Blending In and Standing Out, part II

Anyone working with children certainly appreciates the challenges of teaching meaningful lessons the week before a break.My answer to this quandary is to hand classes over to my students with something I call Share Day. Share Day in music is my absolute favorite time of the year … I invite every one of them to share a musical talent with their class. Sort of a mini-talent show, students are welcome to share a song, dance, instrument, or anything that may fall under the umbrella of Performing Arts. Even students who just want to see what it’s like to play piano or drum set or ukulele (or whatever!), get a chance to perform. I tell them “listen to your heart, play what you hear and try to give it a beginning, middle, and an end” This past week, as always, I was blown away, not only with the myriad performances, but also with how supportive and encouraging every one of them were for their classmates … It was absolutely beautiful … I wish I could share some footage with everyone, but that would negate everything I’m trying to foster. So, parents out there, please know your children are amazing and I am so incredibly grateful to know them When they are given a chance to shine they rise up ❤️

Tap! Scrape! Shake! and Turkeys

First graders are learning about ways to make sound on classroom percussion instruments and categorizing them as "tappers," "scrapers," or "shakers." We also noticed the different shapes of the instruments and thought it would be fun to use the shapes and create turkey sculptures. Have a look at some of the very creative collaborations among first graders this week!

First Grade Music--budding composers

Primary goals with first grade during October include:
1. Keeping a steady beat
2. Pitch-matching (sol-mi-la)
3. Listening walks and "found sounds"
4. Sounds their voices can make
5. Moving safely through shared space
6. Feeling one sound, two sounds or no sound on a beat (preparing reading quarter notes, quarter rests, and paired eighth notes)

The students will work together composing, arranging and performing an original piece inspired by the changing colors of the leaves.

We're also going on a listening walk through the school, noticing the ambient sounds all around us as we go through our day. Inspired by Paul Showers' book "The Listening Walk" (1991. New York, NY: Harper Collins), the students will collaborate to write about our own walk around the school and describe the different sounds they hear. During music class we will record their ideas of sounds using their own voices, classroom instruments or body percussion and create a sound track.

June Share Days are coming!

Please click here to sign up for our June Share Days in Music!

Our first annual Evening of Fine Arts

Please join us this Thursday, June 13th, for our Evening of Art and Music! Everyone should come with their families. We will have food, music, art AND FREE RAFFLES!

We could still use volunteers and it's not too late to RSVP! Please follow the links below to help us make the evening a success.

Click HERE to RSVP

Click HERE to sign up to perform a musical selection!

Click HERE to volunteer!

First and Second Grade Violinists

The first and second graders have been thrilled to learn music through the violin for the past couple of weeks. An extension of our former primary string program, these violin mini-units (approx.8 weeks) provide our students with the unique opportunity to explore music making on an orchestral instrument.

The major goals of the unit include:
Fostering an appreciation of the string instruments
Developing fine motor skills through violin playing
Encouraging musicianship through performance
Understanding principals of tone production and affecting sounds of strings through finger placement

These early experience prepare our children for the third grade primary string program, with regular weekly large group lessons on the instrument, in addition to their regular general music classes once a week. I sincerely hope your child is enjoying our time on the violins as much as I enjoy introducing them to the violin

May Day 2013

Please plan to join us for our annual May Day celebration! The date for this year's festivities is Monday May 6, 2013. Fifth grade students are invited to sign up to participate in our traditional ribbon weaving dances around the May Pole. Permission slips are coming home this week for three after school rehearsals. They will be held on the following Wednesdays: April 17th, April 24th and May 1st.

Share Day is coming!

Please encourage your child to think of a musical talent they might like to share with their classmates during our special "Share Days" in music class. Beginning this Friday, March 22nd and every day next week (Monday 3/25-Thursday 3/28) all students in Ms. Dominick’s music classes grades 1-5 are encouraged to perform for their classmates. This could be in the form of a dance, singing a song, or performing a work on an instrument. Students of martial arts may wish to share some forms or sequences they’ve learned for their Share.

Performance is an important part of any musical training and also may inspire other classmates to learn something new. It is also a wonderful opportunity for students to feel pride in their accomplishment and hard work!

Please understand this is just for the class and not for any sort of formal “audience”—creating a safe place for students to perform is an important aspect of this day. The specific dates for each class are listed below.

All students planning to share should arrange to have any music, instruments and other special equipment with them on their share day. We have a piano available as well as a full drum set for students to use. I can play DVD’s of student performances as well as CD recordings if students have them available. Any equipment may be dropped off in music room 110 and will be completely safe and secure!

Thank you for your support and encouragement! I stress to the students this is a “want to” and not a “have to”. No one is required to perform—being a member of the audience is a valuable and inspiring experience too!

Homeroom Share Day
1 McCann Thursday 3/28
1 Novak Wednesday 3/27
1 Weidman Thursday 3/28

2 Lopez Wednesday 3/27
2 Drake Wednesday 3/27
2 McCarty Wednesday 3/27

3 Evans Friday 3/22
3 Wheeler Wednesday 3/27
3 Overman Tuesday 3/26
3 Machado Tuesday 3/26

4 Belford Friday 3/22
4 Miller Thursday 3/28
4 VanZandt Tuesday 3/26

5 Finnegan Tuesday 3/26
5 Farina Wednesday 3/27
5 Schaal Thursday 3/28
5 Virtucio Monday 3/25

First Graders arrangements of Autumn Leaves

First graders completed their unit study of quarter and paired eighth note rhythms with original arrangements in this rondo form composition entitled "Autumn Leaves." please click on the link below to hear each homeroom's unique version of the piece. Using the fall leaf colors of red, orange, gold, yellow and brown leaves, students worked in small groups to compose original rhythms to perform on unpitched percussion instruments. Our final performance of their leaf compositions was filled out with the students singing the song "Autumn Leaves" in between each group's 8-measure compositions.