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General Music Program
For information on the general/vocal music program at Maplebrook and the instructor, Ms. Tomei, please visit the Maplebrook General Music site. Also, please see our page on the Maplebrook Chorus.
Maplebrook Music News
This information will be updated on the first of each month and will describe what EC-5th grade students did in music class the previous month.
January/February 2010:
Students in third, fourth, and fifth grades spent January and February on their recorder units. Learning to play recorder helps students meet at least five of the nine National Standards for Music Education:
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
Third graders learned to play the pitches B, A, and G. Fourth graders added E and D, and fifth graders added high C, high D, and F-sharp. All students wrote recorder compositions and had a chance to experience notation and composition in three mediums: 1) Paper and pencil, 2) Using the staff paper template in Windows Journal on the tablet PCs, and 3) Using Sibelius, a music notation software program, on the MacBook Pros. Each elementary school in the district now has five MacBooks in the music classroom with software programs such as Sibelius 6 and Music Ace.
Second graders were so proud to show their parents what they've learned in music this year at the Music Demonstration night. Some of the concepts we've worked on so far this year and were able to demonstrate to our parents included:
Melody: Do, Mi, So, La
Rhythm: Quarter note, quarter rest, two eighth notes, half note
Harmony: Ostinato, bordun
Form: Echo, question & answer, call & response, AB
Tone Color: Pitched percussion instruments (xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels) and
unpitched percussion instruments
All of these concepts were learned through singing, playing instruments, and movement. We also spent a lot of time on ensemble skills, which require us to listen to each other's parts while we maintain our own part.
First graders spent the second half of trimester two becoming more confident in their ability to read and play "ta" (quarter note) and "ta-ti" (two eighth notes) rhythms as well as identifying and performing quarter note rests. We differentiated between steady beat and rhythm of the words, and we began to explore the difference between even and uneven rhythms. Melodically, we reviewed the pitches So and Mi and learned where to place them on a five-line staff.
Kindergarten and Early Childhood students worked on vocal exploration and finding the singing voice, steady beat with alternating hands or feet, and rhythm of the words. We performed circle dances to show the beat and form of songs. We worked on mirroring the movements of a leader or partner with slow music. Kindergarteners also jogged to even rhythms and galloped or skipped to uneven rhythms; we even used Mother Goose nursery rhymes to find these types of rhythms.
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Band / Orchestra Programs
All 4th and 5th grade students have the option of joining band or orchestra at the beginning of the school year. Students are given an opportunity to try 2 instruments of his or her choice at the end of 3rd grade, after which a teacher will recommend the most suitable instrument.
Band and orchestra emphasize responsibility and respect most of all, followed by the learning of music skills and knowledge. These classes requires a year long committment, but it is our hope that it is the beginning of a lifetime of musical enjoyment.
Lessons are 30 minutes long, and occur once a week on a rotating schedule throughout the school day. Full band and orchestra are 60 minutes long, and occur on Fridays from 9:20am - 10:20am. Fall beginners will not join the full groups until around mid-November.
Please visit the Maplebrook Band page to learn more about Mr. Carroll and our band program.
Please visit the Maplebrook Orchestra page to learn more about Mrs. Antonio and our orchestra program.
Band/Orchestra News
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