Hi everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week - we stayed in our pajamas all day, watched the Thanksgiving Parade, played games and watched movies! It was so fun and relaxing and my family loved it - I did, too!
Week before that I was in Salt Lake City at the National American Orff Schulwerk Association's (AOSA) Conference which was amazing! Truly love these peeps and the creativity and collegiality is very special and heart-warming. I attended some incredible sessions and loved reconnecting with folks I took Levels courses with and those who I have taught at Chapter workshops and State Conferences. This is also the one time of the year I see my editor face to face - Brent Holl of Beatin' Path Publications is a friend and amazing musician! Working on a new book can be stressful - and the editing process is difficult and full of discussions about which way to present material and what to leave out and what to include but Brent makes it easy!
One of my favorite finds at conference were the new musical sit spots! There are several packs but I can see using this one the most frequently. For a quick assessment, lay them out on the floor and as students come in direct each student to stand on a specific note - Josiah, stand on a quarter note, etc.
Outside the conference center there were these amazing signs- so fun
and meaningful!
We were also invited to attend a free open rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Singing with this group would completely ruin anyone for singing with a small choir ever again. Full orchestra and seating for 90,000 in the hall. AMAZING!
This morning on my fb site - @o for tuna orff I posted a video with a cup game to Trepak from Nutcracker. Click on the picture to go to the video. There is also a book/song/activity to use for Hanukkah season as well called "Shabbat Shalom".
Yes, I love the Nutcracker. The music, the story, the ballet. All of it. I have many students at my school who dance in the ballet every year and I love introducing this to my kiddos although most of them have heard the music or seen the ballet.
To begin this lesson, I teach/review the song and game, "We are Dancing in the Forest". My Kindergarten students learn this and play the game, then are introduced to quarter and eighth notes through iconic then actual notation. In first grade we review the song, read the notation, and then we are ready for how this plays into ballet.
What, you say? How does that song lead into ballet? DANCING! We sing the song and students must pretend they are in a forest dancing and by the time the song is finished they must be back in their places. We try this a few times, and then I ask them to do this again and I sing the melody of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Repeat ad nauseum.
Then I show them this through the first musical theme:
Students turn and talk to a neighbor about what they noticed. They will stand up and start showing what they noticed - it is so cute, they can't help but try out some moves! I put the music on and they try out some of the moves with the music playing - it is so sweet to watch them imitate some of what they have seen!
We discuss the meaning of ballet, that some football players take ballet lessons to work on balance and strength, and then I ask if they would like to meet a ballerina? Then I show them this:
I really like that the video has male and female dancers and talks about body image and accepting who you are and what you have.
After that we watch and learn about a celesta:
Next I break out the foam snowflakes and trees. The snowflakes I got at Dollar Tree one season and the trees I cut out from craft foam (also from Dollar Tree in the craft aisle). See where this is going yet? Snowflakes have 2 sounds and will become eighth notes, trees have one sound and will become quarter notes. I put many patterns on the floor, students clap and say, then I break out the quarter note and eighth note cards and students place these above the snowflakes and eighth notes.
Then they are ready for this visual. The theme is incomplete and missing a repeat sign, but my first graders haven't learned that symbol yet and the focus is quarter and eighth note reading. Once we practice saying and clapping the theme, half the class gets triangles to play the them on, the other half dances. Perform, then switch! Such a blast!
Hope you enjoy this one! My kiddos sure did! Happy Holidays!
If your classroom is anything like mine, for the past few weeks it has been a mix of fall/Halloween/Christmas/Winter/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah. So... does that mean my students have been singing Fallowintzaakahmas? Yup! Now that Halloween is over I feel the intensity and focus shift to music for our Holiday Concert. Thankfully this year I have been blessed - I only have ONE concert! Well, two, but our Grandparent's Day concert is incredibly short and is right before Thanksgiving. ONE concert in December.. I need to pinch myself! I usually have at least 3, sometimes 4-5, so one concert is a big deal - and it is my entire elementary division together, which means that I don't need to produce a minimum 40 minute concert with just my first and second graders. That used to mean 12-15 songs (at least) and so it was crazy practicing with students to get them prepared. With the same time 40 minute concert time frame, and all the grade levels, I have about 5 songs, a parent participation piece, each fourth grade is performing one Orff arrangement, a drama (I am not responsible for) and readings (I am not responsible for), I don't quite know what to do with myself ! It is wonderful to plan some *gasp* LESSONS for the months of November and December!
I am planning on bucket drumming to Trepak from the Nutcracker and a few other activities to the Nutcracker as well. Here are some rhythm cards you may find useful - right click on each to save it and have fun using them!
Oh Stretchy Band, oh Stretchy Band, what to do with thee?
It is funny how different things influence our teaching and blogging (not to mention personal lives). A short while ago the AOSA FB page, someone asked what to do with their stretchy band. I had already begun to write about how to use the stretchy band in the music room and with Christmas and Chinese New Year (see post below) I am finally getting around to finishing this post!
Many teachers I know have a stretchy band and wonder what to do with them. If you don't have one or find the ones with big tubing inside uncomfortable, make one.. or if you're like me, make several! Get ready- pantyhose time!
Here's a video tutorial I made on how to make stretchy bands. Best as a summertime project. :)
Update 8.27.17:
Order a box of pantyhose seconds to make bands with here:
You can get defective hose in bulk from:
Nancy Terry
HANESbrands INC.
1904 Clark Road
Clarksville, Arkansas 72830
(P) 479-979-3492 (F) 479-754-5597
nancy.terry@hanes.com
couple of my bands:
2.22.17 Update! Another fabulous idea from Rob Amchin -
Stretchy Band Song
This simple and cute song includes "bounce to the beat", "up, down", in, out" and is very simple for your younger players. I love the cute accents of the children singing!
Rob Amchin - Color Pitch Matching Game
Perfect pitch matching activity! If you have a band like mine (not colorblocked) have students tie or wrap on colored scarves in front of where they are sitting.
Stretchy with Nutcracker March
Artie Almeida. Not much more needs to be said. :)
Les Saluts Dance
While not typically a "stretchy band" dance, simple folk dances like this are perfect for stretchy bands. This is a lovely folk dance, perfect for younger grades and I love the fermata point as it creates a wonderfully magical moment for students to listen keenly to when the music begins again.
The Waves - Lynn Kleiner
My kindies and first graders LOVE this song and the fermata again makes this SO much fun. Using the stretchy in a circle, the waves go rolling all about - lift and lower one hand at a time to create waves. The waves go up, the waves go down, in and out (pull as far back as you can and walk backwards slooowly). SO fun! This is from Lynn's book, "Sounds of the Sea". The song is below- different activity, but you'll hear how lovely it is!
Classroom Divider
I often use the band as a visual separator in the classroom. When I
put instruments out on the floor for an activity (and I want them to stay in a
particular setup) I place the band on the floor to separate this space from the
“regular classroom”.Especially
effective with younger musicians, this helps them to know when it is
appropriate to play (when teacher instructs them to “cross the line” (although
I always have them go around).
Illustrating Tritonic SLM Melodies OR Show Melodic Direction
Holding the band in a circle, T. calls out 4 beat melody using SLM, students echo and show Sol by holding stretchy at chest level, La overhead, and Mi in front of belly button.
Using a known song, students visually demonstrate melodic direction.
Stretchy Band Assessment
This post from a while ago has some ideas for how to assess students using stretchy bands.
Hope you found some new ideas or revisited some old ones. Happy January! Stay warm.
Oh, Nutcracker, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways..
Seriously, better than chocolate. Inner music nerd speaking to self, "There is something so thrilling about having a class recognize the music from the Nutcracker!".
My students are in the midst of rehearsals for 3 holiday concerts; yes, 3! My junior kindergarten and kindergarten students have a short one, followed by classroom holiday parties (so smart), then first and second graders have one at 9 AM on the 14th, third and fourth graders at 1 PM same day. Fun, fnu, nuf! Nope, that's not a misspelling, that's how I feel by the end of the day!
While we are practicing for concerts, I am doing a wee bit of Nutcracker with our time remaining in each music class. I especially love Trepak, the Russian dance. It's so quick, lively, and exciting.
1. Trepak Body Percussion and Bucket Drumming (focus on form and beat)
I begin by performing this for the students (listen to the music and you will understand WHEN to do the movements). The sequence happens during the A Section and will be repeated for a total of 4 times. I ask the students to notice everything I am doing.
Have them turn and talk. This is such an underrated and underused teaching tool. I love turn and talk. They literally turn to a neighbor and talk about their observations in "kid speak". I find this to be so helpful. What did they hear/see? How many times did it happen? Was it a pattern or random?
They quickly discover a repeating pattern, and some of my fourth graders will also notice there was no introduction (!). I have the students perform the movements and then listen to the next section- more turn and talk, etc. until we discover the B section and then we perform the following movements:
Patsch: Alternate patting knees for 8 beats
Clap: Clap own hands for 8 beats
Clap Sides: Hands out at sides, clap side neighbors (on each side) hands, 8 beats.
Combo: To half note count: Pat, clap (own), clap (sides), clap (own). Four movements total.
The next parts I teach by imitation to the "interlude" or "C" section; whole notes count: Soldier with one arm going straight up, then other arm, then half note count; arm straight up, switch, then quarter note count right arm, left arm, right arm, left arm.
Back to the A Section for 2 patterns, then clap the beat and continue through the rallentando at the end!
Now you're ready to transfer that to bucket drums:
You can find the previous post AND a video here.
2. Composition and Arranging
One thing I love about the Nutcracker is the timeless appeal it has to every age. The Nutcracker is so deliciously recognizable and I love the various arrangements out there. Students enjoy hearing and seeing it performed so differently and it is a wonderful jumping off point to talk about composers and arrangers.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on Glass Harp
Same piece, a capella with Pentatonix
Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Overture
Chinese Dance (I particularly love their use of the traditional Lion Dance seen at Chinese New Year)
3. Another Trepak lesson:
Using pretend brushes, paints, and a visit to a "museum" children use movement to create statues and paintings with this idea from a previous post. Uses the book, "Ain't Gonna Paint No More".
4. Paper Plate and Cup Routines to "March".
Check out youtube, there are many variations! I think Artie Almeida was one of the first (or THE first) to develop this idea and it is fabulous and fun!!
It is a teacher workday today and I am in the midst of chaos as I finalize my holiday concerts. We have just started Halloween music and are skipping over Thanksgiving as I have limited time to prepare concert music. My December is usually packed- two days before school is out for the Holiday Break I have 3 concerts! So we are rehearsing pretty much all of December and I have no extra time to squeeze in lessons on Nutcracker but I tend to do a little the first week back in January and of course, I play Nutcracker Music as students are entering and sing all my transitions to Nutcracker music and frequently add a movement piece into either the concert program or as a parent participation piece, which they LOVE!
I created a bucket drum routine several years ago:
Here is the video (excuse the tee shirt and lazy hair/no makeup; it was a teacher workday!)
Here is a nice listening map to the Nutcracker March:
And for all you heavy metal fans, I LOVE this one:
Well, Russian composer anyway! I love using music from the Nutcracker this time of year! Especially the March and Trepak! See the bucket drum routine below to Trepak. My 2nd graders are performing this in a week and a half and my fourth graders are performing a different one to the Duke Ellington arrangement of the Overture.. listen to it sometime soon- rich with possiblities!
Here's another activity with ribbons posted by Mrs. Shredder- soo stinkin' cute with these 2nd graders of hers! Enjoy!
This is a pretty easy piece to learn; start by teaching the A section ONLY with fingertips on drums. Once successful, add B section, then teach C section by imitation. Once they can play it with fingers, add drumsticks or keep fingers. Use bucket drums OR hand drums. As this piece starts out quickly, we'll wait until the 2nd quarter note to start...
