Monday, September 16, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Under Construction
The St. Clare Music Class blog has been moved to a new site! Please visit us at stclaremusic.wordpress.com!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Polyvision Board Fun!
After a few weeks of waiting, the Polyvision board in the music room is fully functioning! Students are now getting the opportunity to explore and use various sites and activities that are helping to reinforce topics we have covered in class. (I have provided some of the links to these activities on the side of this page)
The older students were able to use a couple different rhythmic dictation activities that tested their listening ability and their visual knowledge of music notation.
I also gave some of the classes the opportunity to request songs to listen to durning class. The purpose of this activity was to give students a chance to think critically about songs they like to listen to on a regular basis/radio. After that activity, I challenged the students to really listen to music and try to figure out what the lyrics mean and possible reasons as to why the song was written.
Within the next week or so, we will be starting to rehearse for the Christmas program in class and in band lessons.
Band, piano, and guitar lessons have started and are, so far, going well! Please remind your student to be mindful of their lesson time and put forth their best effort. For now, the main objective in lessons is going to be proper rhythm reading and counting techniques.
As questions or comments arise, please feel free to email me
The older students were able to use a couple different rhythmic dictation activities that tested their listening ability and their visual knowledge of music notation.
I also gave some of the classes the opportunity to request songs to listen to durning class. The purpose of this activity was to give students a chance to think critically about songs they like to listen to on a regular basis/radio. After that activity, I challenged the students to really listen to music and try to figure out what the lyrics mean and possible reasons as to why the song was written.
Within the next week or so, we will be starting to rehearse for the Christmas program in class and in band lessons.
Band, piano, and guitar lessons have started and are, so far, going well! Please remind your student to be mindful of their lesson time and put forth their best effort. For now, the main objective in lessons is going to be proper rhythm reading and counting techniques.
As questions or comments arise, please feel free to email me
Monday, September 24, 2012
Lesson Schedules and More
On the side of this page there are links to the Band, Piano, and Guitar Lesson schedules. Please take the time to review these and I will do my best to remind students of their lesson times. If your student has not yet returned an interest form, please have them do so as soon as possible!
Regarding piano and guitar lessons, these will be occurring on a bi-weekly basis and I have declared certain weeks to be gold and silver. There may be weeks where Tuesday is Gold and Thursday is Silver, depending on my meeting schedules.
I look forward to working with these students in a lesson capacity!
Another thing to note, the date of the Christmas Program has been set! It will take place on Tuesday, December 18 at 6.00pm in the Church basement. All students are required to participate and I would love to see as many family members there as possible!
Preparations for the Christmas Program will begin within the next few weeks, just a forewarning in case your child comes home singing Christmas music!
Last week, several classes had the opportunity to create sound poems. The concept of this activity was to have students use classroom instruments to emulate the sounds in the following poem:
More and more singing has also been incorporated into music class, now that I have a good grasp of what the students know and what I would like them to learn this year!
Keep encouraging your student(s) to keep an open mind about music and life in general; there is so much for them to experience.
As always, if you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to email me at jgrabner@stclareagw.org
Regarding piano and guitar lessons, these will be occurring on a bi-weekly basis and I have declared certain weeks to be gold and silver. There may be weeks where Tuesday is Gold and Thursday is Silver, depending on my meeting schedules.
I look forward to working with these students in a lesson capacity!
Another thing to note, the date of the Christmas Program has been set! It will take place on Tuesday, December 18 at 6.00pm in the Church basement. All students are required to participate and I would love to see as many family members there as possible!
Preparations for the Christmas Program will begin within the next few weeks, just a forewarning in case your child comes home singing Christmas music!
Last week, several classes had the opportunity to create sound poems. The concept of this activity was to have students use classroom instruments to emulate the sounds in the following poem:
AFTER A FREEZING RAIN -- Aileen FisherWe've also been working on the concept of keeping a steady beat and how certain rhythms function.
The brittle grass
is made of glass
that breaks and shatters
when we pass.
It clinks against
the icy rocks
and tinkles like
a music box.
More and more singing has also been incorporated into music class, now that I have a good grasp of what the students know and what I would like them to learn this year!
Keep encouraging your student(s) to keep an open mind about music and life in general; there is so much for them to experience.
As always, if you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to email me at jgrabner@stclareagw.org
Monday, September 17, 2012
Music is Everywhere!
Last week in music class, students celebrated the birthday of Clara Schumann, a woman composer and pianist from the mid-1800s! She would have been 193 years old and we took this opportunity to listen to some of her music!
Listening to many different styles of music is going to be a common theme amongst all grade levels. When I have a class listen to music, I have them pick out as many instruments as they can that are in the recording. I also ask the class what they think the music means or what kind of musical adjectives they could use to describe it. By taking a more involved approach to listening, the students are able to develop a very keen ear and eventually learn to pick up on minute details!
Music really is everywhere. Take time to talk to your student about what they think music is and how it is important. Ask them where they hear music throughout the day. Ask them if they think certain noises could be music. Their responses could be rather insightful!!
Just about every grade is starting to learn about keeping a steady beat and how rhythms are used in music. I hope to have 6th-8th grade composing soon, once the basics are solidified.
Lesson interest forms are being sent home this week in the Tuesday folders (September 18). I ask that these forms be returned by the 21st, if possibe. The following link, Band Lesson Interest, is a copy of the letter being sent home. Please note that piano and guitar is open to 3rd grade and up, while band is offered to 4th grade and up.
Questions can be emailed to jgrabner@stclareagw.org
Slowly, but surely I am learning student names; the students like to quiz me while I am on lunch duty!
Listening to many different styles of music is going to be a common theme amongst all grade levels. When I have a class listen to music, I have them pick out as many instruments as they can that are in the recording. I also ask the class what they think the music means or what kind of musical adjectives they could use to describe it. By taking a more involved approach to listening, the students are able to develop a very keen ear and eventually learn to pick up on minute details!
Music really is everywhere. Take time to talk to your student about what they think music is and how it is important. Ask them where they hear music throughout the day. Ask them if they think certain noises could be music. Their responses could be rather insightful!!
Just about every grade is starting to learn about keeping a steady beat and how rhythms are used in music. I hope to have 6th-8th grade composing soon, once the basics are solidified.
Lesson interest forms are being sent home this week in the Tuesday folders (September 18). I ask that these forms be returned by the 21st, if possibe. The following link, Band Lesson Interest, is a copy of the letter being sent home. Please note that piano and guitar is open to 3rd grade and up, while band is offered to 4th grade and up.
Questions can be emailed to jgrabner@stclareagw.org
Slowly, but surely I am learning student names; the students like to quiz me while I am on lunch duty!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Getting into the swing of things!
Everyone has survived the first week of school and now is when the fun starts! I've been assessing student knowledge in the first few music classes and now have a pretty good idea of where our classes will be going.
The older students (5th through 8th grade) are going to really be working on music literacy skills and will even delve into composing. Before the composing starts, we will make sure that every student knows where all of the notes are located on the staff and what constitutes a measure in certain time signatures. My goal is to have the students perform their compositions for their class with various classroom instruments.
The third and fourth graders are going to be working on Patriotic songs, as well as basic note and rhythm reading skills. The kindergarten, first, and second grade students will also be working on some Patriotic music, along with singing and moving to various songs, where the directions are in the music!
All students will also be listening to and analyzing music on a regular basis. I will try to provide an array of different styles to expose the students to as much as possible. While there may be some popular music every once and a while, the focus will be on more classical-esque styles, as well as musical theater.
St. Clare students are wonderful and I'm so glad to have the opportunity to teach them and enrich their minds!
Band lessons will also be starting up soon! I will be sending a letter home in the Tuesday folders for students in 4th grade and up. Band (flute, clarinet, trumpet, etc.) will be offered during the day on Mondays. Piano and guitar lessons will be offered after school on a bi-weekly basis (depending on interest).
Lessons will remain the same price, at $12 per 30 minute lesson and I will be able to purchase books for the students, which will then get reimbursed.
Thanks for reading and staying updated!
As always, please feel free to email me (jgrabner@stclareagw.org) with any questions/comments/concerns!
The older students (5th through 8th grade) are going to really be working on music literacy skills and will even delve into composing. Before the composing starts, we will make sure that every student knows where all of the notes are located on the staff and what constitutes a measure in certain time signatures. My goal is to have the students perform their compositions for their class with various classroom instruments.
The third and fourth graders are going to be working on Patriotic songs, as well as basic note and rhythm reading skills. The kindergarten, first, and second grade students will also be working on some Patriotic music, along with singing and moving to various songs, where the directions are in the music!
All students will also be listening to and analyzing music on a regular basis. I will try to provide an array of different styles to expose the students to as much as possible. While there may be some popular music every once and a while, the focus will be on more classical-esque styles, as well as musical theater.
St. Clare students are wonderful and I'm so glad to have the opportunity to teach them and enrich their minds!
Band lessons will also be starting up soon! I will be sending a letter home in the Tuesday folders for students in 4th grade and up. Band (flute, clarinet, trumpet, etc.) will be offered during the day on Mondays. Piano and guitar lessons will be offered after school on a bi-weekly basis (depending on interest).
Lessons will remain the same price, at $12 per 30 minute lesson and I will be able to purchase books for the students, which will then get reimbursed.
Thanks for reading and staying updated!
As always, please feel free to email me (jgrabner@stclareagw.org) with any questions/comments/concerns!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
A New Beginning
I am very excited to be here at St. Clare. Thank you for all the welcomes! Please keep yourself posted to the site to keep informed of our classroom activities.
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