca Market”

4th GRADE – We have been extending our range on the recorder and exploring many different styles of music on our recorder.

5th GRADE – Improvisation is a big focus this quarter.  We did many things this week, one of which was improvising over a pentatonic scale using our recorders.

On Feb. 18 the Roadrunner Chorus will be performing at the Atlanta Gladiators hockey game! We must sell 100 tickets in order to raise money for the Rocky Mount music and choral programs.  Tickets are $15 and can be ordered by following the instructions on the flyer below.

Money from this fundraiser will help to purchase new instruments, repair old ones, buy new music, pay for guest clinicians for the chorus, and much more!

Hope to see you there!

 

5th Grade music is learning about the role and influence of African Americans on music during Civil War times and during the Harlem Renaissance.  Much of this influence comes from the spirituals and freedom songs of the Civil War era.  This music led to the rise of the blues, later jazz, and eventually rock n’ roll.  The song “Old House” is a freedom song from Civil War times.  After learning the call and response, 5th graders composed different ostinati to create a unique class composition.  Below is the composition and video from Mrs. Powell’s 5th grade class.  Notice that each ostinato is on a different level of the house, which corresponds to different pitches of instruments in the orchestra.