Technology in the Music Room

This week the Grade 2, 3 and 5 students worked with an app on the Ipad called "My First Classical Music App." They explored the instruments of the orchestra and filled out an exit slip with 3 facts that they learned while using the app. I was very pleased they were able to show me that they learned quite a lot about the instruments of the orchestra. They wrote things like "The viola is just a bit bigger than the violin" and "the trombone uses a slide to change notes." Here is the link to the app on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/my-first-classical-music-app/id530616330?mt=8

Planet Rock

During our "Planets" unit, the Grade 3's will be singing and moving to songs that go with our theme of Outer Space. On the days when we are not listening and analyzing "The Planets" by Gustav Holst we will be practicing these songs. Our first song is called "Planet Rock." We will be singing and dancing at the same which is very tricky at times. Here is John Jacobson(the composer)with his signature dance moves for you to practice at home! Just click on this link to go to his website instead of the Youtube version. http://doubledreamhandsdance.com/

Gustav Holst's "The Planets"

The Planets has been a big discussion topic in our music room this week. The Grade 3 students are embarking on a large "Space" themed music unit where we will be also listening to this wonderful composition by Gustav Holst. We will be analyzing the music and talking about all the italian music terms that can be used to describe music. The Grade Five students are preparing to go the Centennial Concert Hall in March to see the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and one of the pieces they be playing there will be "Mars" from the same composition. We recently watched the video simulation of the Mars Rover landing on Mars while listening to the music of Gustav Holst at the same time. The video is very exciting and I have had a few requests to put it on the blog so the students can watch it again at home. Holst names each of the planets and Mars is called "The Bringer of War". When listening to the music, can you describe how he made his music match the title?