Our Weekly Info: | This week, we begin our special salute to Black History Month by celebrating African American musicians, composers, conductors, producers, and innovators in the world of music! We'll be learning all about African Americans in the world of music this month as well as exploring various different styles of music which take their roots in African American traditions and culture! I can't wait to see who each of you choose to learn about during this special celebration! You can keep up with what the children are teaching me about African American Musicians by clicking here! Congratulations to: Violet (K), Lake (2), and Paloma (6) for being the FIRST students to become detectives and share some facts about African Americans in Music with us last week! Who will join them and share some facts with us this week? Check your child's go home folder for this month's composer fact sheet as well as the directions for how to become a "music detective" and have their work featured on the bulletin board outside the music classroom and on the Music Website! |
General Music:
This month all of our General Music classes will also be celebrating the rich traditions that African Americans have brought to the music room as we join the school in celebrating Black History Month! You can see some of what we're learning about by clicking HERE
We'll also be celebrating the special February holidays of Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras and exploring how music is a special part of these traditions as well! I can't wait to get this exciting month of music started with all of you!
**Kindergarten is back to singing, dancing, and playing their way through music class! We'll continue using our "Hello Routine" songs and many of us can already sing along! We're working on rhythmic and melodic passages and echoing them when Mrs. Kamp goes first. So far, we've explored "do," "mi," "sol," and "la" in our singing echos and ta (quarter note), ti-ti (eighth note), shh (quarter rest), and alligator (sixteenth note) in our rhythms but we're adding more all the time! We're experimenting with different classroom instruments including: Rhythm Sticks, Shaker Eggs, Jingle Bells, Tambourines, and Drums and using them to echo short rhythmic patterns as well as to accompany ourselves while singing a variety of songs. We're also using our bodies to show different things we notice in songs...like the speed, volume level, or way the music is moving. We will continue our work with Pre-School Prodigies learning some special winter and Valentine's Day themed songs! We'll also be doing a special "deep dive" into the many different styles of music which take their roots in African American traditions and cultures this month as we celebrate Black History Month in the Music Room!
**First Graders are back to working on rhythmic and melodic passages and echoing them when Mrs. Kamp goes first. We're diving back into building our musical vocabularies this month as we continue to explore all of the ways that music can be! Previously, we learned the music words for dynamic levels (volumes) including: piano (soft), mezzo (medium), and forte (loud.) We explored these dynamic changes with our bodies and through singing songs. We also experimented with crescendos and decrescendos (making the music get louder and softer). We also discussed how music can be choppy (staccato) or smooth (legate) and demonstrated the differences using our voices, instruments, and some super fun manipulatives! This week, we're going to continue exploring how songs can have multiple parts...including a verse (where the tune is the same, but the words change to tell the story) and a refrain (where the tune and the words are the same and keep coming back again and again). We'll be coloring to show our understanding of the two different parts as well as learning a special dance to go along with one of the songs!We're having fun with songs, games, instruments, dancing, and some pretty cool surprises as we build our music vocabularies and learn to speak the language of music. We will continue our work with Pre-School Prodigies, learning some special Winter and Valentine's Day themed songs! We'll also be doing a special "deep dive" into the many different styles of music which take their roots in African American traditions and cultures this month as we celebrate Black History Month in the Music Room!
**Second Graders will be expanding their repertoire of notes on the recorder this week as we step farther up the note ladder from B, A, and G and begin to work with BOTH HANDS so that we can play E! We're inching closer to earning our Green Belt and the perfect song for the weather we've been having, "It's Raining, It's Pouring!" Parents, you can find more information about the recorder program HERE along with some helpful links for at home practice :) We will continue our work with Pre-School Prodigies and learning some special Winter and Valentine's Day themed songs! We'll also be doing a special "deep dive" into the many different styles of music which take their roots in African American traditions and cultures this month as we celebrate Black History Month in the Music Room!
**Third Graders are back to music class and continue to "put it all together" as we incorporate everything we've learned over the past few years into larger ensemble playing through Pre-School Prodigies!! We're beginning to masker reading the treble staff and sooo much more!!! We'll be continuing to explore how music can move including step, leap or skip, and stay the same motion. We'll also be working with reading notes on the treble staff and beginning to try reading the staff without the color coding system we have used in the past. We received our first "music workbooks" and will be going through all of the activities there including note copying, note writing, note searches, and composing activities as we work to grow our music reading fluency! We'll also be doing a special "deep dive" into the many different styles of music which take their roots in African American traditions and cultures this month as we celebrate Black History Month in the Music Room!
Performance Music
Band Classes:
For more practice resources and ways to help your band student practice on their own, Click HERE
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" or "Mary Had a Little Flam"
"Now The Day"
"Lightly Row" or "Lightly Flam"
All of these songs can be found on Page 9 of your Band Brilliance Method Book.
The actual song each child will perform will be randomly selected by spinning a wheel, so make sure you are able to play all three!
ALL FOURTH GRADERS SHOULD COME PREPARED WITH their YELLOW AND ORANGE BELT ASSIGNMENT SHEET ON THURSDAY so we can do some of it together! ALL WHITE, YELLOW, AND ORANGE BELT SHEETS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS WEEK! ALL WHITE, YELLOW, AND ORANGE BELT TESTS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THIS WEEK! Let's get this Band Karate back on track :)
We will be completing our Yellow and Orange Belt tests this week in lessons.....and guess what, they're also the songs for our Spring Band Concert this May!! Be sure to ask your child to show your their new music, they're going to be excited to share!!
If you're interested in learning more about our school's Instrumental Music Program, follow these links to the band's individual websites:
Chorus Classes:
We're beginning to learn some NEW repertoire for our upcoming Spring Concert! I can't wait to start singing some new songs with all of you!!!
We've also started preparing some selections to share with you in at our monthly Wake Up Amagansett Presentations.
I also thought it might be fun to explore the singing and its importance to people around the world as part of this year's Choral Program in grades 3 - 6. Each week, the children will be watching a SHORT youtube video of a different singer or singing group from somewhere in the world or somewhere in time. We'll be watching, listening, and then pairing and sharing with a partner to discuss our thoughts about the performance. Older students will also be keeping a "listening journal" to express a few short sentences about their throughs on the performance.
Interested in seeing where this exploration will lead us?? Check out the "action" as HERE as I'll be adding the video of the week each week :)
We can't wait!! If you want to learn more about what we're up to in Chorus class or you want to help your child practice the chorus music at home, you can do so by following the link below:
String Classes:
Be sure to check your child's string class page often. I will be posting videos, handouts, songs, and other helpful materials there for each of our classes to help build this bridge from violin at school to violin at home!
As we begin our journey through learning to play the violin, I thought it might be fun to explore the violin (and other string instruments) "in action." Each week, the children will be watching a SHORT youtube video of a different string performer from somewhere in the world or somewhere in time. We'll be watching, listening, and then pairing and sharing with a partner to discuss our thoughts about the performance. Older students will also be keeping a "listening journal" to express a few short sentences about their throughs on the performance.
Interested in seeing where this exploration will lead us?? Check out the "action" as HERE as I'll be adding the video of the week each week :)
** Kindergarten Violin will be back to using the REAL VIOLINS again this week and are hoping to continue doing so each week moving forward! We are learning how to hold our bows, balance our violins, and control our bodies so nothing falls down! We're also making "box violins" so we can use them int he classroom and have them at home to practice with. Be sure to ask your child about some of the song activities we've learned including: Up Like a Rocket, The Grand Old Duke o f York, and The Wheels on the Bus. We can play quite a few songs on the open strings including: The Monkey Song, The Ant Song, and GDG Stomp! We're also learning all of the parts of our violin......you can quiz us at home if you check the class violin page HERE. We're working between elements of the Suzuki style and a Finnish style called "Colourstrings" as we try to meet the learning styles of all of our students in violin class :)
** First Grade Violin is right back to working with Colourstrings and Suzuki and will spend this week's class practicing Colourstring activities and continuing to learn "Twinkle!" Be sure to ask your child about some of the song activities we've learned including: Up Like a Rocket, The Grand Old Duke of York, The Monkey Song, The Ant Song, and GDG STOMP!. We're also learning all of the parts of our violin......you can quiz us at home if you check the class violin page HERE
** Second Grade Violin is right back to learning "Twinkle!" and all of its Suzuki variations! We're also starting to work on the "4 String Warm-Up" song so we can warm up like the big kids!! Be sure to ask your child about some of the song activities we've learned including: Up Like a Rocket, The Grand Old Duke of York, and The Monkey Song, The Ant Song, GDG STOMP, Elephants and Frogs, and The Kangaroo Song. We're also learning all of the parts of our violin......you can quiz us at home if you check the class violin page HERE And get ready...next week, we're continuing to add our fingers to the strings to expand our repertoire of notes, starting combining note reading on the treble staff with playing the violin, introducing the fun of Violin Karate beginning our Strictly Strings Method Book pages, and so much more!
** Third Grade Violin DUE TO A SCHEDULING CHANGE FOR SOME STUDENTS, THIRD GRADERS will NOW need to BRING THEIR VIOLIN TO SCHOOL WITH THEM EVERY THURSDAY THIS YEAR. We will continue learning how to add fingers to the strings and began learning "Twinkle!" and ALL of its Suzuki variations! We're hard at work mastering the "Four String Warm-Up" song as well as our G, D, and A Major scales so that we can play like the "big kids!" We're reviewing all of the parts of our violin and the names of the open strings. We refreshed all of our songs from last year including: Up Like a Rocket, The Grand Old Duke of York, The Monkey Song, The Ant Song, and GDG Stomp! And then got our fingers moving by playing Elephants and Frogs and The Kangaroo Song. This week we're also taking our first peek inside our brand new Strictly Strings Method Book. You can help us with some at home practice HERE.
** Fourth Grade Violin is right back to working on "Twinkle!" and ALL of its variations (regular song, tikatika titi, jack rabbit eats carrots, sammy shh cat , and teeny tiny tikatika) This week, we're continuing to work inside our Strictly Strings Method Book. You can help us with some at home practice HERE And get ready...next week, we'll be back to adding our fingers to the strings to expand our repertoire of notes, starting combining note reading on the treble staff with playing the violin, reviewing the fun of Violin Karate, and so much more! Keep polishing up that "Four String Warm-Up" song as well as your G, D, and A Major scales as they will all be helpful when working on the new string orchestra repertoire we're beginning this week!
** Fifth Grade Violin is right back to continuing to work on some exciting string orchestra music last week that will bring them up to the level of the Middle School String players by the time they arrive at the Middle School!! We're also working on "Twinkle!" and ALL of its variations (regular song, tikatika titi, jack rabbit eats carrots, sammy shh cat , and teeny tiny tikatika) This week, we're continuing to work inside our Strictly Strings Method Book. You can help us with some at home practice HERE And get ready...next week, we'll be back to adding our fingers to the strings to expand our repertoire of notes, starting combining note reading on the treble staff with playing the violin, reviewing the fun of Violin Karate, and so much more! Keep polishing up that "Four String Warm-Up" song as well as your G, D, and A Major scales as they will all be helpful when working on the new string orchestra repertoire we're beginning this week!
** Sixth Grade Violin are coming to the music room at RECESS on WEDNESDAYS. This week we're continuing inside our Strictly Strings Method Book. We're also working on "Twinkle!" and ALL of its variations (regular song, tikatika titi, jack rabbit eats carrots, sammy shh cat , and teeny tiny tikatika). Keep polishing up that "Four String Warm-Up" song as well as your G, D, and A Major scales as they will all be helpful when working on the new string orchestra repertoire we're beginning this week! You can help us with some at home practice HERE.
Stay tuned for more information right here each week :)
Mrs. Kamp :)