Greetings from the Music Room!
First Grade:
The first grade has returned from a magical journey to the land of the Peanut Butter Prince to retrieve a peanut butter spoon. Unfortunately, the baker was not home when they returned but rather had been lost in the snowy mountains. We are in the midst of trying to find him. They have also been practicing and refining their understanding of the way pitch moves within a small range of three notes. The penny whistle is our main tool, and the students are progressing well.
Second Grade:
The second grade has been enlarging their range of pitch understanding and flute playing to an octave. This means they can now play on the entire penny whistle. This can be challenging because one little leak in any of the fingers covering the holes will cause the note not to work, but most of the students are doing very well.
Third Grade:
In addition to developing their penny whistle skills, the third grade has been working on keyboard geography and transcribing rhythms. We have also done some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.
Fourth and Fifth Grade:
The Fourth and Fifth grades have been focusing on the fundamentals of reading music and performing what they read through a group ensemble piece. The class has also done some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.
Sixth Grade:
The sixth grade is working on guitars. We have been working on finger-picking patterns and chord shapes. We will be combining the two concepts soon. The students also did some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.
Record Time:
I’d like to introduce you to Hiromi Uehara, an amazing pianist, composer, and improviser. It’s hard to pick one album. She has many fantastic offerings, including a collaboration with Chick Corea (piano) and one with Edmar Castañeda (harp). She also has a suite for orchestra and a few jazz fusion albums with her band, but this time, I’ll recommend the solo album Place to Be. She displays some of the best technical abilities I’ve heard on the piano.
Enjoy,
Ben
