Thank You, Bank of Ann Arbor!

This week, our school had the honor of receiving $3,000 from Bank of Ann Arbor to support our arts curriculum! Through their JumpStARTS Facebook contest, Bryant school, along with 10 other Ann Arbor Schools, earned enough votes to win the generous grant. On Tuesday, a representative from Bank of Ann Arbor came to our Harambee assembly to present us with our (giant!) check. Because at Bryant school we know how important it is to say thank you when someone does something nice for us, we planned a special thank you presentation of our own! In music class, all of the students decorated and signed their names on a large thank you banner that the 2nd grade student council members held up. We also gave them thank you notes that were written by all of our 2nd grade students. Lastly, we sang our Bryant School song, followed by a hearty "Thank You, Bank of Ann Arbor!" We are so excited to be chosen by Bank of Ann Arbor and thank everyone who voted for us! I cannot wait to see what exciting learning opportunities these funds will bring.

Kindergarten Rain Song

This week in Kindergarten music, we learned a song about the rain. For this song, we learned some special hand movements and talked about how the rain is important because it helps all living things to grow. During this song, Ms. Ritter played her frame drum and taught the students a short rhythmic ostinato. We then practiced saying and patting this ostinato so we could then play it on our gathering drum while Ms. Ritter sang the song. In this activity, students were working on musical independence, trying to keep their own part while Ms. Ritter sang a different part. This is one of many activities that we do in Kindergarten music to help prepare us to sing in harmony. Here is a recording of Mrs. Peterson's class saying their rhythmic ostinato, while Ms. Ritter sings the song.

1st Grade Music Centers

This week in 1st grade music class, each 1st grade class earned a special "Music Centers" day for their behavior during September and October. In each music class, students have a chance to earn up to 6 behavior stars for listening, being respectful and following directions. At the end of each class, the music helper records the amount of stars their class earned, and once they reach a certain number of stars, they earn a special day. Great job to every 1st grade class for receiving 80 or more stars and earning their special day!

For our special day, we had "Music Centers" and they were a big hit! I set up 4 different centers around the room which students were able to rotate through throughout the class. I used an online Clock Timer to let students know how much time they had at each center.

Here are some photos of Mr. Brines's class exploring music during their music centers day. 

"Trick or Treat": 2nd Grade Glockenspiels

This past week in 2nd grade music we have used the simple song "Trick or Treat" to learn about and reinforce many musical concepts and skills. 

We started the week by listening for different patterns in the song. We first listened for the pattern "Sol-Sol-Mi" and learned how to read this using modified Kodaly notation. We figured out that this pattern happens every time we sing the words "Trick or Treat." Then, we transferred this pattern onto our glockenspiels and learned how to play and sing the pattern.

Next, we listened for the pattern "Sol-Sol-La-La-Sol" and identified where we heard it in the song. Just like the last pattern, we then learned how to play that on our glockenspiels and were able to put the two parts together to play half of the song!

After that, we learned the last two patterns, "Mi-Mi-Re-Re-Do" and "Sol-Sol-Do." We had a great time figuring out on our own how to read those patterns and then play them on our instruments.

Focusing on the rhythm, we figured out that it is in Duple Meter, because our microbeat is "Du De." We then read the rhythms and acted like scientists to find any patterns in the song. We talked about how scientists look for patterns  (or lack of pattern) everywhere in order to help them better understand the world and how we can use these same skills in music. We figured out that the first half of the song has an A B A B rhythm pattern and the second half has an A B A C rhythm pattern.

On our very last day this week, we were able to put all of the small chunks that we learned together so that we could play the entire song! We talked about how we learn best when breaking problems up into small parts and working on them one at a time, and then putting them all together in the end. We also talked about how it is important to practice the trickiest parts first when we are working on a piece of music. We used our modified musical notation to read and play our song at the end.

Here is a recording of Mrs. Martin's class singing the song using Solfege syllables, and a recording of Mrs. Micou-Davis's class playing the song on their glockenspiels. I was so proud with all of the 2nd graders this week, and impressed with all of their focus and hard work. We were able to build many skills in just one week! Fantastic work!

"Eleanor Candy Chant" 2nd Grade Rhythm Compositions

Here is an activity that we did this week in 2nd grade music. I learned this chant from a great music teacher that I know, and it has been so fun using this in class. The kids love it too! 
(I created the slides below using the free clipart from www.mycutegraphics.com)

First, we learned the chant as a class and then read the rhythms. Then we figured out together what rhythms fit with each of the candies. Each class then split up into small groups where they had to come up with their own rhythm composition using the 4 candies given. They were able to put their candies in whatever order they wanted and then had to write the words and the rhythms on their paper. Lastly, they practiced saying and clapping their words and rhythms so that they could present it as a group. Each group did a fantastic job and everyone earned 4 points for working together and doing their best! Great job, 2nd graders! I was very proud of how well you worked together in your groups. 

Go get 'em, Tigers!

Congrats to the Detroit Tigers on making it to the ALCS! I like to think that our 2nd Bryant Tigers helped them to win by sending them good vibes in music class today :) We had a baseball themed class, complete with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and acting out the different parts of a baseball game to Johannes Brahm's "Hungarian Dance No. 5." For this activity, we talked about how the form of a piece is like a kind of a musical roadmap. This was a great connection to humanities, because in Social Studies, the students are learning about maps (what they are, how to read them, and the different parts of the map). It was fun to talk about how we can use different types of maps in music to help us to follow along with a piece of music, or to better understand what they are hearing. 

Check out this video of the piece played by the Berlin Philharmonic!

2nd Grade Group Compositions

This past week in 2nd grade music, we have been singing the call and response song "There Was An Old Woman." This song is so great because it touches on many different musical skills and concepts that we work on in 2nd grade. We first learned the song as call and response, and worked on getting our "ooo's" to be nice and round and creating lots of space in our mouths for our sound. We also talked about the melody on the "ooo" part (how it is going down, how it moves by steps and a skip, and how the song is in minor tonality). Then, as a class, we wrote our own verses to the call part of the song, and created our own class story (this was really fun!)

A couple classes later, we broke up into groups of 4 so that they could create their own compositions. Each group was given about 20 minutes to write and practice their 4 verses together. Before we split up into our groups, we talked about how as a group, they could earn 4 points for working together. We had a great discussion talking about what a "4" looks like and how we can all get 4's if we do our best and work well together. Working well in different groups has been something that we have been working on in 2nd grade music and will continue to build those teamwork skills as the year goes on. 

Here is the rubric that we came up with. After talking about this, every group did a wonderful job and I was so impressed with how responsible, kind and respectful they were to one another. 

The following day, each group  had a chance to share their composition with the class. Everyone in the class also had a chance to practice their respectful audience behavior as well. We had a great time sharing our hard work and getting to hear what other groups came up with. Here are a few of the compositions that I recorded today. 

Great job to ALL of the 2nd grade groups! I was thrilled with what you came up with! You should be very proud!

"Chicken on the Fence Post" 2nd Grade

This week in 2nd grade music we have been taking advantage of this beautiful fall weather, and were able to have one of our classes outside. Because of their positive behavior in the month of September, each class earned a special "Music Choice" day and this time, we spent our day playing a fun game outside. First, we learned the folk song, "Chicken on the Fence Post." We looked at the music and broke it down at first by finding patterns. We figured out which parts of the melody were going up, down or staying the same, which helped us a lot when learning the song. After we were comfortable singing the song, we then learned the game. To play the game, we used our friend Steve the chicken. Steve was placed in the middle of two circles or "fences." We then sang the song while walking our circles around in opposite directions. While we did this, Ms. Ritter picked two students to go and cover their eyes, and then picked two students from each to be the "gate." When the two students came back, they had to try and find the gate by tapping on shoulders until the gate opened. Whoever could find the gates the fastest was able to get to the middle to get Steve!

Here's a great picture of Ms. Toon's 2nd graders playing this game today!

"Obwisana" Rock Passing Game

Here is a video of Ms. Puente's 2nd graders playing an African stone passing game called "Obwisana" today. This activity helps us to build community and work together so that we can all pass our rocks (or beanbags!) to the same steady beat. We made up our own variation on the game that is kind of like hot potato. Before we start singing, I whisper a color to one student and whoever ends up with that color at the end of the song is out. The students who are out then get to go and play some traditional African instruments that I have to accompany the song. We have a lot of fun playing this game and working on our musical skills at the same time!

Why sing? (and "Cuckoo" Mrs. Klein's Kindergarten)

Have you ever heard someone describe themselves as a terrible singer, or known someone who is quick to say "I can't sing" whenever an activity involves singing? This can be the truth for many people and is maybe even the truth for you. While people often think of singing as a gift or talent, it is actually a skill that most everyone can attain, build upon, and practice. 

One my main goals for our Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students at Bryant is to not only foster a love for music, but to also give them the skills and confidence to not shy away from singing and to be able to participate in all kinds of musical activities when they leave our school. Singing can have amazing effects on our health and well-being, releasing endorphins to improve our mood while improving physical control over our bodies like breath, articulation, and posture. It is also a great way to feel a sense of community, which is why I wrote our Bryant School Song, so that students can feel that sense of singing along with a large group. 

In all of the grades, we work on vocal exploration, trying out the many different variations of our voices. We expand our ranges, sing in silly voices, and learn the difference between our head and chest voices among many other things. All of these different exercises help us to become more familiar and comfortable with our own unique voices and in the end, will help us to build that confidence with singing so that later on in life, if someone asks us if we can sing, we can respond in the positive :)

Listen to this recording of Mrs. Klein's Kindergarten class singing a short echo song that works on vocal exploration. Here they are working creating a nice round tone with lots of space inside their mouths. Then we do some sirens to "stretch" our our voices and connect to our head voice. Great job, Mrs. Klein's class!

"Aquarium" Carnival of the Animals: 1st Grade

This week in 1st grade, we started talking about composer Camille Saint-Saen's "Carnival of the Animals." We learned that when Saint-Saen originally wrote the music it was written as a joke for his friends at a music school, but in the end it became one of his most famous works!

At first, we listened to the piece not knowing what it was about. While we were listening, we closed our eyes and tried to picture what the song might be about and then we shared our answers. We had lots of creative answers! Some said that it sounded like a slithering snake, others thought it was about little mice creeping. And some agreed with Saint-Saen and said that it was about fish or water.

The next time we listened to it, we moved our bodies to the music with flowy scarves to act like water. For the shorter notes we flew with our scarves, but at the end of the phrases on the longer notes we waved our scarves in the air like rising bubbles. And at the part where it sounds like trickling water, we found some friends and wiggled our scarves together! We had a lot of fun moving our bodies to "Aquarium" and are looking forward to listening to more of Saint-Saen's "Carnival of the Animals" soon. I wonder which animal we will listen to next?!

Here is a video of an arrangement of "Aquarium." It is especially cool to see the pianists fingers move while he plays.

"Birdie, Birdie" Kindergarten Song

In Kindergarten this week we have been singing a song called "Birdie Birdie." For this song, we have been learning some sign language and can do the signs for bird, where, nest, tree and build. We have also been having a lot of fun by "audiating" certain words in the song. Audiating is when we think or hear the music in our heads and they have been doing a great job with this concept. They have even did it so well that they made me fall out of my chair! :)

 Here is a recording of Mrs. Peterson's Kindergarteners singing today. Great job, Mrs. Peterson's class and all of the kindergartners!

"Birdie birdie, where is your nest? Birdie birdie, where is your nest? Birdie birdie, where is your nest? In the tree that I like best!

I built my nest in a hollow tree. I built my nest in a hollow tree. I built my nest in a hollow tree. And all the birdies follow me!"

Kindergartners: Do you remember what kind of bird this is? What color are their eggs?

Curriculum Night and Bryant Song

It was great seeing so many familiar faces tonight at curriculum night and I really enjoyed getting to meet many of you for the first time! I hope to continue the many conversations we had about your child and music and want you to know that my door is always open. I love sharing what we are working on in the music room and I am so glad to hear that your children do too.

This blog is used to share updates about what we are learning in class, as well as to act as a bridge between home and school. I will often post short videos that we may see in class, songs that we may be working on, along with games and activities for the students to play. By subscribing to the blog, you should receive an email update every time I post something new. Often times, these updates will be for the students as well, so it would be wonderful if you shared it with them.

Thanks again to everybody who stopped by my table tonight! I really do enjoy getting to talk with you and look forward to seeing you again soon!

--Ms. Kelly Ritter

And for those of you who are hearing your students sing the Bryant song at home, but may not be sure exactly what they are singing (this is often the case for Kindergartners!), here is a recording of one of our second grade classes singing the song last year. I've also put the lyrics below so that you can sing along!

Chorus:

B-R-Y (clap clap) A-N-T (clap clap)

Bryant is the place to be!

B-R-Y (clap clap) A-N-T (clap clap)

I love Bryant School! (Rawr!)

Verse:

We're safe, respectful and responsible,

Each and every day.

We are kind to everyone,

When we work and play.

As Bryant Tigers, we do our best,

And learn in different ways.

We celebrate diversity, 

And that is why we say...oh!

Free Children's Concert! Joe Reilly 10/6/13

This week in music class, the 2nd graders have been talking about community in humanities and we listened to a song by singer, songwriter, Joe Reilly. I just wanted to give you the heads up about the free children's concert that Joe will be putting on in October. Here is the info!

Free Children’s Concert!

WHO:                     Joe Reilly is a singer, songwriter who lives in the Ann Arbor community. He has produced numerous children’s albums with an emphasis on learning and caring for our environment and world. Joe is an engaging singer and person and is sure to put on an educational and engaging show!

WHEN:            Sunday, October 6^th, 2013

WHERE:                 Matthaei Botanical Gardens

1800 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor

Bring the whole family!

For more info, visit Joe's website at...

www.joereilly.org

This week in music class...

Well, we survived the heat and were able to complete another great week of learning, singing and playing in the music room!

KINDERGARTEN:
In Kindergarten, we learned about our different kinds of voices (whisper, shouting, speaking and singing) and got to meet our friend Kiki the Koala. We also practiced singing our Bryant School song while Ms. Ritter played the guitar. For our second class, we started with our hello song and then each got a chance to play on our new gathering drum before going to our music spots on the rug. Once we were there we got to sing some fun songs and chants while moving with colorful scarves.

1ST GRADE:
In 1st grade, we got to choose our music spots and learned our new Welcome song. We practiced our body awareness by flowing with different parts of our bodies (one of the silliest ones was trying to flow with our noses!) We also sang an echo song called "Hello There" where we got to echo and sing with different emotions (happy, sad, angry, shy, excited, etc.) Then we talked about same and different patterns while doing our popcorn chant and got to play a fun popcorn game. We even played a game where we switched between beat and flow when Ms. Ritter hit the triangle while we were moving around the room.

2ND GRADE:
In 2nd grade, we started out the week watching a short video of children in South Africa playing the game "Kye Kye Kule" that we learned last week. We then learned a silly echo song called "Mama Lama Cuma Lama" and got to do a fun dance with a partner.  For humanities, we made connections with patterns in math by working on some rhythms by reading a pattern of numbers and dots. We had a lot of fun with this challenge and liked to pretend that we were robots reading codes! We also spent humanities time learning about our vocal cords and how our voices produce sound. We started out talking about our head voice and our chest voice and feeling where the vibrations are when we use both types of voices. We then learned about the all of the body parts that work together for us to speak and sing. We even got to see a video of real vocal cords in action!

"Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed!"

We have had a great first week back and I have been so impressed with all of our students at Bryant that I wanted to share with you a cute recording from today. This is of Mrs. Joseph's Kindergartners singing their new hello song called "Hello Everybody!" This was from their second day of music class, and I just cannot get enough of these sweet little voices. Enjoy!

First Day Back

What a great first day back! I only saw a few Kindergarten and 2nd grade classes, but I was blown away with how safe, respectful and responsible all of our students were. The two Kindergarten classes that I had to day were Mrs. Miller's and Mrs. Joseph's class and they were both fabulous during their first music class. 

 In Kindergarten music, we came in and learned our hello song and sang it with the guitar. Then we practiced our Bryant School Song that they heard during the assembly earlier in the day and they did a great job with the "Roar!" We then sang some songs that many of them recognized--"Open Shut Them" (in English AND Spanish!), and "Where is Thumbkin?" We even got to play a fun follow the leader song game where we got to be a little silly! 

 In 2nd grade music, we came in and learned a Call and Response song in Swahili called "Jambo!" Then we learned a children's song from Ghana called "Kye Kye Kule" and got to do a fun dance. We ended our class listening to Ms. Ritter's djembe and singing a song called "Salaam Aleikum!" 

If the rest of the year goes anything like today did, we are in for a great year. I am looking forward  to seeing the rest of our students this week in music class!

Hail!

In honor of today's kick-off, this goes out to all of my Bryant friends who love Michigan Football. My friend from college, who is now a professional trumpet player, made this recording of Michigan's Fight Song, "Hail to the Victors." He recorded himself playing the trumpet 12 different times on different parts and then put them all together and this is what he ended up with!

Listen to it and see if you can hear the different parts. Isn't it cool how one person made himself sound like an entire band?

The trumpet is a member of the BRASS family.

Are you ready for music?!

Are you ready for MUSIC? I know I am!

I have spent this last week getting the music room ready, but we're only missing one thing....YOU!

I hope everyone enjoys the last weekend of summer, and I am looking forward to seeing many familiar faces on Tuesday!

--Ms. Ritter

Goodbye, 2nd Graders!

Today is bittersweet as we say farewell to our 2nd graders as they prepare to leave Bryant and head on to their new schools. We wish them all the best as they make their transitions into the 3rd grade and will dearly miss having them here at Bryant!

During their transition ceremony, titled "You've Got A Friend in Me," the 2nd graders sang together for the last time at Bryant. The two songs they sang were "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King and "You've Got A Friend in Me" by Randy Newman. I was so proud of them today and heard that when they were singing, there was barely a dry eye in the room. The 2nd graders have been great leaders this past year here at Bryant and I will miss having them in music class. 

I want to wish them all the best as they head forward and continue to learn and grow. Great job, 2nd graders!!! I hope you have a great summer!

To listen to the recording of the 2nd graders singing today, click on the orange arrow above. 

Woodwind extravaganza!!

Today, the 1st and 2nd graders had a very special assembly with one of my very good friends, Tim Abbott. Tim is a professional musician, whose main instrument is the bassoon, but also owns and can play all of the woodwind instruments. Today, Mr. Abbott brought all of his woodwind instruments (14 in all!!!) to play for our students. He did a great job explaining how the instruments produce sound (some with a single reed, some with a double reed and some with no reed), and talked to us about how the bigger an instrument is, the lower the sound. At the end of his presentation, the students were able to ask questions and then come up to see all of the instruments up close.  Some of our favorite instruments today were the contra bassoon (which sounded soooo low) and the baritone saxophone. We loved getting to see each of the instruments up close and getting to compare their sizes, shapes and sounds. We are so grateful to Mr. Abbott for coming to Bryant School today and giving us this very special and unique opportunity!

Next Tuesday, Mr. Abbott will be returning to Bryant to give the same presentation to our Kindergarten classes, and from what we saw today, they are in for a treat!

If you would like to learn more about Mr. Abbott, you can visit his webpage at...

www.timothyabbott.net