New Year, New Music
Music class at PC Elementary is already off to a FANTASTIC start!
In fifth grade, we started our “Music of Africa” unit. This unit exposes our fifth graders to different cultures and music. We started out by discussing the times when music is used in our culture, like when we have a celebration or a ceremony, then we discussed that even though the music may sound different, it serves almost the same purpose in countries in Africa.
In fourth grade, we are preparing for recorders. This means we are practicing reading rhythms and note names AT THE SAME TIME. I am so proud of how well our fourth graders are doing at something that can be very challenging even for adults.
In third grade, we are working on rounds. We started off by singing “I Love the Mountains”. This prepares us to be able to sing in parts. We also have been working on creating ostinatos with some orff instruments to accompany our rounds too. This is also a very impressive accomplishment for young minds.
In second grade, we are beginning to read written music, we have started by reading rhythms. Soon we will add in the solfege note names and put that together with the rhythm reading.
In first grade, we are working on learning the instruments of the orchestra. Once we become familiar with all of the instrument families, we will begin working on the “Carnival of the Animals”. We will learn about the composer and how every animal is played by a certain instrument and groups of instruments, then we will act out the animals while listening to music.
In kindergarten, we are working on rhyming words and long versus short sounds. We have learned a song and motions, now will dictate or write the song sound pattern and play it on tambourines and drums.
I am very excited about what this semester will bring for our music students here at PC Elementary. Be on the lookout for information on recorders for fourth grade and the Spring Music Program for kindergarten, third and fourth grade!
-Mrs. Waugh