Expressive Movement in Second Grade

Each music period includes an opportunity to move expressively to music written by a great composer.  At the end of each class period, we have SQUILT, Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time.  During this time, the students just listen without moving, talking, singing, etc. The SQUILT music is the same music to which  they moved earlier in the lesson.  We move and listen to the same musical selection for about 2 weeks, or 4 class periods. It is my hope that the moving and listening to the selection will help form a lasting bond with that piece. In this video, Mrs. Creach's class is moving to "The Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saens.  This piece is part of a larger work called Carnival of the Animals.  

Research Shows Importance of Music Education

A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for
learning math and science.

Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb

Third Graders Learn About Percussion Instruments

The third graders have been learning about the 4 instrument families of the orchestra. They have learned about the brass, strings, and percussion sections. Shown in this video is Mrs. Burns' homeroom singing the song "Crash, Boom, Bang" as they play some of the percussion parts along with the song.

A Proverb from Zimbabwe

If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.


~ Zimbabwe Proverb

Second Grades - Expressive Movement to Saint-Saens' "The Aquarium"

Mrs. Asher-Williams' class  portraying fish with their hands to this beautiful music.

Confucius Says...

“When music and courtesy are better understood and appreciated, there will be no war”

~Confucius

Confucius Says....

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without”

~Confucius

Bridgeport Chorus Creates History with Bridgeport's First Musical

The Bridgeport Chorus did an awesome job in their presentation of  "Dig It!".  Enjoy their performance of the first song, "So Long Ago".

3C - Pizzicato Polka

Mrs. Meade's homeroom (3C) play quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth note patterns with Strauss' "Pizzicato Polka"

3B - Pizzicato Polka

Mrs. Dower's homeroom (3B) play quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth note patterns with Strauss' "Pizzicato Polka"

"Dig It!" Pictures

Check out the pictures of "Dig It!" on the Hamilton City Schools website.  Just click on the link below.

http://hamiltoncityschools.com/Slideshows2010/Bridgeport/DigItMusical.cfm

Third Grade Video Delay

I see that many of you have been checking to see if the 3rd grade videos from Friday are up yet.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera home - so it will be sometime next week before they are up.  So sorry for the delay!

Music Education Strengthens Students' Minds in Many Ways

"Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children’s intellectual development."

Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation.

Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills. The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm,phrasing, and feeling--training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills,intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression.

John J. Ratey, MD
Clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Mrs. Stone's 2nd Graders - Expressive Movement

The Kindergarten and 2nd Grade music classes enjoy moving expressively to music.  Here, Mrs. Stone's class moves to Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1"

Albert Einstein on Being a Musician

If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.
~Albert Einstein

Miss Goebel's 2nd Grade Class Performing "Miss White" in a 4-Part Canon

All of our 2nd graders enjoy this chant, especially in a 4-part canon.  To do this well, the students must work together to maintain a good balance and a uniform beat.

Former President Clinton on the Influence of Music

"Music can give you your dreams. It will teach you hard work, it will break
your heart and make you so happy, you can't stand it. . . .I don't think I'd
have been president if it hadn't been for music."

Former President Bill Clinton, 2001
At an event celebrating the restoration of music programs to the Newark Public Schools

"Lighten Up" by the Third Graders Provides Many Laughs and Great Music Making

6-KFF Sings "Hey Ho, Nobody Home" In a 3-Part Canon

The 6th grade general music classes switched teachers last week.  Now I have the group which named themselves the Kung Fu Fighters, KFF for short.  They are shown here singing the American folk song, "Hey Ho, Nobody Home" in a 3-part canon. We later added drums and woodblocks as an accompaniment.

Elementary Music Education has Lasting Impact

“Music got me through school! It helped me both academically and psychologically. I never understood fractions until I learned to read music. Vocal music increased my fluency and vocabulary in reading more than any reading class I ever had. The music was very therapeutic and the one driving force that kept me wanting to come back every day.

“I graduated from high school 29 years ago, but I can still recall songs, lyrics, and facts learned through music in elementary school. I really don't remember anything else from my early years, but the music is still there! I am now an elementary music teacher and I see the impact that music has on my students every day. I can reach kids that others feel are unreachable or maybe even unteachable. Music improves their attitudes, stimulates and increases their brain activity, and gives EVERY child an opportunity to succeed!”

- Cindy H., Arkansas