Welcome to our...

 

      Musician's Toolbox  

 

 

 

   Each month our musical detective gives us a new tool that we need to become better musicians.  Throughout the month we will study how other musicians use that tool and how we can use it ourselves in the music we listen too and create.  Please ask your child what these tools are and how they are using them in class.  Maybe they will even be able to tell you when they hear that tool used in the music they listen to on the radio or perhaps they can show you in the music they create at home!

 

 

 

 

 

September - Melody 

   

 

   A melody is the way the song sounds without the words!  Melodies use sounds that go up (ascending), sounds that go down (descending), steps, skips, leaps and repeats.  Can you think of a melody that you can hum?

 

 

 

October - Timbre (pronounced tam-ber)

 

 

   Timbre is the unique quality of a sound.  A trumpet sounds different than a flute!  And my voice sounds different than yours. We will spend time learning about the band and orchestra instruments in this unit.  We will also identify and play all the beautiful instruments in our classroom. We will even spend time learning to recognize the different timbres of the other children in our classroom.

 

 

November and December - Meter

   

   Does this song make you feel like skipping or stepping?  Skipping songs are usually in what is known as compound meter  like 6/8 time while marching or stepping songs are written in simple meters like 2/4 or 4/4 time.  Your children will do lots of skipping and marching during this unit!

 

January and February - Texture

 

We all know what texture feels like, but what does it sound like?  Texture in music is when we layer the sounds together to create thicker sounds and thinner sounds.  It's time to break out the instruments!  We will be creating lots of ostinatos (repeating rhythmic and melodic patterns) and layering them together to experience changes in texture.

 

March and April - Dynamics and Articulation

 

Is it loud or soft?  Forte or Piano?  Are the sounds staccato (separated, disconnected sounds) or legato (smooth, connected sounds)?  We will use our bodies to help us identify the sounds.  If you peek in our music room door you might see us hopping, gliding, tip-toeing or stomping!