Week of November 7th, 2016

ALL ABOUT THE CLARINET!

Students this week were very interested in checking out our "JN Clarinet!" Miss Sally donated the instrument to our music program when her son, Paul, was no longer using it. =) We were glad to inherit the reeded "woodwind" which was a term that we learned about in class! Woodwinds require air to play! In fact, reeded woodwinds require a LOT of air (more than master instrument and woodwind, flute.)

I showed the children how to assemble the pieces of the clarinet--the ligature and mouthpiece, upper and lower barrel, barrel joint, bell and also the reed that is attached to the ligature and mouthpiece to produce "vibration"--another special word that comes up so often in music class!

I played some tunes for the children and we also got to examine the parts of the clarinet, as well as how it is put together and the ends of the corked barrels are coated with cork grease (which comes in a  container that looks just like chapstick.)

We also listened to some Benny Goodman and colored pictures of clarinets! It was a great time! See the extender questions below and my apologies for the missing blog last week--we DID have class for all ages (the theme was slidewhistle) but due to family illness, there have been a few days in the last two weeks that I have been absent!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1.) How do you make sound with the clarinet? With air! It's a woodwind!

2) Does the clarinet have lots of pieces/elements? Can you name some of them? Mouthpiece, ligature, reed, barrel joint, upper and lower joint, barrel joint, bell, tone or keyholes, cork grease

3) Do you like the way the clarinet sounds? What are some of the songs Miss Chantal played on the clarinet?

Week of July 28th, 2014

ZIN ZIN ZIN, A violin!

Today I read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin  to students! We had fun learning about all of the classical instruments (from trombone to harp) and we also learned a few lessons about the number of people in musical ensembles:

1) Solo

2) Duo

3) Trio

4) Quartet

5) Quintet

6) Sextet

7) Septet

8) Octet

9) Nonet

10) Chamber Group

The kids also listened to excerpts of each instrument, and the trombone "Frozen" medley was a big favorite. =) We also explored the cymbals, and moved our bodies to harp sounds. See the questions below to follow through with your child's music experience today! =)

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD:

1) What is it called when someone plays music all by themself? A solo

2) Can you tell me what some of the instruments were in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin? A trombone, a trumpet, a french horn, cello, violin, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, harp

1) Did you play the cymbals today? How many times did you clap the cymbals together?