2015 Term 3, Week 2: More on strings

Work in progress - more to come) 

(Seniors) Here's a dance to warm us up at the start of the lesson. Celebration!

Try out some of your cool '70s dance moves. 

(Juniors) Here's your warm up dance: I've Been Working on the Railroad.  

This term, we are going to practise our speaking and singing enunciation by trying out a new tongue twister each week.   This week it's:

 Scroll down to the end of the blog  to find the answers.

Another name for a violin is a fiddle.  We use the word violin when we talk about an instrument of the orchestra, but the word fiddle tends to mean a violin that is played for folk music or traditional music.   

This is a very famous piece of  fiddle music from America called The Orange Blossom Special.  What other stringed instruments can you see, and how are they played? 

 

 Here's a clip form a movie called Singin' in the Rain (1952).  We've already looked at some of this movie earlier in the year. It shows  actors/ dancers Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor playing the fiddles - and dancing. It's very clever, and a little crazy. The song is called Fit as a Fiddle.  

Learn more about the saying "Fit as a fiddle".

Watch this very old movie clip from 1942. It is mainly about  playing xylophones (called marimbas), but watch the bass player.  How is this double bass player different from those we have seen in an orchestra?

Answers to quiz: 
1.  violin   2. (b) a bow   3. violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, guitar  4. guitar 
5.  violin, viola,  cello, double bass   6. lower   7. higher   8. (c) plucking 
9. (b) the violin     10. the double bass    11. the double bass     12. cello 
13.  cello and double bass   14. (a) higher sounds, because by pressing on the string he is making the string shorter. 15. (c)  horse hair  16. (b)sheep guts (sometimes goat guts, or cattle guts  17. (b) false - even though violin and other instruments' strings  (and tennis racquets strings) were originally made of something called  cat gut, it was more likely to have been named after cattle gut. No cats' guts were ever used to make musical instruments.

2015 Term 3, Week 1: Instruments of the Orchestra - strings

Instruments of the orchestra:
STRINGS
This week we  are looking at stringed instruments.  Here's a short video demonstrating how each of the stringed instruments in an orchestra look and sound when they are played.

 Now, can you name the parts on the violin below?

In the orchestra, most stringed instruments are played with a bow, but strings can be plucked or strum, too.

This is called Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach.  It's also known as Air on the G String.

  Bach is one of known  of the greatest composers of all time.  He was born in Germany in 1685 and died in 1750.  His family was very musical for many generations  - over 300 years. His parents died when he was young and he was brought up by his older brother who played the organ in a church.

Bach once had to spend a month in jail because he tried to quit his job composing and playing for a duke. While he was in jail he wrote forty-six pieces of music - many of which are still performed today.  Even though he composed a lot of music, he was not famous in his life time, and it was not until almost 100 years after his death that his work became known, and he was recognised as a genius.


Bach had twenty children. Five were named Johann, two were called Johanna, and four became famous composers.

 Here are some more stringed instruments.

This young Russian girl, called Alisa Sadikova, is playing the harp. She is 11 years old in this video.

Check out this clip of the 2 Cellos playing a piece called Thunderstruck.  I wonder why everyone is dressed on old-fashioned clothes?  Do you think Bach could have imagined the cello being played like this?  This is another piece played by the 2 Cellos called Benedictus (from The Armed Man by Carl Jenkins - we looked at some of his work earlier this year.) How is this different  to the previous piece by 2 Cellos?

Here's a quiz about stringed instruments.  How many answers do you know?
And another  stringed instrument quiz where you get a second chance if you get the wrong answer.

Juniors:
 We are learning to recite a poem together, then we will add some music to it.

Here's  some information about turtles.
This is a short video showing how turtles hatch from their eggs.
And then they head out to sea.
This is a join-in song about the life cycle of the sea turtle.
This is an Aborigine Turtle Dance.  What music can you hear? What instruments are being played, and how do they play them?  How do  the dancers show the turtle movements? 

And another turtle dance - literally. No turtles were harmed in the making of this video.

2015 July Holidays

Here's some interesting activities and videos I've discovered during the holidays.
Keep checking this post, as I will add more over the holidays as I find interesting sites.

Here's a hauntingly beautiful violin / piano duet of Hallelujah - originally written by Leonard Cohen and covered many times by many other artists.  This violin is played by Rob Landes  and the piano is played by Aubry Pitcher.

Here's some very unusual instruments sounding like an electric guitar and a bass guitar. 

This boy is only three years old, but he loves conducting and has obviously practised this a lot. He is conducting the fourth movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Have a bit of fun with these singing horses. You can click each horse on or off to change when they start or finish singing.


Here's a compilation of animal videos with backing music to suit their actions.

Click on this link to  play a fun game where you have to tap any key to maintain a drum beat rhythm over   a few seconds, then you get a score out of 1000 for your accuracy.

Follow this link to be able to pretend that you are playing Mozart, Beethoven and many other famous classical pianists.  Just touch the screen if you are using a screen-touchable device, otherwise, just use  any keys on the keyboard to play the music to a graphic of the notes being played.  It may take a while to work it out and to find all the options, but it's a lot of fun and you can almost start to feel as if you are a classical pianist.

And here's the chicken dance - literally!

2015 Term 2, Week 11: Last Week of the Term

Well, Term 2 went pretty quickly!

This week we will have a change of plan as some classes will miss their usual lessons because of parent interviews and cross country.   Instead, we will have a "Greatest Hits" session of our favourite songs and dances, and a bit of fun (although every week in music is fun, surely).

 Something just for fun . . .

Here's a Gangnam Style bird dance - literally!

Here's 16 different genres of music demonstrated in one song in 3 minutes. Notice that this is one continuous video - without any editing.

This pianist plays the theme to Harry Potter in a lot of different musical styles as they are asked for randomly.

These are  not the kind of singers you would be expecting if you were at the opera "Carmen" by Bizet. 

And because this Saturday is the 4th of July, the day the United States celebrate the anniversary of their Declaration of Independence in 1776, here's the most famous of American marches, called The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa. It is the national march of America.   The  "Stars and Stripes" is also one of the names for the flag of the United States. Other names are "Old Glory" and "The Star Spangled Banner".   This version includes a choir. Note the way the cymbals and triangle are played, and look for the piccolo players who have a special part to play.

Here's an animated version of the score of The Stars and Stripes Forever. Choose an instrument to follow and note when the tune goes higher  and lower.  Can you see how the percussion is shown?

And, of course,  a Muppets version of The Stars and Stripes Forever. 

Finally, for the holidays - here's a Kid President message about holidays (vacations in USA). 

2015 Term 2. Week 10: Bananas, Baked Beans and Body Percussion

What was Beethoven's favourite fruit?

We have been working on body percussion activities.  These are some of the ones we have adapted. 
Boom Snap Clap
Sevens   

How many different body percussion patterns can you make by changing the orders of these sounds? 

From Mrs King's Music Room 

Here's a rhythm matching game.  Click on "play" to hear a rhythm, then choose which one of the  lines of rhythm matches.

Where would you put bar lines to make a 5 bar rhythm?

What has setting the table, or putting the cutlery away got to do with music?  
Click here to find out.

Our New Zealand music clip of the week is a fun "novelty song" from 1977 by the Dunedin band called Mother Goose and is called Baked Beans.   

 The band members dressed up in outrageous costumes, each member with their own trademark look, as you will see in the video clip.  The song was very popular and was played frequently on tv stations in Australia and New Zealand.

The band "Mother Goose".

 Here's another silly baked beans song - just for fun. try singing along with it.

We are still working on  the song Islands with lyrics and sign language.  
Follow this link for ukulele chords and lyrics for Islands 
 
Link to metronome for our rhythm activities.

Follow this link to have fun making your own music patterns 

Here's a new dance for the Juniors - it will help warm us up on the frosty mornings this week, especially as the dance is called Freeze!

2015 Term 2, Week 9: Matariki

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars which are also known as the Pleiades.  It rises in  late May or early June, which is mid-winter in New Zealand.  For many Māori, it  marks the start of a new year.

Matariki means the ‘eyes of god’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki). According to myth, when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, were separated by their children, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.

Matariki was a time to remember those who had died in the last year. But it was also a happy event – crops had been harvested and seafood and birds had been collected. With plenty of food in the storehouses, Matariki was a time for singing, dancing and feasting.

You can read more about  the Pleiades and Matariki here.

Matariki, or Māori New Year celebrations were once popular, but stopped in the 1940s. In 2000, they were revived, and now,  thousands of people celebrate the ‘New Zealand Thanksgiving’. A special feature of Matariki celebrations is the flying of kites – according to ancient custom they flutter close to the stars.

A traditional Maori kite drawn in the 1800s

Here's a song about Matariki, and shows a group of people preparing a hangi for family party.

 
This is a picture book  story about Matariki. 

 Here's an interactive activity to learn more about Matariki. You might need to work on it a bit to find your way around, but you will learn some interesting facts about Matariki.

This link takes you to a group of children doing the Matariki Macarena dance.
Here's the words so you can sing along.
Waiti 
Waita 
Waipuna - a - rangi
Tupu - a - nuku
Tupu - a - rangi
Ko Uru - a - rangi te potiki
O te whanau Matariki

This is an easy song to sing - you will know the tune.  Follow the link:
Tirama, Tirama, Matariki.

Tirama, Tirama, Matariki

Me ona tamariki

Tupu-a-nuku

Tupu-a-rangi

Wai-ti

Wai-ta

Waipuna-rangi-e

Ko te potiki, ko Ururangi

Twinkle, twinkle, Matariki

And all your children:

Tupu-a-nuku

Tupu-a-rangi

Wai-ti

Wai-ta

Waipuna-rangi-e
And the youngest, Ururangi

Here's another Matariki song to sing:  

Nga Tamariki o Matariki  

Wai-ti, Wai-ta, Waipuna-rangi

Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Ururangi e

Koine nga tamariki o Matariki

Nga whetu e piataata i te rangi e

Nga whetu e piataata i te rangi e

Wai-ti, Wai-ta, Waipuna-rangi

Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Ururangi e

These are the children of Matariki

The bright stars that shine in the sky

The bright stars that shine in the sky

Click here to see Rob Thorne using taonga puoro ( traditional instruments of Maori). It's about 9 minutes long and shows you a range of traditional Maori instruments and how they are used.

Click on this link to learn more about traditional Maori instruments and to see some pictures of the ones that are in the video above.  

This link takes you to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand's page about Maori instruments. You can click on each instrument to learn more.

 - - - - - - - - - -

Follow this link to test your knowledge of crotchets and quavers. 
Clap the rhythm  of the notes the click on "play" to listen to a  rhythm.  If you think the sound  matches the rhythm of notes, click "yes". If you think it is different, click  "no".


Add bar lines to make 5 bars of 4/4 timing. Remember, each bar must add up to four counts. 

2015 Term 2, Week 8: Fun with Rhythms

We are still enjoying watching this video of Gustavo Dudamel conduct Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (First Movement) with the Gothenburg Symphony in 2009.  This is another video of him conducting a Venezuelan orchestra performing the entire symphony in Paris in March this year.  You get to see the orchestra as well in this clip.  Skip to the end and see what happens when an orchestra finish playing a symphony.   And  to practise our Spanish, here's an interview with Gustavo Dudamel  (whose first language is Spanish) as he talks about conducting this music. It includes subtitles, but I'm sure you'll be able to pick up a few words on your own.

I'm sure Gustavo Dudamel would need an osteopath after his conducting of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony!

We are going to use this  New Zealand  song to practise our clapping and rhythm patterns. Counting the Beat by the Swingers (1981) 

(Extension activity: Here's a link to the sheet music for this song (well, the first page of it).  Look for the icon to enlarge it. See if you can work out the values of the notes, remembering that each bar will add up to the equivalent of four crotchets.) 

Revision: Where would you put the bar lines in this measure of music? Check the time signature first.  What is the value of each note? How many notes can you name? 

 

We are having fun learning this song and adding actions.

We are still working on  the song Islands with lyrics and sign language.  

Follow this link for ukulele chords and lyrics for Islands. 

Link to metronome for our rhythm activities.

Follow this link to have fun making your own music patterns