This week in music...

 In music class, we have been learning songs and poems related to fall and Halloween. Some of our favorites include; 'Autumn Leaves', 'Fly Little Bat', and 'Big Black Cats'. We also played musical games related to tempo (how fast or slow the beat can go).

The grade 4s have been learning songs for their virtual Remembrance Day assembly which will be shown to our classes on November 10th. 

We have also been learning about beat and rhythm and learning that music is made up of short sounds, longs sounds, and rests (quarter notes - ta, eighth notes - ti-ti, half notes- ta-a, etc.)  

The grade 3s and 4s have been learning how to read and understand musical symbols including note values, rests, dynamics (volume) and phrases through a piece of music called 'WHO'.

In music class, we have been learning various musical games involving body percussion (clapping, stomping, jumping, patting, etc.) and keeping a steady beat. 

We are exploring songs and poems related to Autumn. We also discussed things we are thankful for and learned the song "If You're Thankful and You Know It".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ythm2JGEhAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyJIfdA71Lc

The grade 3 and 4 students have been learning about what a round is in music and that a repeating phrase or pattern in music is called an ostinato.

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=thanksgivingunit1&meter_stat=

This week during music and gym, the students will be participating in our annual Terry Fox Run! We will be using the soccer field and the compound area. In music, we have been learning a Terry Fox song and cheer to show our support and enthusiasm. 

T-E-R-R-Y       F-O-X......Let's Run!

Welcome to Music at Saddle Ridge School

 

Hi I am Mrs. MacEachern and I will be your music teacher again this school year! I am very excited to be back at school and working with all of the students in Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

We are going to have a lot of fun in music class by listening to various styles of music, watching videos of different musicians, learning body percussion, doing movement, learning about the orchestra and all of the instruments, learning how to read and write music, etc. 🎵🎶

A lot of our music learning will be done outside this year, so please make sure you dress appropriately for the weather. Bring a hat or sunglasses if sunny, gloves, a jacket, a hat if it gets cool. 

My music blog will be updated a couple of times a month to share what we have been doing in music class and to share some fun/interesting links. I am looking forward to a wonderful, musical year! 😀

 

Music Activities - June 22, 2020

All Grades

Well we did it! We made it to the end of the school year, and what a year it has been! This is your last week of online learning and Google meetings. I am very proud of all of the students at Saddle Ridge School and was so happy to be your music teacher. I hope you all have a great summer! 

Here is a list again of some of my favorite music websites/resources you can continue to check out...

- MusicPlay https://musicplayonline.com/
- DSO Kids (listen + learn) https://www.mydso.com/dso-kids/learn-and-listen/instruments
- Classics For Kids https://www.classicsforkids.com/
- SFS Kids http://www.sfskids.org/

This week perhaps you can find some to time to reflect and think back on this school year. You can draw pictures, write a poem or song, create a collage, write about what you learned or find someone to share some of your favorite memories with. 💜

Canada Day is July 1st. Here are a few tasks related to Canada Day.

This rhythm sort activity is from the MusicPlay website. 

1. Read the word or words.

2. Clap how many syllables there are.

3. Find the matching rhythm.

Example : Lake Erie  would be ta   ti-ti

Here is a song called Canada in my Pocket, which tells us about the significance of the symbols on Canadian coins. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnZlAOSEmYQ

And of course, this is our national anthem (just click on the link below and scroll down for the video)

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=oh+canada&meter_stat=

Happy Canada Day and 

Happy Summer!

Father's Day

Father's Day is coming up in a couple of days. 

It is this Sunday, June 21st. 

Here are a few songs dedicated to all the wonderful fathers/stepfathers/grandfathers/uncles out there! 

On Father's Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbJHLntUW_o

I Love My Daddy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm4jDxUqQgg

I Love You Daddy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DvzMxn3c2s

A Song for Dad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v34AMLYNZa0

                         

If you want to do a small art project for a special person in your life for Father's Day, here is an idea from Art for Kids Hub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXQK-TNatcE

Music Activities - June 15, 2020

All Grades

Here are some listening activities you can try at home that are related to music. You can pick and choose some of the activities to try, as there are several. 

https://musicplayonline.com/listening/

Here is a nice read aloud called The Dot. An inspirational book to find the artist within. 

https://safeyoutube.net/w/Al7G

This is a great song to sing as we continue our virtual SuperHero Sports Day this week. 

You're a Star!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gElrKmXWo

If you want to learn how to draw some Super Heroes, check out 
Art for Kids Hub on YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2PLLMY3qI4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngz2vfk2n1Q

Stayed tuned for some Father's Day songs later this week...  Father's Day is June 21st. 

  

Music Activities - June 8, 2020

Kindergarten and Grade 1

Here is a song that teaches us about the notes we can bring together to make a song to sing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrtPRQO9pu4

                         All Grades

This is a great song for our virtual SuperHero Sports Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gElrKmXWo

Stay fit with music! Try moving along with this Homerun video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FLVPlKPn_c

Here is a virtual xylophone, metallophone, and piano you can play and try to create your own song. 

https://musicplayonline.com/xylophone/

  Grades 2 - 4 

Can Can - percussion play along

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyhsTdfEL1E

Rondo Alla Turka - percussion play along

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ebeCOo6XQU

Music Activities - June 1, 2020

Kindergarten and Grade 1

Here is a little song you can play along with. Find a percussion instrument (if you don't have one you can use things around your house like a box or container) or use body percussion 

(clap your hands or stomp your feet).

Listen to the music, and as the bee lands on a flower, you tap your instrument. Notice how the music changes tempo (speed) sometimes by slowing down or speeding up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Pp3RrBRKA&t=36s

This next song is about a chick about to hatch! The music was written by a composer named Mussorgsky. 
(When you open the link, scroll down to find the video.)

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=chick4&meter_stat=

                          All Grades
.            

Time to compose! Here is a link that will let you experiment with music to create your own 1 or 2 part melodies. Check it out!

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Melody-Maker/

Here is a link that will let you explore rhythm to create your own musical patterns, using ta, ti-ti and quarter rest. You can also change the sound to clapping, a piano, a drum, a xylophone or claves. Have fun!
https://musicplayonline.com/activities/rhythm_composition/exercises/rhythm_composition/level_2/level_2.html

Remember I mentioned the MusicPlay website, which is now free to use until later this summer...? Well, if you go to the website and click on 'online learning', there are a bunch of music lessons at each grade level that you can try out if you want.       https://musicplayonline.com/

 Grades 2 - 4 

Here is a video to help us review the line and space notes when we are reading or composing music. (Remember the treble clef is used for higher notes and the bass clef is used for lower notes). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCZ3qOnNOsk

Music Activities - May 25, 2020

Kindergarten and Grade 1

Here is a little song to help you practice some basic rhythms. 
(ta and ti-ti)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-oQe5HR2YE

The kindergarten students are learning about the farm. Check out this song Animals on the Farm and an Old MacDonald Had a Farm dance. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBIjRY3ad_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXEq-QO3xTg

                          All Grades

The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra has recently put out a new 4-part online series called An Orchestra Adventure. Every couple of weeks they will release a new video. The first Webisode is called Wondrous Woodwinds. Check it out!

http://calgaryphil.com/kids-project/

After watching it, can you answer these questions???

- What are the instruments of the woodwind family?
- How would you describe each of their sounds? Which one is the highest, and which one is the lowest? Which one is the oldest?
- Which woodwind instrument was your favorite, why?
- About how many musicians play a woodwind instrument in the orchestra?
- What did you learn about one of my favorite composers named Mozart?

 Art time for Everyone! 

Try drawing some musical instruments or anything else you might be interested in. Art For Kids Hub on YouTube has some really great things to draw and they teach you how to do it. So much fun!

Grand Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp3tnvm4a7k&t=10s

Violin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIvHQ_ivkPY&t=1s

Guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjBWlO42cc

Music Activities - May 18, 2020

Kindergarten and Grade 1

Here is one of our favorite silly movement songs related to Spring! It's Singing in the Rain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbFGojJxqoo

                         All Grades

In the music room we like to listen to different kinds of music and talk about what we imagined, felt or heard as we were listening.
Listen to this song by a composer named Offenbach and draw a picture or write about it. 
- What did you imagine?
- How did the song make you feel?
- What instruments did you hear? Which ones were high, which ones were low?
- What was the tempo (speed) like? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Diu2N8TGKA

  Grades 2 - 4 

Here is a great video that explains the fundamentals of music including pitch, beat, rhythm, and the staff. Check it out!

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-read-music-tim-hansen 

After you have watched the video, you can answer the following questions:

- What are 5 things you learned about music from watching this video?

- What is pitch?

- What letters make up pitches in music?

- What is the difference between a whole note (ta-a-a-a), half note (ta-a), quarter note (ta) and eighth note (ti)?

Bonus questions:

- What does a time signature do?

- What are bar lines?

Now you can try making your own rhythm and beats using the Chrome Music Lab!
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Rhythm/

Music Activities - May 11, 2020

Kindergarten and Grade 1

It is so much fun to sing!!! Here are a couple of fun echo songs to help find your singing voice.

Sing After Me 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Lgli7TgWs

I Am a Pizza 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zdmGDbL9Qs

All Grades

Singing is an invaluable skill that many children love to learn. Check out this So Mi La challenge to develop your singing technique. Remember to stand (or sit up tall) and take nice deep breaths when you sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrPp01NoUHA

                    Grades 2 - 4 (but any age really)

Here is a basic body percussion routine to learn and practice this week. Body percussion is often made up of clapping, stomping, patting and snapping patterns. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnt6O8N6eDg

Once you have aced that one, you can use this hip hop beat to try and create your own body percussion patterns. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xQFASlG02A

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up in a couple days. It is this Sunday, May 10th. Here is a lovely song dedicated to all the wonderful mothers out there! It is called...

                                         Mom is the Sunshine

Log in to musicplayonline.com

Username: snow
Password: 2020

Then copy and paste this link and scroll down for the video.

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=motherday5&meter_stat=

Hope you enjoy the song!

Here are a couple of more songs for Mother's Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i49icozXSsg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9rptz0mDI

Music Activities - May 4, 2020

Kindergarten, Gr 1 and 2

In the music room we like to learn about different composers and styles of music. Here is a good website you can explore to learn about some of our favorite composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky. 
(Hint: In this website if you click on the words, the computer will read them for you.)

https://www.starfall.com/h/ftr-music/?sn=fun-to-read&mg=m

Here are some questions you can try to answer after looking at this website.
- How many works of music did Mozart write in his life?
- What happens to the toys in Tchaikovsky's the Nutcracker?

All Grades

Today is May the 4th. (May the forth be with you). 
Here is a song by the Piano Guys called Cello Wars to help celebrate Star Wars Day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgAlQuqzl8o

Stay tuned for a Mother's Day Song that I will post later this week!

Grades 2 - 4

This week, try to get up and move to these awesome rhythms. Try to find two sticks or some other objects to tap together as you learn this routine. Maybe ask a family member to join you. Have fun!! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qti8j5xKqSQ&list=PLfs0pyTEUYIVQFZ7jsduCx-livllTjYfi

Grades 3 - 4 

Learn more about the instruments of the orchestra.

Explore the SFS kids website a little closer.      http://sfskids.org/
- Go in and click on Discover 
- Click on Let's Start
- Click the Instruments bubble and read the information
- Click Instrument Families and pick one family to learn more about.

Answer the following questions. 
- What are the four instrument families?
- What instrument family did you chose to explore? 
-What instruments make up that family? 
-Which of those instruments is your favorite?
- Describe the instrument and the sound it makes.
- Sketch a picture of the instrument. 

Music Activities - April 27, 2020

All Grades

MusicPlay is a great music resource with lots of different songs and themes/musical concepts to explore. Check out some of the fun games that are on there too on the right hand side of the page.  

Log in to musicplayonline.com

Username: snow
Password: 2020

Kindergarten - Gr. 2

Once you are logged into MusicPlay, here are a couple of fun Spring songs you can learn and sing at home.

Copy and paste these links to listen to the songs Eency Weency Spider and Watch Our Garden Grow

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=spbu2&meter_stat= 

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=garden5&meter_stat=

(Hint: If you scroll down to the bottom to the page you can find the videos of the songs that include notation and lyrics)

Grades 3 - 4

Once you are logged into MusicPlay, here is a Spring song you can learn and sing at home. Notice the differences between ta, ti-ti and tika tikas (quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes). Also you will notice this song is a 'round'. Can you figure out what a round is, in music?

Copy and paste this link to listen to the song called Raindrops Round

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=spring1&meter_stat=

(Hint: If you scroll down to the bottom to the page you can find the videos of the song that include notation and lyrics)

Grades 2 - 4

Here is a body percussion challenge to try out this week. It starts off slowly, but watch out when the tempo increases! ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXZWgOf2lSA

Continue to check out the website Classics for Kids. You can listen to Vivaldi's 'Spring' from the Four Seasons. There is also this month's activity sheet that you can download and take a look it. 

https://www.classicsforkids.com/

Attention Saddle Ridge Choir

Today is Earth Day.
Here are two beautiful songs to sing. One is called Show You Care and the other is We Can Make a Difference.
Help take care of each other and our planet. Happy Earth Day!

~ 💜 Mrs. MacEachern

Log in to musicplayonline.com

Username: snow
Password: 2020

Then copy and paste these links and scroll down for the video.

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday7&meter_stat=

https://musicplayonline.com/?s=differenceday1&meter_stat=