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!