Froggie Song composition

Frog Glove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my kindergarten students made up a great song to use with the frog glove.  Here it is!

Five little frogs 
hopping in the grass
One hopped away 
and then there were four

four little frogs 
hopping in the grass
one hopped away
and then there were three, etc. 


Remove one frog for each verse

Fun with 4 beat meter

 

 

  Hey check out these thirds graders!  Working in groups to make four beat measures in is FUN!!!

   

       

Everyone in the music room has been working on their rhythmic understanding.  Check out these proud 2nd graders who recently completed a composition called "Rainy Day Rhythms."  After creating their songs, the students picked out instruments, practiced their parts and performed for the class.  This was so much fun and we learned a lot also!

 

Great day in the music room watching the 1st graders and their scarves.  What a bunch of cuties!  They are showing great body awareness in preparation for steady beat.  They really have the "flow" down well.  Great job kids!  I can't believe I get paid to watch such beauty!

On days like this it's fun to be a music teacher!

This Week in Music....

I am very fortunate to have my elementary music classes twice a week.  This means...twice the fun!  Here are some of the things we have been doing this week!

Kindergarten
         We are just starting to work on solfege.  Mostly so and mi.  The students are learning to sing the pitches, hear the pitches, read the pitches and eventually write and compose with the pitches.  So to get us started, we have been using the songs, "One, Two, Tie My Shoe" and "Bee, Bee Bumblebee."  A shout out to Emily F, a music teacher from Texas who has shared her ppts on teacherspayteachers.com.  I have purchased many of Emily's products for use in the music room.  Way to go Emily!


1st Grade
     We are also working on solfege-so, mi, and la.  This week the students have been using "Cobbler, Cobbler" and "Starlight, Starbright" to work on their pitches.  We have been using a game that is a printable from the file I purchased for class.  Check out the students complete worksheets for "Cobbler, Cobbler."

2nd Grade
These students have already mastered so-mi-la and have begun working on do-re-mi. They are so excited to have helped the dog find its bone in "Doggie, Doggie."

3rd & 4th Grade
     These students have both been working on so, mi, and la.  We are just finishing with those pitches as a review and are headed into do, re, and mi.  As one of their final lessons on these pitches, we created snowmen.  The bottom snowball is the lyrics to the song, the second snowball is the rhythm of the words, and the top snowball is the solfege.  Students then decided the order of their song and performed it in class.  What a treat to see their completed work and hear them sing or chant the solfege.

5th & 6th Grade
These students have been perfecting their solfege skills reviewing so-mi-la, do-re-mi, and starting low la.  Check out the pics of students matching lyrics, rhythms, and solfege on the song Lemon Pie.
Ummm!  Ummm!

 

Books I couldn't teach without...

I have been recently challenged to start listing some of the resources that I use to teach with.  Well...there are so many that it might take me a while.  I have found wonderful resources, sometimes, in the most unlikely of places.  Here are two that I have been using recently.  Have you heard of John Feieraband?  He is a great music educator who has written collections for teachers to use.  He has presented at many conferences all over the nation.  His materials have a Kodaly bend so he has great folk songs from America that we can all use.  Who isn't looking for a new folk song to add to your repertoire!  John is also the author of Conversational Solfege-a three volume method for teaching sight-singing.  I have all three of these and have used them off and on for many years.  But today, I want to share two of my favorite books that John has created.  The Book of Pitch Exploration offers many songs, games, stories and toy ideas to use in getting your students to stretch their voices and find their head voice.

The second book I would recommend is The Book of Echo Songs.  I use this book a lot with my K-2nd graders.  It is a great resource and has many songs that my students love!  I have included a link to John's website so you can look at his terrific resources.  I'm sure you will find something you love! 

http://feierabendmusic.org     http://giamusic.com/feierabend

Polar Vortex!

Hi,  this is my first attempt at blogging,  and I'm so excited.  Well, Christmas Vacation (I'm a music teacher) has been extended a little longer thanks to the cold, artic wind from up north.  I'm not unhappy about that because I've wanted to start a blog for a long time.  This is the perfect opportunity!

More than anything, I want this blog to promote the value of music education in all it's glory!  Music has long been a passion of mine and I try to instill this in my students as well.  I've been teaching for 33 years and it is definitely a journey.  I've wandered through many methods, taken many classes, and listened to many speakers with their "latest research."  All in all, I think music teaching is very individual.  There is a lot we can learn from many sources, but if it doesn't interest you, excite you and make you happy then you won't excite your students either! In this age of curriculums, standards, and Common Core, just to mention a few, be sure not to lose your love for music, songs, movement, and performance.  This blog will be dedicated to uplifting all of us who share our gift and pass it on to future generations!  Come along for the ride!