Choir,

You can click the links below to practice your choir music. Use the back button to get back to my blog.

Always Sing Your Song Accomp

We Sing a Jubilant Song with Singers

We Sing a Jubilant Song Accomp

Music Changes the World Singers

Music Changes the World Accomp

You Gotta Sing with Singers

You Gotta Sing Accomp

All American Me and You with Singers

All American Me and You Accomp

Deck the Halls (with singers)

Deck the Halls (Accomp Track)

For the Winter (with singers)

For the Winter (Accomp Track)

Hip Hop Reindeer (with singers)

Hip Hop Reindeer (Accomp Track)

Dormi Dormi (Accomp Track)

Music in Your Heart (Accomp Track)

Howdy Howdy Students/Parents,

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the extra time with your family. I miss seeing you and having our music time together each day. These are nervous times so take the extra time with those around you to love on each other and give them a hug (you can tell them Mr B said to :) 

For your lesson this week do the following:

• Choose at least one of the activities below
• When finished - Report to me the following in Schoology (in the comments section)
  • First and last name
  • Which activity did you choose?

 Activity Choice #1 (video found at the bottom of the post)

• View the video: "Chipmunk at the Gas Pump" by The Laurie Berkner Band
• JUMP while watching and smile

Activity Choice #2 (video found at the bottom of the post)

• View the video: La Bamba by Visual Musical Minds
• Read the rhythms when they come up using Ta and TiTi or Ta and TaDi (your choice)
• If you have a recorder or a keyboard instrument you can learn those parts as well (your choice) 

Activity Choice #3

• Go to https://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/shows.php?id=31
• Read and listen to the radio program about Johann Sebastian Bach
• Take the quiz at the bottom of the page

Activity Choice #4 (video found at the bottom of the post)

• View the video: At Home with Emily Arrow Ep. 1 (replay of livestream)
• Enjoy and do the activities in the video

Activity Choice #5: 2nd - 5th grade only (video found at the bottom of the post)

• View the video: Elementary Rhythms Set 1 in 4/4 by Nolan Schmit
• Read the Ta TaDi rhythms or you can use Ta TiTi (your choice)
• Remember the quarter rest does not get any sound

 Activity Choice #6

• Listen to 2 different songs and keep the steady beat a different way for each song

Activity Choice #7

• Clap the rhythm while listening to a song you like. Remember the rhythm matches the words (the way the words go).

Activity Choice #8 (older students can do this activity with all the rhythm patterns they know as well)

• Draw 3 pictures of something that has one syllable in its name. (Ta)
• Draw 3 pictures of something that has two syllables in its name. (TaDi)
• Draw 3 pictures of something that shows silence. (no sound)
• Cut out the pictures and use them to create 5 different patterns.
• Read each pattern twice and then clap each pattern 3 times.

Activity Choice #9

• Listen to a song you like and draw a picture to show how the song makes you feel

Activity Choice #10

• Dance to a song you like

Activity Choice #11

• Find a spot to sit outside
• Draw a picture of 4 things outside you hear making music or musical sounds

 Activity Choice #12

• Create you own instrument using things around you house
• Play that instrument while listening to or singing a song you like

Activity Choice #13

• Draw and color a picture of an instrument from one of the families of the orchestra
  • String Instrument
  • Woodwind Instrument
  • Brass Instrument
  • Percussion Instrument
  • Keyboard Instrument

Activity Choice #14

• Design, draw, and color a new instrument

 Activity Choice #15

• Start a listening log
• Listen to a new song/music (at least 2 minutes long)
• Write down the name of the song/music
• Describe the song/music by answering the following questions:
  • Is it fast or slow?
  • Is it high or low?
  • Is it loud or soft?
  • Are thew a lot of instruments/voice or only a few?
  • What voices (boy or girl) do you think you hear?
  • What instruments do you think you hear?
  • What emotion did you feel while listening to the song/music?

Cantar Practice Track

Cantar Word Sheet

To Music Practice Track

To Music Word Sheet

We Sing a Jubilant Song Practice Track

We Sing a Jubilant Song Word Sheet

All-American Me and You Practice Track

All-American Word Sheet

You Gotta Sing Practice Track

You Gotta Sing Word Sheet

If you would like to watch and listen to an entire performance of The Planets by Gustav Holst please click the link below.

Video Description: "Edward Gardner leads the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the CBSO Youth Chorus in a performance of Gustav Holst's The Planets with Colin Matthews' supplementary piece "Pluto, The Renewer." Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall on August 6th 2016 as part of Prom 29." Taken from the video description on YouTube

What is a good example of writing music in the style of someone else's music. It happens all the time...I'm sure you can think of many many examples. One example this last year was Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On." This example has resulted in a lawsuit, but for most of history the use of another's music as an influence for your own music was a compliment to the other composer.

We ran across this the other day when we listened to Gustav Holst's "Mars" from The Planets. Each of my classes finished listening to the piece and immediately stated it sounded like Star Wars. We talked about it a bit, but I was curious about why they sounded to very similar. So I went searching and found this video about why Holst's "Mars" sounds so much like the John Williams' "Imperial March" from Star Wars. The video goes way way into too much detail for my students but it was very fascinating to say the least. I used part of it to get the point across that there is a difference between plagiarizing someone's music and using their music as an influence.

One great moment was that we discovered the use of the ostinato in both "Mars" and "Imperial March." We use and talk about using ostinatos all the time. It was wonderful to watch my students make the connection of how two great composers used the same technique.

It took Holst a while to compose The Planets. To hear and/or read about how The Planets came into being see the link below.

The Story About Gustav Holst's The Planets

Can you name the four instrument families of the orchestra?

If you can then you are awesome and if you can't then don't worry simply watch George (possibly the most adorable kid in the world) introduce them to you in the video at the bottom of the page. Also notice that most of the orchestra is made up of late elementary to high school age kids.

After watching the video explore the orchestra by clicking around the site below.

Classics for Kids: Intruments of the Orchestra

Now listen to The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten through the site below.

Interactive Listening Guide to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Now after all that tell me the four instrument families of the orchestra...hopefully you learned a little something.

Gong

Snare Drum

Triangle

Vibraphone

Glockenspiel

Temple Blocks

Cymbals

Tambourine

Bass Drum

Xylophone

Timpani

Chimes

Cornet

French Horn

Tuba

Trombone

Euphonium

Sousaphone

Trumpet

Saxophone

Piccolo

Oboe

Flute

Bassoon

Clarinet

English Horn