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