Everything music from a perspective of a public
school music teacher with subject integration
(especially art, history, and literature) as a focus
to help teach the Common Core Curriculum.
We are learning about musical theater in general music. As an introduction I asked my students to write a paragraph on what they thought a "musical" was. Our next goal was to edit them and then, using their school Google Doc accounts to save to, create a document that I might be able to place into my Blog. Here is an example of a paragraph I created. (It is still in progress.)
provides the musical accompanimentfor all the song and dance numbers.
Songs
a combination of poetic words called lyrics and music written by a composer,
not only help introduce the main characters in this genre but also play an integral part in the telling of the story where as the dance numbers function to emphasize the strong emotional qualities conveyed in the plot line.
OBJECTIVE: ALLEY CAT RHYTHMIC READING-PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE PIECE 1. Quote by Jasha Heifietz/famous violinist of the 20th century 2. Solfege Roll: Review solfege hand signals adding "Sol." Teacher asks with hand signals: Sol-Mi-La-Sol-Mi ("Mar-y did you finish your quote?")/Student answers with hand signals: Sol-Mi-La-Sol-Mi ("Yes I did") and show the quote to me. 3. ALLEY CAT RHYTHMIC PERFORMANCE PIECE .....a. Go over directions..each color/symbol is a different percussion instrument...one instrument assigned per student ..........1)SHAKERS (MARACAS): QUARTER REST ..........2)WOOD SOUNDS (CLAVES/SPOONS): BLACK ..........3)METALS (FINGER CYMBALS/TRIANGLES): BLUE X's ..........4)SCRAPERS (GUIROS): RED .....b. Students slowly practice together as teacher helps with counting (no aqccompaniment music yet) .....c. Students play parts with music and teacher helps with tracking .....d. Students play parts without teacher help with tracking .....e. Students switch to different instruments and replay BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5: OBJECTIVE: SHORT HISTORY OF JAZZ: PREPARATION FOR FIELD TRIP TO DISNEY HALL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 1. Introduction to the history of jazz and its relationship to slavery 2. Play short video about what jazz sounds like .....a. Introduction to some famous jazz performers especially Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby 3. Play short video about 1920's jazz 4. Discuss with class added information: .....1)What instruments used in jazz versus the orchestra .....2)Improvisation over a fixed pattern of chords .....3)The idea of music as a conversation between instruments .....4)Scat singing 5. Importance of jazz music in American history and its influence on race relationships ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4: OBJECTIVE: SHORT HISTORY OF JAZZ: PREPARATION FOR FIELD TRIP TO DISNEY HALL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 1. Introduction to the history of jazz and its relationship to slavery 2. Play short video about what jazz sounds like .....a. Introduction to some famous jazz performers especially Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby 3. Play short video about 1920's jazz 4. Discuss with class added information: .....1)What instruments used in jazz versus the orchestra .....2)Improvisation over a fixed pattern of chords .....3)The idea of music as a conversation between instruments .....4)Scat singing 5. Importance of jazz music in American history and its influence on race relationships 6. Tune Instruments 7. SONG: IMAGINE 8. SONG: 21 GUNS
GENERAL MUSIC PERIODS 2, 3, 6: COMPOSER: Chopin Waltz in Db Major Opus 64 #1 "Minute Waltz" [Not really meant to be played in a minute but it is a very short piece played on the fast side.
OBJECTIVE: QUARTERS AND EIGHTHS/LEFT vs RIGHT IN MUSIC 1. Quote by Ludwig Van Beethoven....a. One of Beethoven's famous pieces is "Wellington's Victory" where he reenacts a war scene through music. As discussed in a previous lesson, he uses a percussion instrument called a "ratchet."
A "ratchet" is a percussion instrument consisting of a cogwheel, frame, and wooden tongue.
It produces a very loud clicking sound by spinning the cogwheel around against the tongue.
Beethoven uses the "ratchet" to portray the sound of gunfire in this music. 2. SOLFEGE: SOL-MI
3. LEFT versus RIGHT
.....a. Students instructed to write their name using their weak hand (the hand they normally do not use)
..........1)Use of the weak hand demonstrates what musicians experience when playing instruments which use both hands
.....b. Discussed how the brain works: right side of the brain controls left side of the body and vice versa
...........1)Implications of brain function and the playing of most instruments which use the equal use of both hands while performance
...........2)Most instrumentalists need to use both hands equally; in order to do this the usually weak hand that most everyone has must be developed more then normal
...........3)Using the weak hand forces the brain to use its under-developed side which expands brain usage
...........4)Frustration that often comes from using the weak hand is actually the feeling of the under-developed side of the brain expanding
......c. "ALLEY CAT" RHYTHM PIECE UTILZING LEFT and RIGHT HANDS
...........1)Students counted out loud the rhythms on the chart
..............a)Quarters-quarter rests/eighths notes in pairs
...............b)Used body percussion (BP)
...........2)Chart of song has BLACK and RED notes and students instructed to count rhythms but use RIGHT HAND for BLACK notes and LEFT HAND for RED notes
BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5:
OBJECTIVE: PREPARATION FOR SPRING CONCERT
1. TUNE
2. SONG: "21 GUNS"
.....a. Played through music with teacher helping with tracking
.....b. Reviewed music "road sign" directions
.....c. Class played their harmony part without help of teacher tracking while teacher played the melody
3. SONG: "HOEDOWN"
.....a. Worked on section "B" to get proper articulation
.....b. Started to add harmony part
ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4:
OBJECTIVE: PREPARATION FOR SPRING CONCERT
1. TUNE
2. "NUMB"
.....a. Played through the entire piece for continuity
.....b. Will need to work on unifying the bowings
3. "21 GUNS"
......a. Played through the entire piece first
......b. Worked toward articulation by starting with keyboard, cello, and quitar parts first then added in a few violins at a time until everyone was playing together A FEW STUDENTS STILL NEED TO TURN IN THEIR PERMISSION SLIP FORMS FOR THE FIELD TRIP TO THE DISNEY HALL IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES ON FEBRUARY 24th.
1. Discussed meaning of words "Polonaise" and "nationalism" in relation to Chopin's music. OBJECTIVE: QUARTER AND EIGHTH NOTE RHYTHMS 1. Quote by J.S. Bach/explanation about how long ago he lived and how musicians of his time made a living (who could afford to pay his salary) and what types of audiences were listening to his music. 2. Solfege Quote Check: SOL-MI 3. ALLEY CAT RHYTHMIC PIECE .....a. Rhythmic symbols used in music and their relationship to fractions .....b. Concept of "SILENCE" in music .....c. Focusing Skills-visual tracking which is timed .....d. Patterns in music and their effect on the the brain .....e. Use of LEFT vs RIGHT in music and why musicians get frustrated sometimes TERMS: QUARTER NOTE QUARTER REST EIGHTH NOTE POLONAISE NATIONALISM FLAGS BEAMS MUSIC STAFF STEMS
BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5: OBJECTIVE: PREPARATION SPRING PERFORMANCE 1. TUNE 2. SONG: "HOE DOWN" .....a. Worked on first 3 sections and connecting them with the harmony parts 3. "21 GUNS"
ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4: OBJECTIVE: PREPARATION SPRING PERFORMANCE 1. TUNE 2. SONG: "NUMB" .....a. Played first half of the piece reviewing what we had practice the day before during the sectionals 3. SONG: "YEAR WITHOUT RAIN" 4. MARIACHI SONG: "CIELITO LINDO" .....a. Played first half with melody and harmony
Four people still need to turn in field trip permission slips. The field trip is on February 24th!
DATE: MONDAY WEEK 03 SEMESTER #2 AUTHOR: John Cage QUOTE FROM THE BOARD: “I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.” MEANING OF THE QUOTE: “To continue to grow as a human being you must be open to try new ideas otherwise you stagnate.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATE: TUESDAY WEEK 03 SEMESTER #2 AUTHOR: Jascha Heifetz QUOTE FROM THE BOARD: “There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.” MEANING OF THE QUOTE: “There is always a way to improve yourself.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATE: WEDNESDAY WEEK 03 SEMESTER #2 AUTHOR: Nadia Boulanger QUOTE FROM THE BOARD: “Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.” MEANING OF THE QUOTE: “A true musician must be willing to give up everything for his art" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATE: THURSDAY WEEK 03 SEMESTER #2 AUTHOR: Zoltan Kodaly QUOTE FROM THE BOARD: “No man is complete without a feeling for music and an understanding of what it can do for him.” MEANING OF THE QUOTE: “Complete fulfillment in life is not possible unless you have some music appreciation.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DATE: FRIDAY WEEK 03 SEMESTER #2 AUTHOR: Frank Zappa QUOTE FROM THE BOARD: “Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.” MEANING OF THE QUOTE: "The vibrations that emanate from music create a sound from air as an artist creates a sculpture from a rock." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is a Musical? 
