Welcome to Music!

Welcome to Music!

I am so excited to start another year of teaching music at Citadel Park School! It has been a great first month as we review rules and routines in the music room. Below is some important information about music for the 2022-2023 school year.

Choir Club for grades 3 and 4 will start on Tuesday, October 4th. Choir club practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays during lunch recess. Choir will run from October-December. Choir will perform during the Remembrance Day ceremony, all assemblies, and will have extra songs to perform during the winter celebration.

Any musical parents interested in volunteer or guest speaking opportunities, please reach out to me! I am always looking to expose my students to musical folks in the community.

Students have been learning about beat and rhythm: keeping the beat of many songs, and reviewing note values. We have been singing and drumming along to many Cree songs and listening to Intertribal Powwow music.

In September, all grades work on the following 'I can' statements at different levels: 

                                                                I can keep the beat.

I can sing in a group. 

I can play rhythms with body percussion.

Please reach out to me at jimtowill@cbe.ab.ca if you have any questions about the music program. I'm also hoping this blog is mobile-phone friendly, so please let me know if it is difficult to read when you pull it up on your smartphone. 

Ms. Towill

Spring Concert!

Spring Concert 2022! 

    

Based on the book The Song for Everyone by Lucy Morris Grade 3 and 4 students have been practicing for their upcoming concert. This Tuesday May 17 at 9:30am and 1:45 pm students will perform songs as well as demonstrate their boomwhacker, xylophone and Ukulele skills. Parents/guardians of students in grade 3 and 4 are welcome to attend either performance. We look forward to seeing you there!

WHEN: Tuesday, May 17 2022 @ 9:30am and 1:45pm
Grade 3 and 4 families are invited to a live performance at the school. Families can choose to attend a performance in the morning at 9:30am, or in the afternoon at 1:45pm. 

WHERE: Citadel Park School Gymnasium

WHY: To celebrate music and all the hard work grade three and four students have done this school year!

Students in grades 3 and 4  may dress their best on May 17th. Students can wear their performance clothes to school. This can include spring dresses, button shirts, black pants, etc.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Towill by email: jiMtowill@cbe.ab.ca

Happy Spring!

Have an excellent Spring Break! Below is what students have been learning in music class, and what we will pick up after we return from spring break.

Kinder

Kindergarten will continue listening to Carnival of the Animals. They will be acting out the animals, doing rhythm activities to some songs, and learning movements along to some songs. Over spring break, students can continue listening to Carnival of the Animals songs on Youtube! Ask your child if the song is fast or slow, loud or soft, and what picture comes into their mind while they're listening.

Grade 1 and 2

Grade one and two will continue with our Carnival of the Animals listening unit after the break. They will be learning the difference between fast and slow and loud and soft, and learn movements to some of the songs. Students can re-listen to the Carnival of the Animals lion, hens and roosters, donkey, tortoise, elephant, and kangaroo on YouTube over the spring break if they wish!

Grade three and four

Grade three and four will continue working on ukulele for 1-2 weeks after we return to school after Spring Break. Then, we will move on to reading notes on the treble clef staff. We will use many different instruments for this unit. I will be posting the songs we have been working on, along with some other ukulele material, on Google Classroom. Students can practice singing or playing along over spring break if they like!

March 4, 2022

 Kinder

The kindergarten students are continuing on with our Carnival of the Animals learning. We have listened to the following movements: lion, hens and roosters, donkey/wild horses, tortoise and elephant. For each movement, students participate in a movement activity, and often rhythm activities that follow the song. We are beginning to discuss concepts such as fast/slow, and soft/loud, in relation to the songs. Kinder students are getting very good at 'ta' and 'ti-ti' rhythms!

Grade 1

Grade one students have dug into our Carnival of the Animals learning. We have listened to the March of the Lion, Hens and Roosters, the donkey/wild horses, the tortoises, and the elephant. Students have learned to identify the sounds of pianos, violins, violas, the clarinet and the double bass. We have been discussing the concepts of fast/slow and loud/soft, and identifying those dynamics in each movement. Students have also engaged in movement activities pantomiming each animal!

Grade 2

Students finished their CDE songs and played them for each other on glockenspiels. We have started a listening unit based on Camille Saint-Saens symphony Carnival of the Animals. Each movement represents a different animal. We follow the listening map of each song by acting out the animal, discussing if the song is fast or slow, loud or soft, and why the composer chose those sounds to represent that animal. The sounds of the clarinet, piano, violin, violas, and double bass have been identified. Students connect the songs to their emotions by writing how each song makes them feel.

Grade 3

Grade three have moved on to add F, Am and C7 chords to their repertoire. We have practiced switching chords on a count of eight, advancing to a count of four. In small groups, students have practiced their finger picking songs (Twinkle Twinkle and Mary Had a Little Lamb) and chord progressions. We have worked on the chord progression F -> C -> Am -> C to play a fun Pop Tarts song.

Grade 4

Grade four students have learned chords C, G7, F, Am and C7. In small groups, they have practiced finger picking and chord progressions. They have learned two different strumming patterns to switch chords on a count of four. The chord progression we are working on is C -> Am -> F -> G7. This chord progression will allow students to learn many common songs.

Parent Conferences

I am again available to book for conferences on Thursday, March 10 from 4:00-7:45 and Friday, March 11 from 8:30-1:15. If you're curious about how your child has been doing in music class, please don't hesitate to book a parent conference with me! Booking times are available on the School Conferences website.

Pink Shirt Day Song

PINK SHIRT DAY

Students are performing a SURPRISE song during our Pink Shirt Day assembly on Wednesday, February 23rd! Everyone can use these videos to practice the song over the weekend. All you need is a desk/table, a chair, and two pencils. Go to your class google classroom to play along with Ms. Towill! 

February 4, 2022

Kinder

The kindergarten students have continued exploring with movement and rhythm sticks. We learned the 'Toolbox Song', and brainstormed many tools that our rhythm sticks can be. This week, we started listening activities with Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens. The first movement we listened to was March of the Lions. We heard the piano simulate the roar of a lion, and moved like lions throughout the classroom!

Grade 1

Grade one students finished their sound songs and performed them for the class. It was a great opportunity for students to help each other learn rhythms and body percussion sounds. We are moving on to a listening unit based on Camille Saint-Saens symphony Carnival of the Animals. Students will learn about orchestra instruments, their sounds, and why Saint-Saens chose certain instruments to sound like certain animals. Colouring in Carnival of the Animal workbooks will help us learn the instruments.

Grade 2

Students have learned notes middle C, D, and E, and have learned to read them on the treble clef scale. We practiced how to draw each note. Once we could confidently draw all three notes, everyone started working on their own song using C, D and E. Students are writing their own music, reading it, and playing the songs on the xylophones and glockenspiels.

Grade 3 and 4

Grade three and four students have enjoyed learning the ukulele. They have learned how to play a melody on the open strings (Rain Rain Go Away), a one-string melody (Twinkle Twinkle), how to read a chord chart, two different strumming patterns, and two chords (C and G7). The most important thing students have learned is how to properly hold the ukulele while playing and while resting. We have also practiced how to hold the string down against the frets with our 'clamp'. Grade four students are completing a playing quiz this week, where they have to play Twinkle Twinkle for me.