The Fall Music Together session finally starts here Monday! Music Classes at Journey Montessori will start with regularity now that we are past Labor Day as well. I have enjoyed a little break but I'm thrilled to start classes this week. All of the Music Together teachers in Charlotte get together before each new session to share awesome teaching ideas. Here's a little video to enjoy before coming to class this week!
I was looking at old blog posts and came across this one. I felt like it was worth sharing again.
Make More Music Little Ones: Wouldn't the World Be A Better Place If...
: when one person started clapping others joined in and created something beautiful. I love that my job is to cultivate this kind of creativity...
We started off strong on our first day of music class at Journey Montessori Preschool today. We listened to Mary Wore Her Red Dress and talked about what we heard first. Then each child got to do some simple improvisation by switching Mary to their name and red dress to their favorite thing they were wearing today. We worked on steady beat at the same time by patting the beat while we sang. I always enjoy asking kids to improvise, or make up their own verses. Little kids are typically eager to improvise and very creative. When I try to get a room full of adults to do the same activity they are typically quiet and stare at me like I've asked them to do something really difficult. I hope the kids will keep their creativity as they grow up. One of the best thing parents can do to foster that creativity is to be creative with them. Make up silly songs. Change words to songs you like to make them your own.
Next it was time to move around a little. I sang Pop Goes the Weasel and we had to jump up on "pop." Once we got the hang of that we moved around the room to the beat of the song, then froze and threw our scarves up in the air on "pop."
Our last task of the day was to identify a few types of non-pitched percussion instruments and do a play along. When the kids heard the music begin they were aloud to come choose an instrument and play along. This is a great way to enjoy creative play with the kids while assessing their ability to play along to the beat of the music.
I am excited about the year ahead with this group of students!
I have heard several parents say they don't sing well in front of their kids this past week. You might be a terrible singer, but don't tell your kids that. Sing anyway. Show your kids that you can enjoy making music. If you enjoy making music then your kids will learn to enjoy it too.
Susan Darrow, CEO of Music Together, has a great story to share about her dad not singing on key, but still helping her become a musical person. Start listing at 1:40 to hear her story.
Even if you do not think you have much musical ability you can still raise musical children. We are all born with musical ability, we just need to be shown what to do with it. Turn on your favorite music, sing along, dance, get out your pots and pans and play along, just enjoy making music.
I came across this Ted Talk today and enjoyed it, but it also kind of made my head hurt! Clayton Crameron talks about how swing is duple but subdivided triple and gives examples. We broke that down in the Music Together Cert II workshop I just complete. It has made me really think about how to approach rhythm and rhythm patterns for swing songs in Music Together classes. While its a lot for me to consider, if I do it right it will just come across as play for the kids in class.
Sweet Potato is the only swing meter song coming up in the Fall Music Together collection. If you know the song see if you can figure out how it can feel both duple and triple!
I think my presentation went well (you can refer to the previous post if you want a few more details). At least I had fun giving the presentation. I think that's my main goal in life, to have fun doing whatever it is I've been given to do.
The purpose of the presentation was to share Music Together's philosophy with a group of my choice. I choose to share the philosophy with Classical Conversations Foundations tutors.
Classical Conversations is a homeschool group, click the page at the top for more info on that.
Foundations is elementary school
Tutors are the parents who teach a class once a week
I choose that specific group because I actually work with CC Foundations tutors and parents to equip them to teach in the classroom and at home. And I really believe Music Together's philosophy applies to them and can help them more effectively teach their kids.
Music Together is an early childhood music and movement program for parents/caregivers/teachers and their
children/students. Click the page at the top for more information.
To equip these parents we first looked at the classical model of learning in the presentation. The classical model of learning has three stages, and I like to use the tree analogy to look help understand them.
Next we self assessed where we felt we fit musically in the classical model.
Are you still learning the basics of music? Do you have the basics and are understanding how they work? Or can you apply your knowledge of music to create and enhance other learning?
Now we get to how Music Together's philosophy fits in.
Music Together's philosophy is that
* ALL children are born with the potential (aptitude) to make music!
* If young children have playful/informal musical experiences with the adults they trust (parents, close family members, nanny's, teachers) they will acquire a disposition to be music makers, and these experiences will feed their inborn musical potential.
* Modeling being musical (singing, dancing, playing instruments) will help children achieve Basic Music Competence which is the ability to sing full songs in tune and move to the beat of the music they are experiencing.
While looking at Music Together's philosophy we talked about ways we are already enhancing our children's musical aptitude with activities we do in Classical Conversations.
*Tutors and parents model singing and moving to music every week in class.
*Tutors equip parents and continue modeling musical behavior at home.
*We feed off the kids energy by making the activities we do in class fit the students energy. We can adapt an activity to be small movement, large movement, singing, maybe even instrument playing. However we feel the kids will learn it best.
We also talked about ways we can better enhance our children's understanding of music by using the Music Together model in CC.
*Change what you are doing as a parent/tutor to accept and include the children's current behavior. If a child is experiencing a song in his feet then dance. If a child is experiencing a song by clapping then clap. Adapt what you are doing to how the children are learning best in the moment.
*Help students fully understand the musical grammar from the fine arts section by experiencing what note values feel in a song, what a crescendo sounds like, what dynamics sound like. Don't just give them the word and the visual, let them feel it, hear it, and experience it.
*Sing without recordings! You don't have to be a wonderful musician. Even if you sing off key you when you sing it yourself, or move to the music, you are helping the children acquire their own musical dispositions! CC doesn't want you to rely on the recordings either.
My conclusion was very real for me. Even though I was a formally trained musician, I did not reach my full musical potential until I could also feel the music, not just understand it. We can use Music Together's philosophy of experiencing music with trusted adults, through musical play to help our children achieve their fullest musical potential.
When children hear both male and female voices with regularity they develop a bilingual singing voice in their head (can process both voices). Children who do not have regular exposure to an adult male voice will grumble instead of sing when trying to sing along with a man, or jump an octave above a mans falsetto voice when trying to sing along.
Dads, you have have a wonderful musical gift to give your kids. You do not have to sing well. Just sing. Sing in the register that feels most comfortable for you. Sing while doing something you enjoy with your child. You will help develop your child's musical ear and musical disposition!
Today's Music Together did you know?
Did you know teachers have uploaded how to play Music Together's Hello and Goodbye songs on ukulele? I spend quality time with my purple ukulele to learn how to play it better yesterday. Maybe I'll start bringing it to class more often now. If I can figure this out so can you!
http://meandmypurpleukulele.blogspot.com/2015/08/getting-to-know-my-purple-ukulele.html
Do you know who Lynn, John, Uncle Jerry, and Grandma Yvette are? Did you know Music Together has a YouTube channel and you can watch some of your favorite songs there? You can get ideas for activities you can do at home on their YouTube site too!
I have always loved Jumpstart Music. I used the game some when I taught public school a little bit and my own kids have enjoyed it a lot. It is a preschool/elementary school game computer game that works on musical concepts. You can adjust the level. You go through music land and complete rhythm, melody, and instrument identification games to collect points. I highly recommend it for anyone learning basic musical grammar!
Find the bad notes
Play back the correct melody
I had another fun morning teaching music classes this week. I told one class I wish I could bottle up the amazing musical developments I get to see the kids make in class and share it with the whole world.
We used this version of Lukey's Boat for a play along.
In a Music Together class the lullaby follows the instrument play along. This particular play along song is fun and upbeat and it can take your body a little bit to make a big switch from Lukey's Boat to Brahms Lullaby. I enjoyed watching one little girl continue to internalize the beat from Lukey's Boat well into the lullaby, then change gears and sing Brahms Lullaby while still enjoying to spin in the middle of the group.
Another child in one of my classes likes the Music Together recording of Brahms Lullaby. It has a bell sound at the beginning. If you know this lullaby, simply reading the name of it may make your brain think of the tune. But as soon as we begin to sing the song the little by mentioned knows he would like to hear the version on the recording instead. If he had never heard the recording he wouldn't know any different. The point being that once we are exposed to something we can never be unexposed to it. We might forget, but chances are when we hear it again we will quickly remember. I can enjoy Brahms Lullaby in different ways, but I can't disassociate the music with the title now that I've heard it and know what it is.
If the title doesn't prompt your memory you can listen here.
As a mom, and a teacher, I think this power is amazing and scary at the same time. It makes me realize that I really have to watch what I expose my children to. Once they hear it it can't be unheard. They can make decisions about how to approach it, but it can't be unheard. I want to fill their heads with good!
The Classical Conversations curriculum we use for homeschooling puts many of the facts the children need to learn to music. I am continually amazed at how they can recall a whole history facts with names and dates by me singing a few simple notes to prompt them.
This is not one of my kids, but she is a perfect example of how singing helps memorization and what kids are capable of. Start singing all sorts of wonderful things with your kids while they are little. Chances are they will soak it all up and amaze you!
If you want to see how more about the power of music and memory go to YouTube and search "music therapy nursing home" and see how elderly people remember and react to familiar music.
when one person started clapping others joined in and created something beautiful.
I love that my job is to cultivate this kind of creativity!
Last week we sang and played along to the Star Spangled Banner. This year is the Star Spangled Banner's 200th birthday. It was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key.
"
The Star-Spangled Banner
" is the
of the
. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry",
a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet
after witnessing the bombardment of
by British ships of the
in the
during the
in the
.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by
for the
, a men's social club in London.
If you want some more information about the National Anthem here is a video giving some history.
This week in class we are singing parts to Ding-a-Ding and adding an ostinato to Hotaru Koi. If you want to work on part singing with Ding-a-Ding on your own play the CD, begin singing with it, keep singing that first part through the whole song. When this gets easy pick one of the other parts and sing it the whole time you listen to the song. There are a lot of repeated parts to try!
Here are our dance songs from last week and this week.
Tomorrow begins the third week of Fall classes. Here are a few things we have already accomplished this session! Week one we sang
(a repeated melody or rhythm) along with the Canoe Song and Train is A Comin. I encourage you to continue to sing these with your CD and then with other family members this session.
The Canoe Song ostinato is, "Dip, dip, and swing." After you hear it on the recording just keep on singing it while the recording sings the other part.
The Train is A Comin ostinato is, "Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga Choo Choo." You also hear this on the recording.
Last week we did a call and response with Train is A Comin. I sang, "Train is a comin" and you responded, "Oh yes!" I encourage you to try this. Call and see what your child responds with. It may not be the exact words, but they will quickly learn to respond with the correct pitches. If this song is not familiar yet try a call and response with something you already sing a lot. Maybe twinkle twinkle little _____. Wait for that last sound from your child!
We also looked at a fun book put out by Music Together last week, Ridin in the Car. Music Together has several wonderful books to go along with songs now. You can enjoy them on their YouTube channel and purchase them at
.
Over the past two weeks we have also begun to put different beats in our feet. We have done a lot of tip toeing! Last week we tip toed to Walking in The Woods. The week before was the Can Can. You can enjoy tip toeing, wiggling, and kicking to the Can Can at home by clicking on the link below.
I encourage all of you who took the Summer session to continue playing with the Summer collection over the next month.
In class we worked on call and response with Obwisana and Singin' Every Day. Continue playing with this concept by singing a little bit and waiting for your child to the next part back to you. Once you know a song really well this is a fun game to play. If you are not comfortable trying call and response with these songs pick a song you and your child both enjoy and try the game.
We also worked on singing a simple round. In the Fall session we sang Frere Jacques in a round and this session Hey Ho Nobody Home. You can sing in a round with another adult or older children, or if that is not a possibility then sing in a round with the CD. Let the singer on the CD start first and then you come in next. If you are not sure where to come in look at the song in your Music Together book, it marks where the second person is to come in with a *.
Another concept we work on this past week in class was adding an ostinato to a piece. An ostinato is repeated part that accompanies a song. With the chant Here is A Bunny we added ostinatos with the words hop, ha, and sounds for making a circle. These also correlated to different beats to move to with the music. Ostinatos are a lot of fun to make up!
I mentioned that my family is currently enjoying a beginning Latin book. It is called
. Learning Latin through song is perfect for us!
Here are some of the extra songs we danced and played instruments to in class this session:
We danced (with the parachute) to the
from the Baby Loves Jazz CD. I like the songs on this CD. It's worth checking out
We tiptoed, kicked, and wiggled to the
We played instruments along with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
And we danced along with Kingdom Dance from
We worked on so many terrific elements of music this week in class! I am thrilled that so many families are completing (at least) their third consecutive session of Music Together with their child(ren). The children are used to the routine and classroom environment and are becoming skilled musicians! This week we improvised by simply replacing your child's name and the body part to tap in Jumpin' Josie. (In one class we improvised with Jim Along Josie on accident. Did anyone catch that?) We also improvised by changing Pease Porridge to some other type of food. This simple improvisation is also done on your CD.
We explored dynamic contrast this week with Jack in the Box and William Tells Ride. Using dynamic contrast in your daily routine can be a simple and effective way to capture your child's attention. Try singing directions softly to your child when you're feeling stressed and see if it makes you both feel better.
William Tells Ride is also a wonderful introduction to basic musical form. In class we did a different movement for each section (A,B,C,A). For older students write the letter and have them point to the different letter as they hear each section. Put the letters around the room and move to the A for the A section, B for the B section and C for the C section. If you have older children who are learning how to read and notate music assign a note or compose a rhythm pattern to tap along with each section.
Singing and Dancing to the popular song Let It Go was a blast this week! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the little ones sing and move to the music. As your children grow it continues to be important for them to see you model good singing for them! Even if you do not feel you are a strong singer or dancer, keep modeling it!
We have used the CD to sing one part while we added an ostinato (repeated part) or a round with it. In the last few weeks of class we will attempt all of the parts without the help of the CD! Enjoy practicing at home and in the car this week!
Just for fun!
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