Diwali!

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Diwali is coming soon- November 4. Diwali (or Deepavali as it’s sometimes called) means “row of lights” in Sanskrit. During this festival, people decorate their homes with lights and oil lamps, called diyas.  The lights and lamps are said to help the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, find her way into peoples’ homes, bringing prosperity in the year to come. It is also a celebration of good triumphing evil.Diwali is a religious holiday and festival originating in India. People often think of Diwali as a Hindu festival, but it is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains. The celebration lasts for five days and marks the start of the Hindu New Year. The exact dates change each year and are determined by the position of the moon but usually fall between October and November. 

Check out the Nat Geo page for more interesting facts. 

Last year was the first year I incorporated Diwali more fully.  I began by talking with some of my families who are Indian. I had some wonderful moms come in and teach me some Dandiya (stick) dances and we created a very simple one for our young students. There is some footwork involved in Dandiya dances but we focus more on performing with the sticks.  I also talked with a few of my students  who are Indian privately, asking if they wanted to speak or tell us during class about how they celebrated, or if any of them were performing classical Indian dance or song (I have a first grader who takes classical Indian singing lessons!) and invited them to perform. 

Book to Begin

This is a lovely book and a perfect introduction to the customs and celebrations.  This year I am recording two sisters who are Indian reading the book to show to all my classes. 

Diwali, Diwali Song

Then we learned Manju Durairaj's Diwali, Diwali song and sang the chorus together. 

Dandiya (Stick) Dance

We created a simple Dandiya dance on the chorus of the song.  All movements are to the beat. Facing a partner tap right sticks together, tap left sticks together, tap own sticks to the right, tap own sticks to the left. Step back with one foot and tap sticks behind back, step same foot forward and both stick face right (like windshield wipers) and tap both partners sticks making a # hashtag, then trade places while turning around in a circle. Of course this can be modified but this is what the Moms at school and I came up with.

I would highly recommend wooden sticks - aluminum ones are available from Amazon but my experience is they break far too easily. Rhythm Sticks or dowels could also be used as long as they are the longer ones (12" or so).

Here is a video of Dandiya Dancing.

And an excellent teaching video to show you the footwork and sticking. The first one is just right for beginners and children.

Concert with Indian Instruments, Songs

This is an excellent 30 minute concert made for children from Lincoln Center featuring Grammy nominated artist Falu. I like beginning at 7:47 and end at 15:00 if I am pressed for time as they talk about traditional solfege, then Indian solfege, then sing a song incorporating the solfege.

Sitar and Tabla - played by KIDS!

A fun little video about sitar made for children:

Garba Dancing

My students love to see both the women and the men dancing here - and they love the music!

More Books Featuring India and Indian Characters

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh - this is a google slide presentation featuring a video of the book, rhythms created from colors, along with discussion points for students about tone color. The end features several Bhangra dance videos.

The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk is sung to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus and is a great introduction to India.

Festival of Colors is just one of the most beautiful books and is about the Indian festival of Holi.

A Gift for Amma follows a girl as she goes through the vibrant rainbow colors of the market trying to find a gift for her mother.

10 Gulab Jamuns is the story of two brothers discovering a sweet treat from India.

Hope you enjoy all of these and Happy Diwali (in November)!

Trombone Shorty Hurricane STICKS

 One of my absolute favorites when I want to jam is listening and playing around with the music of New Orleans musician Troy Andrews, AKA "Trombone Shorty".  There are a couple of great children's books featuring his music and his story - check them out!

Today I have a rhythm stick arrangement I have been working on for the past couple of weeks to Hurricane Season - the music is here:

You can always decide to change up a section - the B Section will be challenging with the rhythm but if you say "Hurricane" to the rhythm as written it will help solidify it. The "Turn R" fits right in with the "Hey" spoken in the song. 

Want the pdf? - click the image.  This is from my Singing Waters, Dancing Flames book available in print or as an ebook from major music suppliers or direct from the publisher at www.singsmileplay.com.

Enjoy!

Diwali

Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year for Hindu people.  Diwali or Divali comes from Deepavali, a Sanskrit word meaning "row of lamps."  Small clay lamps filled with oil are lit, signifying the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, hope over despair. The lamps remain lit throughout the night and homes cleaned to welcome the goddess Lakshmi. Noisy firecracker sounds scare away evil spirits. Everyone wears new clothes and share sweets and treats with family and friends.

 
This music I play as students enter the room and I engage the students with a movement and body percussion copycat game.  Some of the movements prepare students for the Dandiya stick dance we will perform later in the class.

I use a Mystery Instrument of the Day to start my classes off. It ties to each lesson in some way. This week is the sitar. I found this video which, though a cartoon, does a great job introducing the sitar.

Then this video filmed just this spring during Covid times (April 2020) with Anoushka Shankar and several students of her father, Ravi Shankar, famed sitar player. 

Then I share the refrain of this song, "Diwali" from Manju Durairaj. Manju was born and raised in India. She is an Orff educator, Seesaw guru, and loves to share her culture and music.  I read the book Diwali, below, inserting the refrain every 2 pages.

Then it's time to show some excerpts of Indian Garba and Dandiya dances.  These are some videos I have used before: 

Level 1 Dandiya Dance

I have a very sweet Mom at school who has been an enormous help in teaching me and helping me develop Dandiya dances for students.  So very fortunate to have a culture bearer who loves to help others learn!  Thanks to Mrs. Shah for this lovely (and accessible) dance!  

 A Section (refrain of song):  Half note pulse - Clap R, Clap L, Clap both, Clap both.  In non-Covid times I would teach it first with clapping a partner but with social distancing we modify it to clap own hands on the right side of our bodies, clap own hands on the left side of our bodies, and clap our hands twice in the middle.  

B Section: Half note pulse - Step one foot forward, tap sticks overhead at the same time. Step same foot backward, tap sticks behind backs at the same time. Repeat. 

The Dandiya sticks are passed out (I have some a parent brought from India and they are amazing - the kids LOVE them) although I have made them in the past using ribbons and dowels and they work great- rhythm sticks also work well. We perform with the sticks and the "Diwali" song from Manju above. 

Level 2 Dandiya Dance

A Section: Same as above but face partners and the Clap R and Clap L become tap R stick with partner, tap L stick with partner, tap own, tap own. 

B Section:  Same as above but turn in place at same time.

Level 3 Dandiya Dance

A Section: Same as Level 2 - tap R stick with partner, tap L stick with partner, both sticks "windshield wiper" to the R (tap partners sticks; this will make a # sign), both sticks "windshield wiper" to the L (tap partners sticks; this will make the opposite # sign). 

B Section: Same as above, turn in place one direction for 1st phrase, opposite direction for 2nd phrase.

and we learn a very basic Dandiya dance!  

 

You can also find a lesson from Teaching with Orff featuring a Diwali Dance from Manju here. 

If you have time, students would love making these diyas from The Joy of Sharing. 

Hope you enjoy!

Rap Tap Tap MIOSM

I am a fairly new convert to instagram. I say convert because I used to get a lot of my teaching ideas from pinterest and facebook. Instagram has a plethora of music teachers and it is growing daily with wonderful teachers (among others) sharing lessons, teaching ideas, etc.
I have used the book, "Rap Tap Tap" before, but haven't used it in a long while.  Then, just yesterday, I saw a post from the amazing @snapclappattersonmusic and it all came together!
Music in Our Schools Month is just a few days away and this is a wonderful transition from Black History Month as this year's theme is All Music, All People.  Love the inclusivity of the theme!  Try something new this month- get out of your American folk song comfort zone and share information, culture, and musical culture of students from around the United States - we are from so many places with rich music histories and ways of using music to celebrate, dance, sing, mourn, and bring together communities.

1.  Rap Tap Tap

Read the book, after each page, say, "Rap, tap, tap, think of that". Rhythm is quarter, quarter, quarter, rest, quarter, quarter, quarter, rest.

2. Rhythm sticks

Read book again, add rhythm sticks with speech.

3. Tap Dancing Demo

@snapclappattersonmusic had her students stand and tap dance the rhythm of "Rap, tap, tap, think of that" after each page. 

I showed my students the following videos first: 

Savion Glover, Signature Demo (it is a commercial for a fridge, but the fridge isn't seen until the very end, cool fridge!)

Then I had my students stand and try out some tap moves. This video is SO nice and slow and really perfect for our wee ones!

4. Tap with Book

Now we are ready to tap the rhythm already learned - stand and tap dance the rhythm of "Rap, tap, tap, think of that" after each page. I had my kiddos try out some heels, toes, and brush steps and they rocked it!

So fun! Now go check out this AMAZING post from Elizabeth at Organized Chaos for a lesson already ready for you using the book, "My Family Plays Music".  This one is perfect for SO many grade levels. 

Happy (Almost) Spring!

Rhythm Stick Song

Most of us teach multiple grade levels. I teach 4 year olds through 94 year olds.  I skip 12 year olds through somewhere in the 60's, though. I think that probably needs explaining, right? I teach Junior Kindergarten through fourth grade and also facilitate music and drum circles at an assisted living center every 2-3 months.
The youngest were probably my most difficult age to plan for starting out as a brand new teacher and I continue searching for great material to add to my "collection".  We all know how it is - in a singular 30 minute lesson with the younger kiddos we might go through 10-15 activities!  Interestingly, my oldest sometimes seem the same!
I seek materials from various sources; blogs, bools, fellow teachers, and websites. Several years ago I found a childrens music performer named Nancy Stewart. Each month she posts a Song of the Month!  You can search by category, year/month, and alphabetically, and even better - all her songs are downloadable, some have visuals to download, and most have the sheet music to download - all for FREE! YES!  There are songs for Eid, Christmas, St. Patirck's Day, Diwali, Valentines, seasonal songs and everything in between. Most of the music is original and I have found some really wonderful material! 
One of my favorites is the Rhythm Stick Song.

 Nancy so kindly gave me permission to share the song with you here - the mp3 is available on her site - click the link above.  

Hope you enjoy it - my kiddos do!  We also make up additional verses - "With my sticks I run...", walk, hop, etc.

My favorite rhythm sticks are the Basic Beat Combination Sticks pictured below. I love these - perfectly sized at 8" long, no splintering, and one is smooth and the other ridged.  They are about $3.00 a pair, and an awesome investment!  You can get them here from West Music.

Have fun with these!
Happy New Year!

Five Favorite Pins of February

I am linking up with Aileen Miracle at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room for a Linky Party of our Five Favorite Pins from the month of February!  I can't believe how fast the beginning of the year has flown!  Springing into Spring! 

1. Twelfth Street Rag
I love this colorful, clear visual! Check out the pin here.


 This is from the fabulous blog of https://rhythmandglues.wordpress.com/  Seriously wonderful ideas and loaded with pictures! 

2.  Music and Feelings using characters from Inside Out here.

Original post here: http://www.mathematicshed.com/miscellaneous.html

3.  Musical Fractions.  Oh how I love colorful visuals!  Check out the pin here.

Original post here:

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/10/14/9-creative-art-projects-that-will-make-your-students-love-math

4.  Whole Note with a Partner

On Pinterest I keep a board called "Music Concept Skill Activity Videos".  This not only keeps my Pinterest boards organized, but also helps tremendously when I am looking for an activity to teach me or remind me, "How does that go again?". 

I love this idea, not only for whole notes, but I use similar basketball and ball activities to reinforce/re-introduce rhythmic concepts of quarter,half, etc. notation. 



 

5.  Another one from the same Pinterest board, and this (college prof?) has a bunch of these videos posted on youtube that are great for teaching folk songs, dances, and activities!  My third graders really loved this and now come in begging to sing and try the game again faster and faster!

 

Hope you enjoyed some of these!

 



 



Dinosaur Song NEW!

I teach Junior Kindergarten, which means I have 4 and 5 year olds who are in a half-day program at my school.  They are L.I.T.T.L.E!  Cuties, for sure! Their classes leave me wrung out; exhausted!  And after only 30 minutes per class.  But things are BUSY with them and I always over plan just in case something doesn't work out during a lesson or we move too quickly through a particular song or concept. 
Right now my littles are learning about dinosaurs! ROAR!  Although I have lots of songs that are about dinosaurs, I wanted a song that helped them with a musical concept.  This morning while wandering through my stash, I came across some plastic bones I have used before (mainly at Halloween).  The kids love to play them like rhythm sticks, although we have to be a little more careful as they are plastic and not wood.  I got these at Dollar Tree several years ago but you could also use rhythm sticks and call these the bones!

I did find some here for sale and these are about 3-4" long.
These are from partycity.com and look to be about the same, also about 3-4" long.

 I keep everything in my room labeled like this with how many I have so I know I can have 12 children playing these (2 per child) and my students will need to have partners.  It makes it easier to label everything with the quantity!

So this morning after I found the bones I wrote a quickie to go with it.  You will get the general idea from the song; I will be using Garage Band to play along with them using a growly electric guitar on Smart Guitar (love that feature) and will hold my dinosaur bones to demonstrate what to do with them as I find this works better than me at an instrument for these littles; one class in particular has to have the assistant stay as she is a wiggly, wily, willful child who becomes angry very easily!  Yikes!
I will have the children learn the song first and play with our "human bones" (hands), then partner up, one student will get dinosaur bones and the other child will sit behind them. We will practice playing our bones in different ways, maybe even make some letters out of them, then sing and play with our "dinosaur bones".  The rhythms included are just suggested.  After I wrote the song (of course I printed it, too!) I thought of a second verse, "Dinosaur eggs..".  We will break out the "dinosaur eggs" (shakers) and play and sing that one, too! 
If you want a cleaner copy, email me at musicquilt@Hotmail.com and I will send you a jpeg or pdf file of the song. 
Happy Bone Playing!  (oops, does that sound weird).. ha ha!
Aimee

Here We Gooooooo!!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!  KIDDOS!!!

HAHAHA!!! I don't tremble.. ok, maybe a little.. not out of fear, but excitement, for sure!!
I have seen a few posts on facebook about teachers who are fearful, sad, and lacking in the excitement of the year and that frankly makes me sad.  I truly hope it is because of the situation/school/environment and not because of the fact they are teaching children and nervous about that.  After all, we are one of the few, the chosen, the incredibly blessed/lucky who are privileged enough to teach BOTH sides of the amazing brain; the creative and the analytical.
How cool is that??!!!

First day of school I use my Drums Rule/Drum Rules post (see below for previous post) with older kiddos.  Younger ones I use a Welcome to the Music Room song a friend wrote years ago and the poem "Ickity Tickity Bumblebee, can you say your name for me" while patsching and clapping, then they say their name and do an action (grades 1-2) which everyone has to copy. It's hilarious, silly, but also informs me quickly whether the students have a good grasp of beat.  I also use this one every now and again and put it into a new format for y'all.

Have fun and welcome to another year!!

 

 

Maori Song PERFECT for Earth Day or unit on nature or trees

I have a "thing" for New Zealand.. well, truth be told, I have a thing for other cultures.  While researching music for an upcoming book (hopefully publishing late this year!) on international clapping songs, I came across a lovely fellow music teacher and fan of Orff (Orff-fan.. get it?) and she introduced me to a couple new Maori songs from New Zealand.  The Maori people are fascinating and their waiata (songs), while lovely, are often not appropriate to use outside of their culture; prayers, war songs, songs specific to Maori life.  There are several, though, that are powerful and breathtaking and I'm not talking about the haka (war chants where tattoed men slap their chests, raise their eyebrows, open their eyes big, stick out their tongues and clap/stamp).  One of these is Koromiko... truly lovely!
This is a collection of the waiata (folk songs) of Maori:  http://www.folksong.org.nz/waiata.html
Consider also playing some titi torea, Māori stick games.

This is one of the late Hirini Melbourne's nature songs. More info on Hirini Melbourne here: 

http://folksong.org.nz/tihore/index.html#Hir

Koromiko
Perfect piece to add ostinato; listen for the stick on the backing track.

   Lovely melody, combine with the names of the trees where you live!

About halfway down you will find the song, under resources:
http://artsonline2.tki.org.nz/resources/units/music_units/into_music_1/singing/koromiko.php

 

 

Koromiko, Karaka, Ti Kouka             Lowland Hebe, Karaka, Cabbage Tree
Nga rakau o te ngahere                       The trees of the forest
Nga rakau o te ngahere           The trees of the forest

Tarata, Ngaio, Totara                          Lemonwood, Mousehole tree, Totara
Nga rakau o te ngahere                       The trees of the forest
Nga rakau o te ngahere           The trees of the forest

Titiro ki nga puawai                Look at the flowers
Titiro ki nga rau                       Look at the leaves
He rereke tenei i tena              There’s a difference between this one and that one
He rereke, he rereke                            They are different, all different
He rereke, he rereke                            All unusual, all unique