2016 Term 4 Week 9: Our school choir and orchestra

This is a recording of our little choir singing  Silent NIght in a medley of other Christmas songs, including one verse in Spanish.



This is our orchestra, conducted by Mrs Lee, playing Canon in D.  Some students only started to learn their instruments half way through the year, and we think they are pretty awesome. 

2016 Term 4 Weeks 3 and 4: History of Halloween and Guy Fawkes

Follow this link to a previous blog post about Guy Fawkes. 

In 1605, Guy Fawkes was one of a group of men who had plotted to blow up the houses of parliament in London to kill the king.  They were caught and executed. The king was so grateful that the plot was discovered that he ordered a celebration. 

Here's a Horrible Histories version of the Guy Fawkes story. 

Here's a very old poem about Guy Fawkes. Practise saying it aloud, and try to find a rhythm to it. Hint - try saying Guy Fawkes two times at the beginning of verse 2.

Time to practise our notes on the treble clef again:  I Knew You Were Treble

And time to bring out some of our Christmas dances: 
Crazy Santa Dance 
Jingle Bells 
 

 

The history of Halloween goes back a very long time. What it means to people, and how it is celebrated has changed several times over the course of its history. 

Celebrating Halloween originally started as a pagan ritual over two thousand years ago in the areas now known as Ireland, northern France and the United Kingdom.  It started as a Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced Sow-in) to celebrate the end of the harvest season on the 31st of October before the beginning of the long, dark, cold northern hemisphere winter and the new year beginning on November 1st.   It was also believed that a change of seasons was a bridge to the world of the dead.  Celts believed that on the eve of the new year, the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth.  There were bonfires and celebrations to mark these events. 

When the Romans conquered most of the Celtic lands, they included some of their own traditions in the festivals. 

In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III decided that all saints and martyrs would be honoured on November 1st. It would be called "All Saints' Day", and the night before  All Saints' Day was called "All Hallow's Eve". Over time it became shortened to "Hallowe'en" - e'en is an abbreviation for evening. 

In 1000 AD, the church made November 2nd a day to remember and honour all dead, and this became known as "All Souls' Day" and was also celebrated with festivities. 

 

Over time, the the festival changed from a religious festival to a community celebration and involved children dressing up and trick-or-treating.  Hallowe'en celebrations  continued to change even further as immigrants brought their traditions and festivals with them to America. It changed into a community event and lost any of its connections with religion. Further over time, and with commercialism and advertising, it has evolved into a huge industry with billions of dollars spent on decorations, costumes, parties and special foods. 

 Here's a Monster Dance (Just Disney Dance) Calling All Monsters . 

And our favourite - Banana Boat song. 

Here's an old recording of children reciting the witches' spell from MacBeth. 

 

Juniors 
 This is another dance called the Skeleton Dance . It helps you learn your left and right sides - and the names of your bones. 

Here's an easy dance called The Monster Shuffle.  Follow the words and mirror what the group are dancing.  

Here's a Halloween song and dance you can easily follow. 
And another one - Let's Get Spooky.

 

2016, Term 4 Weeks 1 and 2: Audience Etiquette - how to behave at a concert

 

Over the next few weeks we will be completing assessments, including a few test pieces for portfolio samples. Here's some practice  examples.

Put bar lines in to make 4 beats in each bar.

 

Practising our audience skills. 

Imagine you are at these concerts (follow the links below).  Show  the appropriate audience skills and behaviour for each concert piece.  Remember, sometimes it's the right thing to do to keep very still and quiet until the item is over and the conductor has lowered the baton, and other times the audience is expected to participate or show outbursts of enjoyment or appreciation during the item.  Can you tell the difference? 

Are you meant to keep absolutely still and quiet in this concert item?  I wonder why? 

What happens in this concert? How does the musician respond?  How do the audience respond?  Why do you think the musician responded the way he did? How would you feel if you were in the audience? 

How do the audience respond in this classical piano piece? What's different about this musician?  What were you expecting? Why? What do you notice about the orchestra members?  WHat should a concet pianist look like?

 

What about this concert? There's an orchestra playing classical music, but what is the conductor wanting the audience to do?  How do you know this?  Are there any other gestures the conductor makes to the audience?  What is your opinion of the people filming the concert with their phones?

Watch this very young musician perform Chopin's Minute Waltz. How do the audience respond? Why do you think they waited so long to applaud?

What are the performers encouraging the audience to do in  this performance? How would the performers feel if everyone sat very still and quiet?  How do the audience know what to do?

Here's another very young pianist. How do the audience respond at the end of his item?  How does the performer respond? 


 How do the audience participate in this concert item? How do you think the performer feels?

How do the performers expect the audience to be involved in this item? What would happen if the audience stayed still and quiet? 

Sometimes, the audience gets too noisy and excited and no one can hear the band!  This was especially obvious when The Beatles first started to play concerts in the early 1960s. 

 

This is a very short guide on audience etiquette done by school students. 
 
And if you're still not sure how to behave at an orchestra performance - check out this video for some help.      Or this one. 


What happens when you need to cough during a concert performance? 

When should you applaud at a classical music concert? 

 

 And because someone will ask for it - here's the cat picture for the week.  What can you say about the cats' audience skills? 

Extra: Woody Woodpecker's Barnyard Chopin Concert.  What evidence of audience etiquette can you notice?

Here's a graphic representation of Chopin's Minute Waltz. Op 64 Describe the patterns.  
Here's a graphic representation of Chopin's  Polonaise Op 53 (from the Woody Woodpecker cartoon.) Describe the patterns in this music. 

 

Dances:
I'm Gonna Catch You    (Juniors)
Hot Potato (Juniors) 

We no speak Americano 
Dynamite 

2016 Term 3 Week 7: Last Week Continued

 

Here's a Woody Woodpecker Cartoon based on Chopin's music

 Here's another type of graphic score of Chopin's Opus 66 - Fantasie Impromptu.


Dances: 
Juniors
Skip to my Lou
Fraggle Rock
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wim o Weh)  
Hot Potato  
Who let the dogs out?  
Hold Still   

Seniors / Intermediates:
Feelin' Good  
Footloose   
Shout! 
We no Speak Americano  

Dynamite  
Limbo - in Spanish (Lyrics and translation here) 
Beat it   

Add bar lines to make five bars with four beats in each bar.

Intermediates: 
This is the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's version of Peter and the Wolf.  The conductor is also the narrator.   You can see which instruments represent the characters, and see the instruments being played, but you have to make up the images in your own mind. 
 
 Seniors:
Ode to Joy on glockenspiels - Here's a link to the music we are using if you want to practise it at home.
Here's a slow MP3 track of Ode to Joy  (C Major).

Juniors: 
Peter and the Wolf - We will finish watching the ballet from where we left off last week. 
Here's a ballet version of Peter and the Wolf.

Peter and the Wolf matching game  

 

2016, Term 3 Weeks 5 & 6: Dances and Wolves . . .

Mrs Lee and Mrs Vincent are singing in this choir on Sunday 28th August. Do come along and hear them. Afternoon tea is included. 

Intermediate Dances: 
We no Speak Americano
Beat it 
Dynamite 
Happy  
Limbo - in Spanish  (Lyrics and translation here) 
 
 Senior Dances:
It's a Beautiful Life
Feelin' Good 
What Does the Fox Say? 
Hoedown Throwdown  
Love Me  
 I like to move it  

Junior Dances:
It's a Beautiful Life
Shimmie Shake 
I'm Gonna Catch You
Follow the Leader
Hot Potato  
Monkey Dance
 I like to move it  

Add bar lines to make five bars with four beats in each bar. 

Now for the Wolf:
We had a brief intermission  in the story of Peter and the wolf to accommodate Maths week; however, we have returned to Peter when he was about to leave the safety of his walled garden . . . 

 

Peter is represented by the STRING INSTRUMENTS   Peter's theme music 

From Music for homeschoolers

 
The bird is represented by the FLUTE  Bird's theme music  
The duck is represented by the OBOE    Duck's theme music
 
The  cat is represented by the CLARINET    Cat's theme music 
 
The grandfather is represented by the BASSOON    Grandfather's theme
 
 
The wolf is represented by three FRENCH HORNS      The wolf's theme 
 
The hunters enter to a march tune 

The hunters' guns are represented by the TIMPANI (kettle drum) and BASS DRUM    The gun's theme 

                                     


Here is the complete story of Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Peter Ustinov.  There are no pictures - it's much better if you imagine them yourself. 
- Listen for changes in dynamics: when does the music get louder and softer or quieter (crescendo and decrescendo)? 
- Listen for changes in tempo: when does the music get faster and slower?  Which characters' music has a faster  or slower tempo? 
- Listen for changes in pitch:  which characters' music has a higher pitch? Which characters' music has a lower pitch?  
- Listen for the different ways each character's music is played to fit the story. Can you hear changes in the timing, instruments, tempo and tone? How do these changes reflect different parts of the story?

This is the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's version of Peter and the Wolf.  The conductor is also the narrator.   You can see which instruments represent the characters, and see the instruments being played, but you have to make up the images in your own mind.

Here's a ballet version of Peter and the Wolf.

 

This is a fun cartoon to show you some of the instruments of the orchestra, and then you get to sing "If You're Happy and You Know it" with some musical instrument actions. 

2016, Term 3, Weeks 3 & 4: Musical Maths Week

 Who knew that Gangnam Style could help you with your maths? ("Transformation Style": reflections, rotations and translations)

Check out this interesting video which relates sounds to doodle art drawn  on a grid.  See if you can work out how each sound is represented by the lines and patterns on the grid.  What happens when the lines are erased? How does this combine music and maths? 

Look at the patterns the notes make in this "Synthesia" version of Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu (Opus 66).

 Which of the symbols below is/are: 
a semibreve, a minim, a dotted minim, a crotchet, a minim rest, quavers, a crotchet rest, a semibreve rest? 

Which ones have 1 beat, 2 beats, 3 beats, 4 beats?
What do you call a note that has half a beat?  
Which ones are rests?  

From  O for Tuna 

 Show your answers as a single note. Are there any other ways you could show your answer? 
 

Follow this link for extra practice with note values. 

What's the time?

Add five bar lines to make 5 bars of 4 beats in each bar. Remember that some notes are longer than one beat and some notes are shorter than one beat.

 

And now for some pirate maths: 

When You Subtract with a Pirate  

When You Add with a Pirate  

and a pirate dance (with lyrics) 

 A Pirate You Shall Be (Just Dance HD)

This is the Auckland Symphony Orchestra playing the theme music of Pirates of the Caribbean.   

 - What instruments can you identify? 

- How many different ways are the instruments played? 

- Where does the music change in tempo (speed/timing) or dynamics (loudness and softness)? 

- What instruments can you hear but not see played? 

Finally, Shiver My Timbers  from the Muppet movie Treasure Island.

Fibonacci Sequence in Music

Here is a piece of music based on the Fibonacci Sequence.   

Learn your 3 times table (multiples of 3) with a little help from a parody of Uptown Funk.