Welcome to D2L!

Welcome to D2L, an online learning platform!  These D2L shells are created to support your learning at home.  This will be a different learning model than what you are used to but I hope you find the resources and materials helpful.

If you are new to D2L, please click on the following link:

https://d2l.cbe.ab.ca/d2l/loginh/

Once you have logged in, you will be able to access all the D2L shells that are linked to you.  Please feel free to check out both the FSL and music D2L shells.

For Kindergarten students, please check this blog for updates.

We miss you, Elboya students!

I've Got Rhythm

Rhythm is a very important component in music.  During the past week, Grade 1 students focused on ta's, ti-ti's and rest.  They tried to notate the rhythm of a familiar song.  Grade 2 students worked on rhythmic dictation while Grade 3 students completed notating their drum pieces. 

Grade 4 students started a mini-project inspired by the Alberta homesteaders.  They will be creating a rhythmic piece.

"The sense of meaning in music can be developed by the student as listeners." 

~ Alberta Program of Studies, 

Elementary Music

Most people understand that "listening" is an integral part of any musical experience.  Others may even argue that music exists only when there is an audience who actively engages in the act of "listening."  But as budding musicians, students must understand the importance of developing a kind of "inner hearing" which enables them to perform music in tune and in time.  This is what they have been working on over the past week.

For example, Kindergarten students learned a Valentine song, sung to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O" during which they were asked to take out certain letters while being able to "jump in" and sing the other letters at the correct timing.  The activity requires that students internalize the basic beat and rhythm.  This type of inner hearing is very important in the overall development of musicianship.  Likewise, through the activity of "Fantastic Music Machine", Grade 4 students have to develop the inner hearing in the same way so that they can perform a four-voiced texture.  

Music as a Language

Music is a language:  it has elements of all languages ---- phrasing, structure, grammar, etc.  It communicates thoughts and feelings.  Kindergarten students have experienced the power of music and the way it evokes emotions.  They have been asked to listen to excerpts from some well-known classical pieces and choose a colour that best describes the emotion the music evokes.  Grade 1 students explored nursery rhymes and used them to tell musical stories.

Grade 2 students revisited the solfège, sol, mi and la while Grade 3 students continued to build on their knowledge of musical question and answer.  Grade 4 students are about to start their next project namely, The Fantastic Music Machine.  They will be applying the various concepts on rhythmic pattern, musical structure and phrasing to create some original works.

Musical Structure

As students get a better understanding of the basic parameters of music, they are able to begin to create their own musical structures.  Currently, Grade 4 students are applying what they know about triads, musical question and answer, and rhythmic patterns to create short melodies.  They learned that in order for the music to sound like it is ending, it must finish on doh, which is "home."  Grade 3 students took on the challenge to do some simple improvisation.  They had their first experience in improvising musical questions and answers with a partner.  Grade 2 students learned an Inuit lullaby as part of a larger work called I Shall Wait and Wait.  Grade 1 students explored barred instruments while Kindergarten students experienced "galloping music" vs. "marching music."

The First Snow Falls...

Snowflakes, Winter, Inuit community...they have inspired many songs.  As we learn songs inspired by these themes, students are at the same time learning new concepts.  Grade 1 students learned the first two solfège syllables:  so and mi.  They have been notating some familiar songs using them.  Grade 2 students learned how to play ostinato patterns on barred instruments.  They worked on the proper mallet grip which will enable them to produce a beautiful ringing tone.

Grade 3 students were introduced to the concept of "triad".  Using the notes from a triad, they tried making their own little tunes.  Grade 4 students continued to explore the concept of musical question and answer.  They examined elements that make a good "parallel period."

Happy New Year!

Happy 2020!  As we step into the heart of winter, we are learning pieces inspired by this cold weather.  Kindergarten students are adding non-pitched instruments to the poem Br...cold.  Grade 1 students are learning to notate some of the familiar songs on a two-line staff while Grade 2 students explore the theme Inuit Community.  Grade 3 students are creating their own rhythmic patterns using ticka-ticka.  Grade 4 students learn about musical questions and answers.  They had their first experience improvising a musical dialogue with their partner. 

Drum Residency

Last week, we had the privilege of working with Mr. David Kovatch from One World Drum company.  Students learned the basic "drum alphabet", explored different drum rhythms and put them together to create their pieces.  They had the opportunity to play the djembe, a drum from Western Africa and the duns. 

Come out on December 12 and celebrate their learning together!

Let's Drum!

Exciting news!  One World Drum will be coming to Elboya School to do a week-long residency.  The facilitator will be working with students from Kindergarten to Grade 4.  We will be celebrating their learning at the Winter Celebration on December 12.  See you there!

Save the Date!

Many of you have been wondering when the Winter Concert is.  The date of the concert is Thursday, December 12.  Please save the date!  Grade 3/4 choir will be performing that evening.

A Step Towards Music Literacy

Music literacy refers to the ability to read and write musical notation 

and to read notation at sight without the aid of an instrument. 

It also refers to a person's knowledge of and 

appreciation for a wide range of musical examples and styles.

~ Zoltan Kodaly

Hungarian composer, Zoltan Kodaly, gave us a very comprehensive definition for the term music literacy.  Different classes experience music literacy in a slightly different way.  Last week, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students ventured into creating their original musical notation.  They tried to use a visual representation of the sound.  By doing so, they had to be able to describe sounds as "conjunct" vs. "disjunct", "loud" vs. "soft", etc.  

Grade 2 students composed new words for a chant that they had learned.  Students brainstormed symbols that represent the city of Calgary, e.g. important structures, events, bodies of water, etc.  Through this activity, they demonstrated their understanding of the relationship between syllables and rhythm.  Grade 3 and 4 students explored what I called "musical legos", i.e. basic rhythmic building blocks that we can use to build longer musical pieces.  They also learned about "intervals", that is, the distance between two notes.  Grade 4 students begin to experiment with sounds that clash (dissonances) and sounds that blend (consonances).