music corner

October 2008

Greetings to all from the Music Corner—the corner of the building that is between the gym and the library. Some of you are very familiar with this location. For the rest of you…well, now you have directions. We hope to meet you soon.

KINDERGARTENERS build their repertoire of beat patterns, work on matching simple melodic patterns with their voices, and sing Core Knowledge (and related) songs.

John the Rabbit leads the FIRST GRADERS in Call and Response form, and Johannes Christastum Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart introduces himself, his music, and conducting to the first graders.

SECOND GRADE expands westward through Core Knowledge (and related) songs; and learns to distinguish and dictate melodic pitches and with the song, Apple Tree.

THIRD GRADE goes through Recorder Basic Training, and expands their music reading ability.

FOURTH GRADE further develops recorder and reading skills.

FIFTH GRADE explores rhythm, melody and phrasing via speech, movement and recorder playing.

SIXTH GRADE uses xylophones, metalophones, glockenspiels and a very famous melody to explore melody, the major scale, and Theme and Variations form. We also expand our knowledge of Italian music terms, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and the Romantic period.

SEVENTH GRADE uses tone bar instruments to review Theme and Variations form, and to reinforce reading skills. Brahms, Dvorak, Berlioz and Tchaikovsky reveal to us the Romantic and Nationalistic styles in music.

EIGHTH GRADERS learn to construct cohesive musical phrases, reinforce reading skills, learn to harmonize melodies, take a musical/visual trip to Spain, and learn of Nationalistic and 20^th Century elements in art music.

Thanks for the privilege of working with some great kids!

~a thought~

“There is geometry in the humming of the strings.

There is music in the spacing of the spheres.”

--Pythagoras.