Monday, August 30, 2010
First Honor Choir Rehearsal!
Congratulations to all students who made the Honor Choir! Tuesday, August 31st is our first rehearsal from 3:30 - 4:30pm! Students will need to be picked up at 4:30pm on the Northwest side of the building by the music room doors. I will also be sending the Honor Choir handbook and a t-shirt order form home with students. Please make sure to return the t-shirt form and the signed handbook form to me by next Tuesday, September 7th, 2010.
September Newsletter
Music Notes Newsletter
Happy September to all! I’d like to share with you a bit of what is happening in the music classrooms…
Fifth grade students began the year talking about proper singing posture and singing the patriotic song “America.” We are now working on creating a piece of music in ABA form. The “A” section is the students’ names played in rhythm. The B section is each student’s own ostinato (repeating rhythm) composition. When we put the two sections together, it becomes a really fun piece of music! Students are playing their rhythms on various types of instruments such as the talking drum, conga, hand drums, buffalo drums, taos drums, shekere, cabasa, and gangokui. See if your child can describe some of these cool instruments to you!
Sixth grade classes are currently experiencing a vocal music unit! So far, we have discovered our individual vocal ranges and discussed and categorized different voice types through listening. We are just starting to delve into a piece of music titled “Flight of the Grackles” by Janet Gardner. We will discuss different elements of the music and then begin to sing the piece. All sixth grade students are invited to sing this song at our sixth grade choir concert on October 7th at 7:00pm in the HS auditorium! Other topics in our vocal unit will include the anatomy of the voice, the changing voice, and taking care of the voice.
Sixth grade choir students are really getting into their October 7th concert repertoire. We will be singing a variety of music include a piece in German, a piece in Latin, a Broadway show tune, and an African American Spiritual. In class, we have also been working on our sight reading skills, as well as proper posture, breath support, and vowel shapes.
Congratulations to students who auditioned for the Honor Choir! There were 85 students who auditioned this year, so I had a very difficult time choosing students. I would like to encourage any students who did not make the choir to keep working at singing. Try to increase your vocal range by doing roller coasters with your voice throughout the day. Challenge yourself in your music class to sing correctly and don’t be afraid to ask if you have any questions. To those of you who did make the choir, congratulations and I’ll see you at rehearsal on Tuesday!
I’d like to leave you with a quote that a colleague shared with me…
“There is a spirit in all music, the spirit has the ability to conjure up thoughts even pictures of something that happened or you wished would happen or you anticipate happening. Music has the ability to create ideas in you and me. It has the ability to encourage us to be creative.” Maya Angelou
Sing-cer-ely,
Mrs. Williams
Happy September to all! I’d like to share with you a bit of what is happening in the music classrooms…
Fifth grade students began the year talking about proper singing posture and singing the patriotic song “America.” We are now working on creating a piece of music in ABA form. The “A” section is the students’ names played in rhythm. The B section is each student’s own ostinato (repeating rhythm) composition. When we put the two sections together, it becomes a really fun piece of music! Students are playing their rhythms on various types of instruments such as the talking drum, conga, hand drums, buffalo drums, taos drums, shekere, cabasa, and gangokui. See if your child can describe some of these cool instruments to you!
Sixth grade classes are currently experiencing a vocal music unit! So far, we have discovered our individual vocal ranges and discussed and categorized different voice types through listening. We are just starting to delve into a piece of music titled “Flight of the Grackles” by Janet Gardner. We will discuss different elements of the music and then begin to sing the piece. All sixth grade students are invited to sing this song at our sixth grade choir concert on October 7th at 7:00pm in the HS auditorium! Other topics in our vocal unit will include the anatomy of the voice, the changing voice, and taking care of the voice.
Sixth grade choir students are really getting into their October 7th concert repertoire. We will be singing a variety of music include a piece in German, a piece in Latin, a Broadway show tune, and an African American Spiritual. In class, we have also been working on our sight reading skills, as well as proper posture, breath support, and vowel shapes.
Congratulations to students who auditioned for the Honor Choir! There were 85 students who auditioned this year, so I had a very difficult time choosing students. I would like to encourage any students who did not make the choir to keep working at singing. Try to increase your vocal range by doing roller coasters with your voice throughout the day. Challenge yourself in your music class to sing correctly and don’t be afraid to ask if you have any questions. To those of you who did make the choir, congratulations and I’ll see you at rehearsal on Tuesday!
I’d like to leave you with a quote that a colleague shared with me…
“There is a spirit in all music, the spirit has the ability to conjure up thoughts even pictures of something that happened or you wished would happen or you anticipate happening. Music has the ability to create ideas in you and me. It has the ability to encourage us to be creative.” Maya Angelou
Sing-cer-ely,
Mrs. Williams
Monday, August 16, 2010
August Newsletter
Music Notes
Welcome back to school, and welcome to a new year of wonderful music opportunities! I am looking forward to working with all students in fifth grade music, sixth grade music, sixth grade choir, and honor choir. We have many exciting programs ahead of us including choir concerts, P.T.O. concerts, community performances, and our awesome spring musical!
Please make sure to read the syllabus and choir handbooks that come home with your child on the first day of school. These will be helpful in describing the music course in which your child is participating, and will outline important performance dates. Please especially note that P.T.O. concerts are an extension of class work and are mandatory for all fifth and sixth graders on their corresponding dates. Fifth grade will perform on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, and sixth grade will perform on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011. A makeup assignment will be available in the event that a student is not able to attend.
Remember that fifth and sixth grade students need to have a folder for music class. Colored folders on the school supply list are as follows…
5th grade
Armstrong-Purple Bradley-Red
Parson-Blue Lucht-Orange
Haight-Yellow Murray-Pink
Wilmoth-Green
6A-Purple
6B-Yellow
Also, if you have some extra pencils, the music room could use some!
If your child is interested in singing in our Honor Choir, have them sign up for a time on the music room door. Audition dates and times are listed below…
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 from 7:00 - 7:50AM
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 from 3:30 - 4:30PM
Wednesday, August 25th from 7:00 - 7:50AM
Wednesday, August 25th from 3:30 - 4:30PM
Get excited for a fabulous year!
Sing-cer-ely,
Mrs. Williams
Welcome back to school, and welcome to a new year of wonderful music opportunities! I am looking forward to working with all students in fifth grade music, sixth grade music, sixth grade choir, and honor choir. We have many exciting programs ahead of us including choir concerts, P.T.O. concerts, community performances, and our awesome spring musical!
Please make sure to read the syllabus and choir handbooks that come home with your child on the first day of school. These will be helpful in describing the music course in which your child is participating, and will outline important performance dates. Please especially note that P.T.O. concerts are an extension of class work and are mandatory for all fifth and sixth graders on their corresponding dates. Fifth grade will perform on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, and sixth grade will perform on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011. A makeup assignment will be available in the event that a student is not able to attend.
Remember that fifth and sixth grade students need to have a folder for music class. Colored folders on the school supply list are as follows…
5th grade
Armstrong-Purple Bradley-Red
Parson-Blue Lucht-Orange
Haight-Yellow Murray-Pink
Wilmoth-Green
6A-Purple
6B-Yellow
Also, if you have some extra pencils, the music room could use some!
If your child is interested in singing in our Honor Choir, have them sign up for a time on the music room door. Audition dates and times are listed below…
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 from 7:00 - 7:50AM
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 from 3:30 - 4:30PM
Wednesday, August 25th from 7:00 - 7:50AM
Wednesday, August 25th from 3:30 - 4:30PM
Get excited for a fabulous year!
Sing-cer-ely,
Mrs. Williams
Friday, August 6, 2010
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to the 2010-2011 School Year! I am so excited for music classes to begin! Please check out the updated information on this blog including open house letters, syllabus, choir handbooks, honor choir audition info., and performance dates. This is going to be an awesome year!
Mrs. Williams
Mrs. Williams
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