Joyful Noise Music: November 2013

Week of November 25th, 2013

GRATITUDE ATTITUDE!

We had a great time today singing songs about turkeys, eating meals together, and of course, thankfulness!

Scroll down to see cute pictures of our friends doing turkey fingerplays, and watch a video of the songs from class, too!

Also don't miss the adorable mp3s below of the four year old class talking about what they are thankful for, as well as singing the call and response Thanksgiving song that we did with triangles! As always, questions to ask your child about today are included as well.

Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck
Start with hands behind back, to the tune of "A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track"

Mr. Turkey went out one day
(one hand is turkey, and comes out to front)

In bright sunshiny weather

He met Mr Duck along the way
(other hand is duck, and comes out )

They stopped to talk together

Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack

Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack

And then they both went back
(hands go back behind back)

THE FOUR YEAR OLD CLASS

Gratitude Attititude MP3

THE FOUR YEAR OLD CLASS

On Thanksgiving (Call and Response) MP3

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LESSON EXTENDERS: Questions to ask your child today about music class!

1. What would you like to eat for Thanksgiving?

2. What are you thankful for?

3. Do you remember what "call and response" means? (It means to copy, or echo!)

Week of November 18th, 2013

TRIANGLES!

What a fun day we had today learning about triangles and "idiophones"!

What in the world is an idiophone? Well, it is an instrument that produces sound through vibration alone when it is struck by a mallot, striker or another method. Well, all instruments produce vibrations, correct? Yes, that is right! But idiophones do not use strings or a membrane (i.e., drum head) to conduct the vibration in a chamber. Instead, the body of the instrument itself conducts the sounds!

Examples of idiophones we looked at today: marimbas, kalimbas, bells, chimes, xylophones and of course, the triangle!

Scrolll down for some fun pics, videos and questions that you can ask you child about our day! (And don't miss the fun videos from the infant and fours class below!)

The infants enjoyed "The Grand Old Duke of York" today, along with some other fun animal bouncing songs! Check back soon for more videos and lyrics!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD TODAY:

1. What instrument did you use today in music class? The triangle
2. What are some ways you can use the triangle? It vibrates, so you need to hold the string to hear the sound well. We used the striker or the metal rod to hit the triangle to produce sound. We also tried touching or muting the triangle to stop the vibration, and rang the striker in a circular motion inside the instrument, similar to what you might associate with a "dinner time call" like the one below! :)

3. Do you remember the word "idiophone"?

Week of November 4th, 2013

FUN WITH THE PARACHUTE!

We had a very fun time exploring the

parachute today!

We started our class by singing melodies in thirds on the xylophone I sang, "Hel-lo, (child's name)" using songs with one diatonic step in between them. This pattern of "melodic thirds" is exactly what would happen if you sang the white notes on the keyboard, skipping every other key.

Listen to our "hello" tune here! (MP3)

We also listened to examples of piano (soft volume) and forte (full or loud volume) and tried to move the parachute accordingly. The kids had a great time moving both the parachute and their bodies to my drum while paying attention to piano and forte volumes.

We also practiced counting with the parachute to a fun tune called "Five Little Birdies". Download the PDF of sheet music here, or click below to hear us singing it with the parachute!

Fours class using the parachute to "Five Little Birdies" (MP3)