Hey all,
Anyone still reading out there? I'm back in Minnesota for the summer working on my Masters in Music Education at St. Thomas University. LOTS of homework, reading, and practicing, but I'm loving it.
I have met with the new music teacher for University Schools and I think you will have a fabulous year starting in the fall. I am missing all the students from University and am thinking of my fond memories often.
Please keep practicing, listening, singing, dancing, and enjoying music this summer. Feel free and welcome to leave me comments on any posts- I'd love to read what you are all up to and how life is going. :)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Spring concert and end of the year
I was just sitting at my desk and I realized I hadn't yet written a post about the AMAZING spring concerts! I was so pleased with the performance of all students. The kindergarteners impressed me with their very good concert etiquette and with projecting their voices. The first and second graders were so much fun with "So Cool" and I will always remember that moment. Third and fourth graders brought down the house with their difficult "Annie" piece. Fifth grade sang some impressively difficult songs and rocked some body percussion and tough sign language. Overall, I am so happy with the quality of these performances. Every year I wonder how I will top the year before, but the kids always manage to help me do it. Thank you to students and parents for an amazing experience.
One week left, can you believe it??? It's very sad as I begin to say my goodbyes to the students. I have so enjoyed their varied personalities and styles, and I have been so lucky to share my love of music with them. Thank you, everyone, for your support.
I will leave this blog up and running for students who wish to practice recorder music through this page. I will also update from time to time about how I am doing down in Denver. Students and parents are welcome to read and leave comments. You may have to access the blog directly by going to www.universityschoolsmusic.blogspot.com rather than accessing it through the University Schools website.
Have a great last week!
One week left, can you believe it??? It's very sad as I begin to say my goodbyes to the students. I have so enjoyed their varied personalities and styles, and I have been so lucky to share my love of music with them. Thank you, everyone, for your support.
I will leave this blog up and running for students who wish to practice recorder music through this page. I will also update from time to time about how I am doing down in Denver. Students and parents are welcome to read and leave comments. You may have to access the blog directly by going to www.universityschoolsmusic.blogspot.com rather than accessing it through the University Schools website.
Have a great last week!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Less than 1 month!
We have less than one month until our fabulous spring concerts!!!!!! I have sent home two letters of information about this special event, so please ask your child if you have not viewed this information. You may also see the "Concert Info" page- there's a tab you can click on off to the right side of this screen.
K-4: Wednesday, May 8th.
Kindergarten- 6:00pm, arrive at 5:30pm (downstairs lobby)
1st/2nd grade- 6:45pm, arrive at 6:15pm (upstairs lobby)
3rd/4th grade- 7:30pm, arrive at 7:00pm (downstairs lobby)
DVDs will be sold of the K-4 concert for $10. Order forms were sent home this week. This is designed to help raise money for having the concert in the Union Colony Civic Center, which is a beautiful and well-kept facility. The DVD will not include any close ups or editing. It will be one wide shot of the entire performance, K-4.
5th grade: Thursday, May 9th, 7pm. Students must arrive at 6:30pm. There will be no DVD sold of the 5th grade concert, but because this concert is being held at University Schools, recording devices are permitted.
Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you all there!
K-4: Wednesday, May 8th.
Kindergarten- 6:00pm, arrive at 5:30pm (downstairs lobby)
1st/2nd grade- 6:45pm, arrive at 6:15pm (upstairs lobby)
3rd/4th grade- 7:30pm, arrive at 7:00pm (downstairs lobby)
DVDs will be sold of the K-4 concert for $10. Order forms were sent home this week. This is designed to help raise money for having the concert in the Union Colony Civic Center, which is a beautiful and well-kept facility. The DVD will not include any close ups or editing. It will be one wide shot of the entire performance, K-4.
5th grade: Thursday, May 9th, 7pm. Students must arrive at 6:30pm. There will be no DVD sold of the 5th grade concert, but because this concert is being held at University Schools, recording devices are permitted.
Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you all there!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Concert
Greetings!
The next several weeks will be spent working up concert music for all grade levels. Here's some concert info:
K-4 will perform at the Union Colony Civic Center downtown Greeley on Wednesday, May 8th.
Map to UCCC
Performance times:
Kindergarten 6:00pm (arrive 5:30pm)
1st/2nd grade 6:45pm (arrive 6:15pm)
3rd/4th grade 7:30pm (arrive 7:00pm)
All students must arrive 30 minutes prior to their performance time. Do not be late! Plan some extra time into your schedule for parking and getting tickets at the box office. Tickets are free, but you must obtain a ticket from the box office to enter the performance hall.
No video recording or flash photography is allowed. DVD recordings will be sold for $10. Order forms will be sent home prior to the concert.
5th grade will perform at University Schools on Thursday, May 9th at 7:00pm. Students must arrive at 6:30 and should report to their classroom for attendance.
All students should dress nicely for the concert- please avoid jeans and sneakers if at all possible. Attendance is MANDATORY for all students as this is a school event. I greatly look forward to seeing you all there and sharing wonderful music with you.
Students: find links to videos of songs for the concert below in the section called "Other useful links." Practice, practice! :)
The next several weeks will be spent working up concert music for all grade levels. Here's some concert info:
K-4 will perform at the Union Colony Civic Center downtown Greeley on Wednesday, May 8th.
Map to UCCC
Performance times:
Kindergarten 6:00pm (arrive 5:30pm)
1st/2nd grade 6:45pm (arrive 6:15pm)
3rd/4th grade 7:30pm (arrive 7:00pm)
All students must arrive 30 minutes prior to their performance time. Do not be late! Plan some extra time into your schedule for parking and getting tickets at the box office. Tickets are free, but you must obtain a ticket from the box office to enter the performance hall.
No video recording or flash photography is allowed. DVD recordings will be sold for $10. Order forms will be sent home prior to the concert.
5th grade will perform at University Schools on Thursday, May 9th at 7:00pm. Students must arrive at 6:30 and should report to their classroom for attendance.
All students should dress nicely for the concert- please avoid jeans and sneakers if at all possible. Attendance is MANDATORY for all students as this is a school event. I greatly look forward to seeing you all there and sharing wonderful music with you.
Students: find links to videos of songs for the concert below in the section called "Other useful links." Practice, practice! :)
Friday, February 22, 2013
5th graders
5th graders have been learning about the wind instruments of the orchestra- woodwinds and brass.
The main woodwind instruments are: flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon.
Listen to them here (saxophone is left out):
Woodwind family
The main brass instruments are: trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone/euphonium, and tuba.
Listen to them here (baritone/euphonium is left out):
Brass family
Practice identifying the sounds of these instruments because we have a QUIZ coming up! :)
The main woodwind instruments are: flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon.
Listen to them here (saxophone is left out):
Woodwind family
The main brass instruments are: trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone/euphonium, and tuba.
Listen to them here (baritone/euphonium is left out):
Brass family
Practice identifying the sounds of these instruments because we have a QUIZ coming up! :)
Friday, February 15, 2013
Valentine!
This week we've been having some fun with Valentine's day, among other things.
This week in...
Kindergarten- we played a game called "Messenger" with an envelope that had each student's name inside it. When each name was drawn, that student could choose an instrument and continue the game by playing the steady beat. We also heard the story of how the flute came to be an instrument in Love Flute.
1st/2nd grade- we sang a Valentine song and each student got to come to the board and move their name into the valentine box. We also hid valentines from our music buddies in our hands so that our buddy would have to guess which hand held the valentine. We played some heart rhythms on rhythm sticks.
3rd/4th grade- we did our second self-assessment of our recorder playing on the song "It's Raining." We played the recorder game "We Are Playing in the Forest." Some classes also got to play a Valentine mixer-dance game called "Heel, Toe, On the Line" with bass bars and boomwhackers playing an ostinato accompaniment.
5th grade- we had tons of fun with the poem "The Queen of Hearts." We practiced saying the poem in different ways: sad, surprised, gossipy, Bat Man, scared, cheer leader, French, British, pirate, thug, etc. In groups, students had to practice saying the poem all the same way and at the same time. We then added instruments to this experience and enjoyed a hilarious performance from each group. We also continued learning about the woodwind family of instruments.
Happy long weekend! PRACTICE! :)
This week in...
Kindergarten- we played a game called "Messenger" with an envelope that had each student's name inside it. When each name was drawn, that student could choose an instrument and continue the game by playing the steady beat. We also heard the story of how the flute came to be an instrument in Love Flute.
1st/2nd grade- we sang a Valentine song and each student got to come to the board and move their name into the valentine box. We also hid valentines from our music buddies in our hands so that our buddy would have to guess which hand held the valentine. We played some heart rhythms on rhythm sticks.
3rd/4th grade- we did our second self-assessment of our recorder playing on the song "It's Raining." We played the recorder game "We Are Playing in the Forest." Some classes also got to play a Valentine mixer-dance game called "Heel, Toe, On the Line" with bass bars and boomwhackers playing an ostinato accompaniment.
5th grade- we had tons of fun with the poem "The Queen of Hearts." We practiced saying the poem in different ways: sad, surprised, gossipy, Bat Man, scared, cheer leader, French, British, pirate, thug, etc. In groups, students had to practice saying the poem all the same way and at the same time. We then added instruments to this experience and enjoyed a hilarious performance from each group. We also continued learning about the woodwind family of instruments.
Happy long weekend! PRACTICE! :)
Monday, February 4, 2013
What we've been up to
Greetings!
Last week, all grades enjoyed playing the mallet instruments!
Kindergarten- this was our first experience playing the mallet instruments. Students played along with the song "Rover" and "Stars Shining." We also played Simon Says with the mallet instruments and had fun learning the Quiet Stick Game.
1st/2nd grade- we played the mallet instruments with the chant "Jack and Jill." We played musical Simon Says and also made sounds effects with bodies, voices, and mallet instruments to accompany the story "Louis Goes Walking." We also played the cup game with so la mi and practiced echoing patterns with sining and mallet instruments.
3rd/4th grade- we learned to play several bordun steady beat patterns on the mallet instruments to accompany the song "Son Macarone", which we learned several weeks ago to play a clap passing game. We also learned a new song called "Splishing Splashing" and divided the music into parts: bordun, melody, and color part. This was fun to perform as a class!
5th grade- we learned to play the African melody we learned several weeks ago called "Tue, Tue." We also learned an entirely new melody, "Rain on the Green Grass", and learned to play it on the instruments. These activities were great for ear training and allowed students to develop skills in audiation- hearing a melody inside your head.
We also had a great sing along on Friday morning with students from all grades. :)
Last week, all grades enjoyed playing the mallet instruments!
Kindergarten- this was our first experience playing the mallet instruments. Students played along with the song "Rover" and "Stars Shining." We also played Simon Says with the mallet instruments and had fun learning the Quiet Stick Game.
1st/2nd grade- we played the mallet instruments with the chant "Jack and Jill." We played musical Simon Says and also made sounds effects with bodies, voices, and mallet instruments to accompany the story "Louis Goes Walking." We also played the cup game with so la mi and practiced echoing patterns with sining and mallet instruments.
3rd/4th grade- we learned to play several bordun steady beat patterns on the mallet instruments to accompany the song "Son Macarone", which we learned several weeks ago to play a clap passing game. We also learned a new song called "Splishing Splashing" and divided the music into parts: bordun, melody, and color part. This was fun to perform as a class!
5th grade- we learned to play the African melody we learned several weeks ago called "Tue, Tue." We also learned an entirely new melody, "Rain on the Green Grass", and learned to play it on the instruments. These activities were great for ear training and allowed students to develop skills in audiation- hearing a melody inside your head.
We also had a great sing along on Friday morning with students from all grades. :)
Friday, January 4, 2013
Back from break!
Welcome back!
This week in....
Kindergarten- we did some fun warm ups with our voices to get started. We listened to a story about two friends called "Wiggle and Waggle" and worked on moving our voices up and down. We listened and move to a fun song called "Doot, doot" and also practiced moving and freezing to music.
1st/2nd grade- we review ALL of our musical opposites, including: loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, long and short, steady and not steady. We listened to many varying musical examples and wrote down answer to musical opposite questions on our white boards. We also learned how to draw the note "la" on the music staff.
3rd/4th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and learned the next song in the Recorder Karate series, "Merrily We Roll Along." We took a 7-step process to learn this new song:
1. Listen to it.
2. Sing it with the printed words.
3. Sing it with the letter names of the notes.
4. Sing the letter names and do the fingerings on recorder.
5. Practice individual measures/tough spots.
6. Play the song slowly without the recording.
7. Play the song with the recording.
Try it to learn or re-learn any song!
We also began learning to sing "Count on Me" in preparation for our spring concert on May 8th- very fun! Here is a link to the video, as I promised to the kids:
"Count on Me" -Bruno Mars
5th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and also tried some sight-reading, which means playing a song right away without working through it first. We also reviewed our sign language for the song "Win", which we will be performing at our spring concert on May 9th. We learned an African song called "Tue, tue", and also a tricky cup passing game to go along with the song.
Enjoy the weekend!
This week in....
Kindergarten- we did some fun warm ups with our voices to get started. We listened to a story about two friends called "Wiggle and Waggle" and worked on moving our voices up and down. We listened and move to a fun song called "Doot, doot" and also practiced moving and freezing to music.
1st/2nd grade- we review ALL of our musical opposites, including: loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, long and short, steady and not steady. We listened to many varying musical examples and wrote down answer to musical opposite questions on our white boards. We also learned how to draw the note "la" on the music staff.
3rd/4th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and learned the next song in the Recorder Karate series, "Merrily We Roll Along." We took a 7-step process to learn this new song:
1. Listen to it.
2. Sing it with the printed words.
3. Sing it with the letter names of the notes.
4. Sing the letter names and do the fingerings on recorder.
5. Practice individual measures/tough spots.
6. Play the song slowly without the recording.
7. Play the song with the recording.
Try it to learn or re-learn any song!
We also began learning to sing "Count on Me" in preparation for our spring concert on May 8th- very fun! Here is a link to the video, as I promised to the kids:
"Count on Me" -Bruno Mars
5th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and also tried some sight-reading, which means playing a song right away without working through it first. We also reviewed our sign language for the song "Win", which we will be performing at our spring concert on May 9th. We learned an African song called "Tue, tue", and also a tricky cup passing game to go along with the song.
Enjoy the weekend!
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