March 2, 2011- MUSIC

"The hills are alive.... with the sound of music."

I have some great music ideas I've learned in class to incorporate into my future classroom. I am so excited to share one of them. But first, let me tell you about the basic elements found in music.

• Pitch: The highness or lowness of a sound.
• Duration: How long of a sound or how long of the silence.
• Dynamics: The volume or attack
• Timbre: The quality of sound.
• Form: Patterns and structure in the music.

For Elementary School we will focus on:

Sing Play Listen Create

Read and Write Learn from Times and Culture

Okay, here is a fun Syllable Game!

First, you choose a volunteer to go out of the room. The rest of the class sit in a circle and choose a word with 3-4 syllables. For example: elephant, avocado, sympathy, etc. Then divide the circle in 3-4 groups (depending on number of syllables of the particular word). For example: A-VO-CA-DO. Now, invite the volunteer to come back in. To the tune of Row, Row, Row your boat song, everyone sings their particular sound. For example: "A" group would sing "Awe, Awe, Awe, ..." and th "VO" group would sing "Voe, Voe, Voe....." It is important that the students sing their sound correctly. While the singing is happening, the volunteer will walk around the circle and try to put the word together. This game is great for teaching language arts when learning how to split up syllables!

There are 7 Habits of Highly Effective Singing.

1. Body-Braindance
2. Breath- Low and expansive
3. Vocal Play- Games and stories (Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle)
4. One Pitch- Match "la, la, la, la, la, la laaa" to either high or low pitch
5. Two Pitches- Match 2 "la ...laas" to high and low pitches
6. Phrase- La, la, la.
7. Words- Add to phrase

There are 4 Basic Compatible Rules.

1. Whole to Part
2. Sing not Say
3. Listen in many ways
4. Be actively involved