Week of February 13

Students have been selecting their sessions for Arts in Action during Art class this week.  They are getting very excited about this event celebrating Music in Our Schools Month and Youth Art Month, which both take place in March.

This week, Kindergarteners in Ms. Waller's class sang a Valentine’s Day song called “Valentine, Valentine.”  They did a partner dance with this song and played a simple instrumental accompaniment on triangles.  Students in Ms. Tepper's classes sang a call and response song called "Lemonade" and played a game with the song.  They also focused on the difference between rhythm and steady beat.

First and Second graders continue to bring in dinosaur costume pieces, cowboy hats, and "rapper" glasses that they will be using for their parts in their concert.  It is important that they have time to practice with any props or costume pieces that they will be using, so if your child will be bringing something in, please send it to school with him as soon as possible!  It will be kept in a safe place, with your child's name and class clearly marked on a bag or piece of tape.  Students continued adding more speaking and instrument parts this week.  A major focus of the past week was singing with a blended sound instead of just singing as loud as they possibly could.

Third and fourth graders worked on their third concert piece this week.  This song uses a very different style of singing than the previous two they have learned.  They are working on using their voices and their facial expressions to tell the story of each song they learn.

Fifth graders learned their third Spring Sing song this week, which is a song that became popular in the time of World War II.  They discussed the impact that music plays during times of war, and specifically, why this song was so important when it came out.  It has a very catchy melody, although it is incredibly difficult to sing.  They learned movement for this song, as well.

 

Music Fact of the Week

French impressionist composer Claude Debussy once said, "Music is the silence between the notes."  Ask your young musician to tell you about rests in music.  How many types of rests can your child identify?  Learn more about Debussy by visiting http://www.dsokids.com/listen/composerdetail.aspx?composerid=44