Carols and Planets

This week in Mrs. Pruyt's class we did two different activities. Since the 6th graders are preparing to sing "Carol of the Bells" for an assembly next week, we spent the first half-hour rehearsing. I was so impressed with how much they had practiced and prepared during the last couple weeks without me! I had sent the sheet music to Mrs. Pruyt, and it was clear they had practiced and worked out problems since I was with them last. We rehearsed and solidified some harmonies, and they sounded wonderful! We even added piano, two violas, a flute, and violin.

After rehearsing "Carol of the Bells" with two other 6th grade classes, we returned to Mrs. Pruyt's classroom where we did an activity to accompany their study of outer-space. I had the class listen to one of my favorite pieces, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from Gustav Holst's "Planets". We talked about how this piece is about the planet, but Holst also uses the attributes of the Roman god for whom this planet is named. Each of the students got out a sheet of paper, and as the piece commenced, they were to write adjectives that the music made them think of, and, if they could, write a story. I could tell that the kids really liked the music. As I walked around I saw words like "adventurous" and "excited" or "sad" (for another part of the piece). I even had one student insist that it sounded just like "Galaxy Quest". I just loved seeing them enjoy an orchestral piece that I love so much!

During my visit today a local elementary music teacher, Josh Roberts, came and observed. He gave me lots of great feedback on things like classroom management and how to make more of my lesson. It was so helpful, and I am so grateful that he came out because it gave me a chance to learn!

Carol of the Bells: 6th grade x 3 (November 21, 2014)

When I went to teach Mrs. Pruyt's class Carol of the Bells, I was surprised to discover that some other 6th grade teachers wanted to be involved, too. Before I knew it, I was in the hallway with the piano teaching 3 classes of 6th graders (about 90 students) Carol of the Bells! There was so much energy with the group, and I was so grateful that the kids were so excited to learn the song. I was amazed at how quickly they picked up the different parts. I arranged a simpler, 3-part version of the song so that they could learn it easier. They did amazingly! Then about half-way through my lesson I looked up to see my program director, Doug Allen, observing my teaching. He gave me some helpful feedback about moving more quickly through the parts (the kids were anxious to sing the whole song), and incorporating more physical motion. It was such a fun and rewarding experience. Now these 6th graders are going to continue to practice their parts so they can perform in a school Christmas program!

Pat-a-Pan (Nov 14 visit)

After talking with Mrs. Pruyt, we decided that it would be really fun for her class to learn some Christmas music so they can perform it in a school assembly. I decided to try a simple song for my first time singing with her class, just to gauge their abilities. And, since the class is doing a lot with studying ancient cultures, I thought an old carol might be a fun idea. I chose to do Pat-a-Pan, a Renaissance French carol.

I gave the students a brief historical background and then we dove right in to learning the song. We started with the words, then moved to the rhythm. I was very impressed that the students already had some knowledge about different rhythms. As a class, they are very strong in this area. Then, I brought out my flute to teach them the melody. I thought this might be a fun idea since we sing about a flute in the song. Teaching the melody was a little more difficult. Pitch was a little bit of a struggle, but by the end the students seemed more comfortable. We added a drum accompaniment, which the class beat on their desks, and I accompanied on my flute. It was fun, but I think that the song was a little too simple for 6th graders. Next time, we'll do something more complicated and up-beat.

For some application of their studies, we used their knowledge of Ancient Egypt to make new words for the song. We imagined what Christmas might be like if it took place in Ancient Egypt. We replaced words like "Wille", "flute", and "drum" with things like "mummy", "tomb", and "pyramid". It was fun, and I was very impressed with all the cool facts they knew about Egypt.

Here are some pictures!

October 24th: My First Visit!

    I must say that I was very nervous as I prepared for my first music lesson. This is such an new thing for me. Thankfully, Jennifer Purdy gave me some great advice and direction when we met.
    For the first visit I really wanted to focus on getting to know the kids, so I wanted to do a simple activity to get them excited about music and to give me a chance to meet each of them. Since Halloween is coming up, I thought it would be really fun to bring "Danse Macabre" by Saint Saens, which is one of my favorite pieces and great for the spirit of Halloween. I wanted the children to create a story and characters from this piece as we listened. They would be able to use some of the new adjectives they had been studying in their synonyms and antonyms unit.
   As I walked into Mrs. Pryut's classroom, I was greeted by some of her awesome 6th-graders. They all made me feel so welcome there. When it was my turn to do music time, I took some time to ask each student for their name and what kind of music they liked. I was very impressed with how quiet and respectful the students were of each other! Then we dived right into the music. I explained the piece to them, and that I wanted them to signal each time a new character was introduced by raising their hand. As we listened, the hand raising became so frequent that some students even just kept their hands up. I realized that this wouldn't work for the entire 8 minutes of music, so with their heightened sensitivity to the music and some character ideas, I asked the class to get out a piece of paper and a pencil. We listened from the beginning again, and this time as we listened each student wrote a story using at least 5 "creative adjectives". I walked around the classroom as we listened, and I was amazed at the creative stories that these students were writing. When the piece ended, we listed some of the "creative adjectives" the class used, and then some of the students shared their stories. They are all so bright and creative! Music was a great inspiration for their creative writing skills!