Our Weekly Info: | This week we will begin exploring the works of our newest composer of the month, Tan Dun! This will be Mr. Tan Dun's first time EVER being featured as our Composer of the Month and I'm so excited to introduce our students to his work! Although, as you will find out, Mr. Tan Dun was born in August and not May, our celebration of his music comes in part as we salute May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! As always, all students are invited to complete one or more of the activities about Mr. Tan Dun that can be found in their red "Go Home" folders this week. Student work will be displayed don the music website and on a bulletin board outside of the music room :) Who will be the first students to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with me by learning a bit more about Mr. Tan Dun and his music? 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 Music Website! |
General Music:
**Pre-K 3 and 4 will 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" and are continuing to experiment with "re" and "fa" in our singing echoes 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! then we'll get back into Prodigies with Pre-K 3 continuing Chapters 1 and 2 and meeting each of the bells and Pre-K 4 continuing with Chapter 3 learning familiar songs based on the first 3 pitches of the C Major scale...do-re-and mi! We'll also be doing a "Sweet Beets" song to work on our rhythm and steady beat skills! Be sure to ask your child to sing you some of the new songs we're working on! We're celebrating "Star Wars Day" (May 4th) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) this week with some special rhythmic activities as well!
**Kindergarten will continue to use 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 MASTERED "do," "mi," "sol," and "la" and are continuing to explore "re" and "fa" in our singing echoes. We can even sing the patterns if Mrs. Kamp only gives us the first sign!!!!! We're continuing to work with: 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! Then we'll be back in our Prodigies curriculum continuing through Chapter 5! We've learned soo many new songs....so be sure to ask your child to share some of them with you :) We're celebrating "Star Wars Day" (May 4th) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) this week with some special rhythmic activities as well!
**First Graders will be back to their normal weekly music schedule after missing class last week! We'll return to our studies with Pre-School Prodigies this week! We'll be finishing up chapter 6 and beginning to work through chapter 7 this month....working with all different pitches, melodies and rhythms, AND learning to play in two parts...having some students work on the melody while others add a percussion line to the song!!! 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're celebrating "Star Wars Day" (May 4th) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) this week with some special rhythmic activities as well!
**Second Graders will be continuing to work with our TWO new recorder notes in music class this week: The High C and the High D! Then, we'll be putting these notes together with our old notes to being working on our Blue Belt song, "Lightly Row!" Students will also continue working with the notes of: B, A, G, and E!!!!! We'll be reorganized all of the pitches into different patterns and adding in some new rhythmic concepts including eighth notes (ti-ti) to play a completely different song! Parents, you can find more information about the recorder program HERE along with some helpful links for at home practice :) We'll also be continuing to work as a "Orffestra" by playing some of our older recorder songs (and some special new ones) on recorders, boomwhackers, desk bells, and drums! It's soo much fun to work together to master our parts and to get to try out all of the different instruments! We're going to be sooo ready when we get to Fourth Grade Band!! We're celebrating "Star Wars Day" (May 4th) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) this week with some special rhythmic activities as well!
**Third Graders unfortunately will not have music class this week due to ta field trip over to Longhouse Reserve. But don't worry!! We will be back for more musical adventures next week :)
Performance Music
SPRING CONCERT SCHEDULED FOR A LIVE PERFORMANCE ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8th!!!
CAN'T WAIT TO BRING BACK LIVE PERFORMANCES AT THE AMAGANSETT SCHOOL!!!
PLEASE MARK YOUR FAMILY CALENDARS AND PLAN TO ATTEND AS THIS CONCERT IS MANDATORY FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-6....we can't wait to show you all of our hard work this year!!
Band Classes:
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Band are also continuing on a journey through the world of classical music this month! We will be listening to a series of short classical excerpts and then discussing them as a class. You can tune in and listen along with us here (we're on Video 031 this week and will be taking a look at "Promenade" from "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky (arranged by Maurice Ravel)! Some of the videos look blank on our website, but if you click the "Youtube" icon on the bottom of each video you will be re-directed to the correct place :)
** Fourth Graders:
Fourth Graders will be continuing our work with the first FIVE notes on our instruments! isn't it AMAZING how many different songs we can learn using only 5 notes! We will be working towards mastering pages 9 through 12 of our Band Brilliance Method Book and will be reviewing pages 7 and 8!! Remember to focus on your rhythm and counting as we've added whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes and their corresponding rests at this point so the rhythms are getting much more interesting. If you need extra time working with rhythm you can always turn to the rhythm challenges on page 32-33 of the Band Brilliance Book.
We will also be continuing work on the Band Karate Challenge ORANGE BELT in our lessons this week. Try and complete the vocabulary and notation portions of your White Belt and Yellow Belt Sheets before your lesson :) Students who have already completed their Yellow Belts will be receiving their sheets to begin the Orange Belt level this week!!! Be sure to ask your child what that's all about! They're going to be excited to share!!
** Fifth and Sixth Graders:
Concert Band members will be continuing to work on the repertoire for our Spring Concert heading your way on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8th!!! At this point, you should have almost completely mastered "Boot Scootin Barn Dance," "Royal Crown March," "Dr. Rock," and "Big Rock Candy Mountain!" We will also be continuing the Band Karate Challenge in our lessons this week.
BEGINNING BAND (FOURTH GRADE)
CONCERT BAND (FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES)
Chorus Classes:
We're building our teamwork skills as we work together to become STAR Singers and fill Mrs.Kamp's class pom-pom jars! How long will it take your class to earn another "STAR Singers Day??" Remember.....the challenge gets harder each time now that I know what AMAZING work you can do!
I 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 :) Did anyone notice the connection to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month in this week's video?
String Classes:
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! Did anyone notice the connection to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month in this week's video?
** Pre-K 4 Violin, WELCOME TO "TINY TWINKLERS!" Pre-K 4 students will continue their journey into the world of violin this week!! In the FIRST EVER "Tiny Twinkler's Violin Class," our Pre-K 4 students will be introduced to the violin and begin learning the skills they will need to eventually play the real instrument (hopefully before the end of this school year!) We'll be listening to violin music, learning the parts of the instrument, watching some performers, and building our muscles so that we can hold the violin and bow! We'll be using the "box violins" we made last week to practice holding and balancing the violin and learning some beginning songs as we prepare to move to the "real violin" possibly at the end of this week's class!!
** Kindergarten Violin will continue learning how to hold our bows, balance our violins, and control our bodies so nothing falls down! 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'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 on holding position and posture. We've also been working on playing pizzicato (plucking the strings) on our open strings and learning "The Monkey Song" and "The Ant Song." We'll continue playing these songs pizzicato, as well as adding the bow to try our hands at playing "arco!!" We're also hoping to try out a brand new song...."G-D-G STOMP!" We're also using the songs from Prodigies music to help us learn bow control on each of the individual open strings. We play along with the music and are learning to listen to one another, stay together, and make beautiful music and not noise :)
** First Grade Violin will continue learning their new warm up song! We'll also be working towards moving our violin hand off of the shoulder of the instrument and back to the scroll so we can add our fingers to the strings and learn even more songs! We're continuing working on "Elephants and Frogs" on the E string using the open string and finger number 1 and are learning that the pitch of the string changes as we add each finger. You can play along on your box violin at home if you check the class violin page HERE. We're also hoping to try out a brand new song...."The Kangaroo Song!" We've added some color coded stickers to help us with fingering on the strings....we're super familiar with the colors of Mr. Rob's desk bells, so Mrs. Kamp thought it might be interesting to see what happens when we combine those colors with our violin studies....stay tuned to see our progress as this little finger experiment plays out :)
** Second Grade Violin will be busy working on adding your fingers to the E string to play The Kangaroo Song and Elephants and Frogs. We will be continuing to work out of the Strictly Strings Violin Method Book this week as we start looking at the written notation to accompany our earlier Suzuki style training!! We're looking at page 17 in the book combining note reading and finger moving on the D string :) Be sure to get out those practice pets and work with them to build your violin skills and fill in those practice journals! You can practice at home if you check the class violin page HERE You might have noticed that we've added some color coded stickers to help us with fingering on the strings....we're super familiar with the colors of Mr. Rob's desk bells, so Mrs. Kamp thought it might be interesting to see what happens when we combine those colors with our violin studies....stay tuned to see our progress as this little finger experiment plays out :) We're hoping to begin working on our Level I Green belts in class this week!! Second Graders have been invited to join the older students and complete practice trackers each week to record their at home practice with their violins! As part of the "Building Blocks for Success" students receive a Lego brick for every 10 minutes they spend practicing throughout the week. More information can be found in your child's Music Google Classroom Assignments Tab.
** Third Grade Violin This week we'll continue working inside our Strictly Strings Method Book. We'll review open string notes and our CRAZY string jumping this week! We're working on pages 18 and 19 in the book.....learning to read the notes of the treble staff while we add our fingers to the D string. We're continuing with the Four String Warm Up, but have also added a new warm up working with different rhythms and patters on the open strings! And this week, we're beginning to learn major scales! We'll be adding our fingers to the G and D strings as we learn the finger pattern for the G major scale! You can help us with some at home practice HERE We're also embarking on a new journey with our violins...VIOLIN KARATE!!! This week, we will continue on our Karate journey and begin to build towards earning our Purple Belts!!!! You might have noticed that we've added some color coded stickers to help us with fingering on the strings....we're super familiar with the colors of Mr. Rob's desk bells, so Mrs. Kamp thought it might be interesting to see what happens when we combine those colors with our violin studies....stay tuned to see our progress as this little finger experiment plays out :) Third Graders have been invited to join the older students and complete practice trackers each week to record their at home practice with their violins! As part of the "Building Blocks for Success" students receive a Lego brick for every 10 minutes they spend practicing throughout the week. More information can be found in your child's Music Google Classroom Assignments Tab.
** Fourth Grade Violin This week we'll continue working inside our Strictly Strings Method Book. We'll review open string notes and our CRAZY string jumping this week! We're working on page 19 in the book.....learning to read the notes of the treble staff while we add our fingers to the D and A strings AND combine notes on those TWO strings to form single songs! We're continuing with the Four String Warm Up, but have also added a new warm up working with different rhythms and patters on the open strings! AND we've mastered the G and D scales and have begun working on the A scale!! You can help us with some at home practice HERE We're also continuing our journey VIOLIN KARATE!!! Now we're on to working towards that Purple belt!! Can we master the new song "Can Can" ??? You might have noticed that we've added some color coded stickers to help us with fingering on the strings....we're super familiar with the colors of Mr. Rob's desk bells, so Mrs. Kamp thought it might be interesting to see what happens when we combine those colors with our violin studies....stay tuned to see our progress as this little finger experiment plays out :)
** Fifth Grade Violin will be continuing on inside the Strictly Strings Method Book. We'll review open string notes and our CRAZY string jumping this week! We're working on pages 18 and 19 in the book.....learning to read the notes of the treble staff while we add our fingers to the D string. We're continuing with the Four String Warm Up, but have also added a new warm up working with different rhythms and patters on the open strings! You can help us with some at home practice HEREYou might have noticed that we've added some color coded stickers to help us with fingering on the strings....we're super familiar with the colors of Mr. Rob's desk bells, so Mrs. Kamp thought it might be interesting to see what happens when we combine those colors with our violin studies....stay tuned to see our progress as this little finger experiment plays out :)Parents and parent involvement is an essential part of a students success in music, particularly in the Suzuki style of teaching. Although we can't have parents attend each and every one of our class meetings, it will be very important for your child's success that they begin practicing at home and that they see you excited and enthusiastic about all of their violin playing.
Stay tuned for more information right here each week :)
Mrs. Kamp :)