Musical happenings in January

We have been back to school for nearly a month now.  The kids jumped right back in and have been singing, playing instruments, improvising, and composing.  Here are just a few highlights of what has been going on in the Music room this month.

PreK and JK

The PreK and JK have been singing and dancing. We use scarves to help us express how the music sounds. We move them slowly or quickly depending on how the music sounds.



We tap the beat of our songs on our laps. Sometimes we even get to use the drums to tap the beat or play patterns







1st Grade

In 1st grade the students have been reading and performing with their pitches so and mi, and their rhythms ta (quarter note) and ta-ti (eighth notes.)  The students worked as a class to compose a sixteen beat rhythm "song."  They got to take turns being the director.

The next week we added pitches (so and mi) to each rhythm. Here is a class sight reading their new composition. Just like professional musicians, they were reading music they had never heard before, using the previously acquired skills.

The students then worked on composing their own original Rhythm Caterpillar compositions and shared them with the class.

3rd Grade

In 3rd grade the students have recently learned "re" and are now working to become experts at the do pentatonic scale (a five note scale made of the pitches do, re, mi, so, and la.) They are singing folk songs written in do pentatonic, such as Dinah.  Here they are singing the song, with a different name substituted for "Dinah."

The students are conducting in 2-meter. They learned that beats can be in a pattern of strong-weak-strong-weak. This pattern occurs when there are two beats between the bar lines.


There is much more happening with 2nd grade compositions, 4th and 5th grade games, and those Kindergarteners...they are getting ready to name their first notes!  Stay tuned and don't forget to check back here for Fun Friday when I will have a question for you all.  If you want to stay informed whenever a new post is added to the blog, just type your email address into the box to the right (below the poll) and you will receive an email any time there is an update. Subscribe today!

Fun Friday: SFS Kids website

Last week was the first ever Fun Friday an we kicked off this new feature with a video of a song from PreK and JK music. The kids were so excited to tell me about listening to their song at home on the computer or their parents phone.

This week I am sharing a link to a really fabulous website that is fun for all ages. There is something for everyone, PreK through 5th grade, but is especially good for grades 1 and up .  The site was put together by the San Francisco Symphony Education Department.  SFS Kids is full of music and information, covering topics such as the instruments in the orchestra to musical elements like Tempo. (Hey, 2nd-5th grade, you know about Tempo!)

Check it out, play around, tell me what you think!

Fun Friday: Video

I am going to try something new with the LS Music blog. On Fridays I am going to share something fun for the students.  It could be a link to a cool music website or a link to a fun music related video. Occasionally, I will even post a video of my own with a song from class.  The students can listen and sing along with me right at home!

To kick off Fun Friday I created a video of a song we are singing in Music in PreK and JK. This simple little song helps us to understand that our voice go up and down.  We sing the song and the kids move their arms or their entire body up and down with the music.

Please ignore the silly, silly face I am making in that still shot above. Oh, boy!

Tell me what you think. Did you sing along at home?  Students, which songs from class would you like to see me make into a video?

5th Graders Rock the Cabaret!

Today was the Winter Cabaret, and what a performance it was!  The 5th grade performers put their best feet forward and brought down the house.  There were six acts ranging from piano performances and a vocal trio to a comedy troupe and a ballet solo.

The 1st through 5th grade students in the audience were attentive and respectful. They showed the talented performers such support with their rousing applause.

Here is just a peek at what we saw today:

Ballet by Janeyce McCray

Vocal performance by Julia Parker, Kallie Schildge, and Giavanna Brito

Piano solo by Robert Brandl

The comedic stylings of Leo Badaker, Jake Rothstein, and Sidharth Kumar

WH Song Detecives

Welcome back to school!

On the Monday or Tuesday before Winter Break all of the students in Kindergarten through 5th grades brought home an assignment called "WH Song Detectives" which is due this coming Wednesday, January 9th.  For this assignment the students need to interview an adult about a song that they had learned as a child. As part of the assignment they need to learn the song so that they may share it with their class.  As an option, some students have emailed me an audio or video recording of their song.

Oh, if you could have seen the smile on my face as I started to receive those emails! I have been sent songs in English, Spanish, Tamil...just to name a few.  It is wonderful to hear the students sing, and even more exciting when family members are creating the music along with them.

If, over the course of Winter Break, the worksheet was misplaced, fear not!  I have many more copies at school. In addition, if you drop me an email I can send you a copy of the Word document so that you can print it out at home.

The due date is just two days away, so don't wait too long.  Sit together, sing!  I can't wait to hear more of the music you are all making.

~Ms. Mueller