Ha, sorry! I learned this song in elementary school to the tune of "Danse Macabre" and it's stuck with me ever since. Here's the video from YouTube that I like to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Eg8UifzmI Anyways, I thought I'd share some Halloween activities my classes have been doing. In the Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg This is the first year I've really delved into Grieg. I love the music and the melody really sticks in the kids' heads! I start introducing it in Kindergarten and 1st grade with Eric Litwin's (Pete the Cat!!!) song from The Learning Groove. It takes the melody and puts in words like "I can shake my shaker egg and sneak around the room." It's fun to add egg shakers and a little movement once the students have learned the melody. As they get older, I show my intermediate students a short cartoon of the story. It's only about 5 minutes, but also adds in the "Morning Mood" music, which many of the students recognize. In the future, I'd like to add a literature connection. I've seen some great picture books online, but haven't picked one up yet. Soon! I also add rhythm sticks to the main theme, with the help of Malinda Phillips' great active listening resource! Check it out - it's free :) From there, we move on to actually feeling the beat, tempo and dynamic changes in the music. If you follow my blog, you know I LOVE Artie Almeida. She has a wonderful guiro and kickball lesson for this piece. I tried it with my third graders last week and we had so much fun! I used basketballs because we don't have enough kickballs and it still worked out just fine. Here are some pictures from my students engaging in the music: It was Character Counts week, so they're all dressed up in the careers they'd like to have.The basketball coach had to come get the balls for practice at the end of the day, but we had a good time while it lasted. Artie's lessons are truly wonderful resources. I encourage you to check out her videos on YouTube and purchase this resource. You won't regret it! Some other activities we are doing this week are: singing the story "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!" with melody from Kristin Lukow Halloween melody patterns from Aileen Miracle's 13 Nights freebie Halloween vocal explorations and "create your own" template from Amy Abbott Witch Witch (so-mi activity) and game from The Yellow Brick Road Spooky Music listening & rating from Music with Sara Bibee (this one is a fun activity for the older kids!) The last game we are playing is a favorite of my primary students! I discovered it on Pinterest last year and the students just love it. I can't seem to find the right recording for it, though. There is a faster version and a Denise Gagne version that has a different melody. I kind of plunked it out on my own and adapt it to my student's singing ability. Here's the video of the song I use and the game: It's really fun and a great way to reinforce steady beat. What Halloween or seasonal activities are you doing this week with your students?
Piano Chords Made Easy
SMILE
Title: Hallelujah By: Leonard Cohen Instruments: Voice, range: C4-E5 Treble Clef Instrument Piano Scorings: Piano/Vocal/Chords Original Published Key: C Major Product Type: Musicnotes Product #: MN0132765 Price: $4.99 Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. Each additional print is $3.99 Number of Pages: 2 Average Rating: Rated 4/5 based on 14 customer ratings Top Review: "nice composition, just over easy" see all reviews Lyrics Begin: Now I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord.
A brilliant way to learn those music theory fundamentals is being shared on social media, and all you have to do is sing.
This little invention has been a hit with kids as well as teachers. I first created a Bop-o-phone out of desperation for additional xylos. The frame/box costs basically nothing, and it adds some versatility to a set of Boomwhackers. Here are easy instructions and pictures. Please post additional ideas or feedback. Enjoy! Materials needed: an empty, sturdy box that contained a case of 8.5" x 11" copy paper (usually easy to find in the faculty workroom), wide tape, a meter stick, a marker, sturdy scissors, and a about six feet of yarn or soft string. For each mallet, you will need a pencil or 10" length of 1/4" diameter dowel, a small rubber ball (party favor or from 25 cent vending machine), and glue. Step #1 (1) Begin 2 cm from the left side of the box and mark along the top edge 4 cm wide by 1 cm deep arcs, 1 cm apart. Repeat markings on opposite edge. Cut out the arcs. (Cutting from each side and meeting in the middle will give cleaner results.) Step 2 (2) Gently pull the glued seams on one side of the box apart and lay the end flap flat. Mark a line through the center of the bottom of the box from the open edge to 7" from the opposite side. Then mark a "V", extending from the center line to each corner of the box. Cut along these lines. Step #3 (3) Fold the bottom sections over each other with the "V" on top (inside), narrowing the width of the open end of the box to about 8". Then fold the end flaps up, trim/square them up, and tape your seams. (4) Place Boomwhackers in the 'cradles' in diatonic order. (You can leave some off for pentatonic activities). Tie two lengths of yarn around the box and tubes lengthwise as shown in the top picture. Tape yarn in place on bottom of box to keep it from sliding around. The yarn will keep tubes in place, and it doesn't really inhibit tone. (5) Make a mallet by carving/drilling a hole in a rubber ball, applying glue to in the hole and on the end of the dowel or pencil, and inserting the stick into the ball. (Soft rubber balls actually sound better than hard ones.) You can use the Bop-o-phone as an Orff-type instrument for ostinatos or as a melody instrument. It's very easy to convert Boomwhackers to and from this mallet format. Here's a link to my digital song collection of color-coded melodies (with ostinato suggestions), which you might find very useful and versatile: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-BIG-BOOK-of-FOLK-SONG-FUN-for-Bells-or-Boomwhackers-466033
Another useful chart ... http://t.co/H0rAL5CGhG #ukulele #YoKulele
As we are sure you are all aware, today is Uncommon Musical Instrument Appreciation Day, the day on which we are urged to take time to think about the rare and unusual instruments that have gone obsolete, or are otherwise beyond our ken. We would like to offer a number...
Take a G and an E and O, And add a little R-G-E, To a W-A-S-H, I...N...G If you add 2,000 pounds, That makes a ton, So what have you got? You've got a lot!
The color wheel dates back to the mid 1600s. Sir Isaac Newton and A.H. Munsell shared the color wheel concept of likening color notation to music.
