Movin' Along With New Rhythms and Score Reading

Here we are in December in the music classroom. Elaine's class has been reading rhythms comprised of quarter notes, quarter rests and eighth notes. We have composed new arrangements of these notes for use in a "B" section of our songs-
We chant such things as "train, choo-choo, choo-choo train", for example, in the middle of our song "Engine, Engine, No. 9".

Also, we just recently learned "The Mitten Song" which was then part of a mini-play based on the story "The Mitten".
The children acted out the story and "discovered" the perfect mitten to allow all the "animals" to climb inside: A large piece of cloth covering our drums to keep chalk dust off of them! Great suggestion, Noah!

Susan's class is reading 3 to 4-part scores and readily playing the parts, which have students playing on key words in the melody, or playing in the rests of the melody line, or playing a 4-beat ostinato. This class loves to rotate instruments, and, since the class in small, all young musicians get to play every part sometimes more than once.
They are also beginning to sing harmony in the form of vocal ostinatos (Drip, Drop, Drip, Drop) and preparing for rounds with the movement exercise "The Noble Duke of York".

Will's class is capable of reading a 4 to 5-part score for instruments WITHOUT the aid of lyrics. We attempted a piece this week in 6/8 time called "Winter Song". This made me aware of the need to learn the lines and spaces by those students who don't study an instrument outside of the Summers-Knoll classroom. The piece did sound almost complete. One or two parts still need a little practicing. We will use this piece as a "A" section of a rondo. Then students can individually or in small groups create "B", "C", and "D" sections using unpitched instruments or pitched instruments to express ideas in assorted winter poems or their own original poetry.

We have also danced a square dance called "Red Wing". I'm hoping this class can teach it to Susan's class soon.