Drumming Fun!

Our school was so lucky to have Dr. Arvin Scott visit us recently!  He is a drumming professor from the University of Georgia and in addition to teaching, presents at percussion clinics, master classes, and workshops around the world.  He also founded a community-based youth program in Athens, GA called Drumming for Success.  According to his website, "it provides percussion classes and hand drums for all the kids while encouraging academic achievement, character building, and creativity through personal goal accomplishment and group cooperation."

 

Dr. Scott performed for us on several of his instruments and explained a little bit about the language of drumming.  Then, he got volunteers from the audience to come up and try out the instruments!  It was so neat to watch the students perform a steady beat and various rhythm patterns that we have been working on all year!  What a great assessment.  ;)  After seeing how successful the students were and how excited they got, I am inspired to get more drums for the music room. 

 

Here are a few pictures of our drumming fun...

 

The Cup Game

When things start winding down at school and the students attention span becomes shorter and their activeness increases, I like to pull out a lot of movement activities.  One of my students' favorites is "The Cup Game."  It is like a rhythm hand-clapping game and a passing game combined.  I learned it many years ago at camp and I usually have a handful of students in each class that already know it.  I use those students to tutor anyone who needs help. 

I use the following poem to help teach the movements: 

I found this poem and visual in the 5th grade Gameplan Curriculum by Randy DeLelles and Jeff Kriske.  I taught the poem line by line and then took away the words a few at a time until the students had it memorized.  Then each student received a plastic cup and we worked on each section slowly.  After demonstrating each set of movements, I had the students practice with a partner.  Once they learned the entire sequence, they got into teams of 4 and tried out the passing part of the game.  Eventually we were able to pass the cups around the circle with the whole class.  

  

As an extention, I had the students suggest songs that we could use to accompany the game.  We tried everything from Sousa Marches to Michael Jackson to One Direction.  Since the rhythm pattern is 4 measures long in 4/4 time, many familiar songs can be used!

I also picked out a few fun videos for them to enjoy:

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

Our first graders did a fabulous job presenting their Spring musical, "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," by John Jacobson and John Higgins.  They were super cute and sounded great, too!  I just love that moment when all that hard work pays off and everything comes together!

 

Here is our fabulous set designed and created (with student help) by our amazing art teacher, Mrs. Carter:

 

 

A rare shot of me and my partner-in-crime!  I couldn't do all of this without her!  :)

Another musical under my belt!  On to the next one!  ;)

iPad for the Music Room!

Look what we got for the music room!!  Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

 

Our wonderful PTO got iPads for Music, Art, P.E., and the Media Center.  My mind is already racing with all kinds of ways that I can use it!   I know the students will be so excited!  Thank you HSES PTO!  :)

Instrument Inventions

After learning about the Instruments of the Orchestra, the 2nd grade classes used some imagination to design a brand new instrument!  The students used the movie, Animusic, as their inspiration.  Animusic is a movie comprised of various "music videos" using computer-generated instruments.  The students are fascinated by how they look real even though they are digitally created.  Here are some of their favorite clips:

The students worked with partners to combine their ideas and sketch out their instrument.  Afterward, they wrote a story, letter, or advertisement telling about their product.  Check out their creative projects:

Musical Pizza Fractions

3rd grade classes have been learning how music and math are very closely related!  I used pizza fractions to illustrate how the music notes got their names.  I also used this as a way to introduce the 16th notes which they will be learning about next year in 4th grade.

I made this felt pizza my first year of teaching (9 years ago) and it has held up pretty well!  I handed out the pizza slices and had the students take turns coming up to help build the pizza.  As they created each layer, we talked about that note, its value, and its equivalent fraction. 

Next, I taught this song called "Pizza Rondo" (written by J.R. Fretz) and we added Orff accompaniment.

 Then, we created contrasting sections using these poems that go along with each layer of the pizza.

 We combined all of these parts and put together a performance for their teachers!  Our principal even got to come see one of them.  :)  I chose a few students to perform on instruments and the other students created the layers on the pizza as we performed the poems in Rondo form:

Our finished product:

Update: Here is a copy of the melody and Orff Arrangement. So many of you have been asking and I haven't been able to locate a copy of this song elsewhere for purchase so I think I am safe posting this. Let me know otherwise. :)

Recorder Time!!

It's my favorite time of year!!  Recorder time!!  The students love this unit so much that it really energizes me!  There is just something about putting a recorder in a student's hand that makes music come alive for them.  It is such a great way to synthesize all of the information that they have been learning throughout their elementary music career: rhythms, notes, vocabulary, score-reading, musicianship, and much more!

Fourth graders begin learning about the history of the recorder, parts, basic technique, and the first 3 notes: B, A, and G.  We use the Rockin' Recorder Method Book (created by Allison Friedman) as our main curriculum.  The students love this book because of the up-beat tracks that go along with each song.  We also supplement with lots of fun recorder warm-ups and games!

The classes have really enjoyed playing the game, "B-A-G Roll and Play."  It is a very simple concept but really engages them and allows them to practice their note-reading and technique individually.  Each group member takes turns rolling the dice and playing that numbered example on their card. 

I asked the partners to take on the role of "Recorder Doctor," an idea I got from "The Sweetest Melody" music blog.  As their partner plays the example, they "diagnose" any problems they hear:

As they play, this is also a great time for me to walk around and assess the students.  I can note which students are having trouble with fingerings, sound quality, or note-reading and which students are excelling in those areas.  It provides the students time to help one another with their weaknesses and allows me to work one-on-one with students if they need it. 

 

Another recorder game that 4th graders have really enjoyed is Recorder Rumble.  The students divide up into two teams (they usually prefer boys vs. girls) and compete to earn the most points by correctly playing the 4-beat patterns provided. 

This gives the students sight-reading practice and also a chance to play individually.  It's a great assessment tool and the students enjoy the game format.  I have each student take a turn to play a pattern and then, if they need to, they can consult with their team for help.  It has been so neat to watch them encourage each other and compliment each other's performances!  They've learned that good sportsmanship has its place in music as well!