Music in the Month of May

In the month of May, the students at Vista Heights were very busy preparing for two special music performances.  At the May assembly the Kindergarten classes hosted the assembly and performed two songs that we have been working on in music class for several weeks.  They did a great job! The students in Room 1 and Room 4 also performed at the assembly, playing two Canadian Folk Songs on the Recorder and Orff instruments.

On Tuesday, May 24 students from all classes participated in a performance for the volunteer tea.  The audience was treated to Ukulele playing, Recorder and Orff instruments, singing and dancing.  The students did an amazing job and I thank them for their effort.  The audience thoroughly enjoyed their performance!

April Update

Music at Vista Heights

In the month of April the students in Grade 1/2 have been exploring rhythm patterns and focusing on the rhythm of words.  The students were asked to categorize words by their rhythm (one sound or two sounds…), then write the rhythm of specific words, and then to write their own four beat rhythm patterns and share them for the class. The students in Room 6 and the Kindergarten students have been preparing songs for their upcoming class assemblies as well.

The students in Room 1 have been learning a traditional Canadian song called “My Paddle”.  The students accompany the singing with several harmony parts on the Orff instruments and percussion instruments as well. 

Room 4 students have continued to make significant progress in their recorder playing skills and have now learned several songs with the notes B, A, G, E, and D.  We have also focused on improving at reading notes on the treble clef staff and improving our tone on the recorder by blowing gently. We will continue to learn new notes in the coming weeks and working on new songs.

            Room 2 students have started a unit learning the Ukulele instrument.  The students are learning to read the notation on the treble clef staff and play the melody of a song on the Ukulele by using the open strings and some frets. The students in Room 5 are learning about Electronic song structure and composition using the Garageband software for computers.  They are looking forward to sharing their completed songs.

Spring is Here

In the month of March the Division 1 and Kindergarten students continued their exploration the sounds of non-pitched percussion instruments.  In the Grade ½ classes the student worked in small groups and chose percussion instruments to accompany a poem called “Rockets”, creating a musical “soundscape”.  The students performed their compositions for the class.

Room 1 students have continued learning songs with mi, re, and do.  The students composed their own songs with the notes mi, re, and do, wrote them on a simplified music staff, and then practiced and performed their songs for the class.

Room 4 students have continued to make significant progress in their recorder playing skills and have now learned several songs with the notes B, A, G, and E.  We have also focused on improving at reading notes on the treble clef staff and improving our tone on the recorder by blowing gently. We will continue to learn new notes in the coming weeks and working on new songs.

Division 2 students have continued learning songs for the barred instruments and percussion instruments. Students in Room 2 shared the song “The Hey Hey Jam” at the assembly in March.  They did a fantastic job!!

March Newsletter

In the month of February the Division 1 and Kindergarten students have been exploring the sounds of non-pitched percussion instruments.  The students have been learning the names of the different instruments, how to hold and play the instruments properly, and to classify them into the groups of wood, metal, or skin. With these instruments the students have been accompanying songs and playing rhythm patterns.  With the percussion instruments, we are working at telling a story with words and sound and creating a “soundscape”.

Room 1 students have been learning to play and sing songs with mi, re, and do.  The students are learning to recognize the pitches in a song and play the melodies by ear on an instrument.  With these melodies, we are adding bass notes and percussion instruments to accompany them.

Room 4 students have made significant progress in their recorder playing skills and have now learned several songs with the notes B, A, and G.  We are working at adding new notes in the coming weeks and working on new songs.

Division 2 students have continued their learning of songs for the barred instruments and percussion instruments.  We are currently working on songs with Caribbean style rhythms and we hope to share some of these songs at the next assembly.

Music in January

In music class this month we have primarily focused on the concepts of melody and in the older grades harmony too.  In Division 1, the students have been learning to identify high notes and low notes and to listen for if the notes are getting higher, staying the same, or getting lower in a song. They have been identifying leaps in pitch (notes played far apart) or steps in pitch (notes played close together) and then we have created melody road maps and used the maps to play a song on the barred instruments.  We have also been learning about the composer Antonio Vivaldi and listening to “Winter” from The Four Seasons.

In Division 2, the students have been learning to play melodic instruments like the recorders and the barred instruments.  The music for the barred instruments is written with 5 different instrument parts, with some students playing the melody and other student playing a harmony part. The students are practicing reading the rhythm patterns and also treble clef notation from their songbooks.  The students in Room 4 have just started learning to play the recorder instrument. At this beginning stage the students can play short melodies with the notes B – A- G.  We are looking forward to sharing some of our songs a