Rivendell Music
Bernstein and Borduns
While the Younger Kids and Older Kids are busily polishing up their musicals, the Middle Kids have had some fun learning a new bordun (an accompaniment pattern based on the open 5th) to the song “Little Green Frog” and learning a little about American composer Leonard Bernstein. This week we watched the Mambo from “Dance at the Gym” from West Side Story
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Getting ready for the musical
Jessica’s class did a great job painting the backdrop for our upcoming musical in Art class today! The kids are practicing their lines and songs every day and we’re excited to be performing in just a couple of weeks! See you there Friday the 30th at Noon! 
Schumann and American Authors
We had a busy November in Music, with the Middle Kids musical and starting practices for the Older Kids musical as well (performance in late January). Right now the whole school is working on Best Day of My Life by American Authors, which we will perform at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair on December 12th at 6:00 p.m., in a flash mob! All the students are very excited, so hopefully you can all make it.
Our composer of the month for December is Robert Schumann. Here are a couple of the pieces we’ll be listening to and discussing:
I just have one photo to share, of preschool class during our musical movement time. This continues to be their favorite part of class time.
More Saint-Saens and Partner Songs
In Music, we’ve been working on “partner songs” which are two song that can be sung together at the same time. All the grade levels have learned Hey Ho Nobody Home with Ah Poor Bird and Land of the Silver Birch and Canoe Song. We have also been listening to Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre. The Middle Kids and Older Kids read the poem, by Henri Cazalis, that was the inspiration for this piece and the Younger Kids and Preschoolers listened while doing a movement activity.
Oceans, instruments and more!
Rivendell kids have been busy in music this past couple of weeks!
Preschoolers are learning lots of new “Rivendell Favorite” songs, that we sing together during Group Sing on Wednesdays. We have also been listening to the piece “The Aquarium” from Saint-Saens “Carnival of the Animals” and moving around the room like sea creatures, and wow these are some creative kids…we had a puffer fish, some crabs, a manta ray and a hammer head shark just to name a few!
The Younger Kids are also working on Rivendell favorite song and reviewing steady beat, counting in sets of 8 and quarter notes and half notes.
The Middle Kids and Older Kids have been reviewing notation in preparation to start recorders up again in a couple of weeks. Middle Kids worked on writing and labeling a C scale and Older Kids worked on writing in note names for a new recorder duet we will be learning.
We also had a chance to work on an instrumental accompaniment to our “Hey Ho, Nobody Home” song on hand drums, steel drums and xylophones, in Middle Kids and Older Kids. They were able to perform that today in Group Sing while the rest of the school sang along in a round. It turned out great!
Welcome back to Music!
We had a great first week here in the Music Room, with lots of familiar faces and some new friends too.
Preschoolers are learning the Rivendell Song along with some other fun songs and movement activites. Younger Kids, Middle Kids and Older Kids also brushed up on some familiar songs that we love to sing for Group Sing, like the Rivendell Song and Obladi Oblada, and we are also learning a song with Spanish and English words called Somos El Barco, to go along with our school-wide topic of Oceans.
Middle Kids also worked on learning a half note accompaniment on mallets and steel drums to the song “Hey Ho, Nobody’s Home”. We hope to perform it in Group Sing this week and have the rest of the school sing along.
Edvard Grieg – Morning from Peer Gynt
In Preschool and Younger Kids music today we listened to “Morning” by Edvard Grieg (October’s Composer of the Month) while small groups were on the stage pantomiming things that we do or see in the morning. So fun! The “audience” then guessed what was being acted out. We had some VERY creative actors. Some of my favorites were:
A sleeping tiger, just waking up
A butterfly looking for food
Showering and shampooing hair
A cat stretching and sleeping in the windowsill
A dad shaving
A baby playing in his crib
We have such creative kids! Thanks for sharing them with me every week!
October Composer of the Month
Our Composer of the Month for October is Edvard Grieg. This week we are listening to his piece titled, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and talking about the musical terms piano, forte and crescendo/decrescendo. Here is a recording of the piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQxsyA6s90Y
We are also working on some new fall songs and Halloween songs in Younger Kids and Preschool. Older Kids have received the parts for the musical and are working hard on songs and choreography. Middle Kids (Bryce’s Class) did a bang up job performing on steel drums, recorders and xylophones for Group Sing on Wednesday, and we hope to do that again soon with Suzanne’s Class performing.
Have a great week!
Fun with Free Choice
Holly’s class was the first class to earn some free choice time in the music room today, yay! Here’s some kiddos having fun playing dress up on the stage. 