Concert season is upon us here at Merryhill! Concerts are a great way for students to show how they are able to Communicate Effectively through these performing and public speaking opportunities. Since most of the themes tie in with classroom curriculum standards they are able to articulate knowledge using the words in the music as well as through the spoken introductions to songs. The bonus is that through learning these songs, students have been working through multiple steps over the course of weeks. This process builds stamina as well as an appreciation for the work involved to be performance ready, making them Lifelong Learners.
If you haven’t had a chance to see a performance you aren’t too late. We have the first and fourth grade concerts on Thursday January 26th and will be wrapping up the concerts with second and fifth grade on Thursday February 16th. Don’t forget to mark your calendars!
Quite often, students and parents approach the concerts with excitement, and then are left wondering “what’s next?” While we strive to give public speaking and performance opportunities through concerts, we have the rest of the year to focus on more detailed skills such as reading and composing music, learning about different styles and genres of music, composers and instruments, and using instruments to build sound in both small and large groups.
With younger students, just holding instruments and waiting for their turn to play is a challenge. Eventually when they get into the upper elementary grades, they understand that music is not always about everything playing at once. Resting instruments and voices actually enhance the quality of the performance.
Once they have a good foundation for reading notes, rhythms, and playing with others, they are ready to move from reading music in class to composing their own group songs and symphonies. The fourth grade students will focus more on instruments in the orchestra and how symphonies are constructed. They will then be taught about how the instruments in the music room are used and will be set free to explore the sounds and instrument combinations to make their own class symphony. They will come up with a theme, divide into different movements, create sounds, and notate their compositions. We look forward to recording the class performances to share with families!
Fifth grade is looking forward to using the ukuleles after their concert. Ukulele’s will be used to help continue their sight reading skills, play melody lines of new and familiar songs, as well as teaching them how to build chords to play accompaniment for songs. This will give them a good start to playing string instruments and they can continue to take ukulele classes as one of their middle school electives next year.
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Concerts at Midtown
Concert season is upon us here at Merryhill! Concerts are a great way for students to show how they are able to Communicate Effectively through these performing and public speaking opportunities. Since most of the themes tie in with classroom curriculum standards they are able to articulate knowledge using the words in the music as well as through the spoken introductions to songs. The bonus is that through learning these songs, students have been working through multiple steps over the course of weeks. This process builds stamina as well as an appreciation for the work involved to be performance ready, making them Lifelong Learners.
If you haven’t had a chance to see a performance you aren’t too late. We have the first and fourth grade concerts on Thursday January 26th and will be wrapping up the concerts with second and fifth grade on Thursday February 16th. Don’t forget to mark your calendars!
Quite often, students and parents approach the concerts with excitement, and then are left wondering “what’s next?” While we strive to give public speaking and performance opportunities through concerts, we have the rest of the year to focus on more detailed skills such as reading and composing music, learning about different styles and genres of music, composers and instruments, and using instruments to build sound in both small and large groups.
With younger students, just holding instruments and waiting for their turn to play is a challenge. Eventually when they get into the upper elementary grades, they understand that music is not always about everything playing at once. Resting instruments and voices actually enhance the quality of the performance.
Once they have a good foundation for reading notes, rhythms, and playing with others, they are ready to move from reading music in class to composing their own group songs and symphonies. The fourth grade students will focus more on instruments in the orchestra and how symphonies are constructed. They will then be taught about how the instruments in the music room are used and will be set free to explore the sounds and instrument combinations to make their own class symphony. They will come up with a theme, divide into different movements, create sounds, and notate their compositions. We look forward to recording the class performances to share with families!
Fifth grade is looking forward to using the ukuleles after their concert. Ukulele’s will be used to help continue their sight reading skills, play melody lines of new and familiar songs, as well as teaching them how to build chords to play accompaniment for songs. This will give them a good start to playing string instruments and they can continue to take ukulele classes as one of their middle school electives next year.