The music room is busy wrapping up a lot of musical projects this quarter!
Pre-K and Kindergarten are preparing special programs for their end of the year celebrations. They have turned our to be very fine musicians, and I look forward to seeing their progress next year!
First and Second Grade are continuing to work towards the ability to perform songs using both vocal and rhythmic activities. Both classes have made very impressive progress in their ability to stay together rhythmically, and sing properly in tune with each other. In addition to their ensemble work, First and Second Grade are learning how to "listen" to music by following certain procedures that allow their ears to do the work God made them to do. To show their comprehension of excerpts of music played for them, students use scarves to show how the music might "look" if we could see it...soft or loud, fast or slow, peaceful or turbulent, etc. This has proven to be one of the students' favorite activities.
Third and Fourth Grade are glad to be finishing their long year of work playing recorders and learning to read music. Fourth Grade is working on a project with a partner in which a piece of music from their recorder text is chosen within specific guidelines, and performed for the class using correct recorder technique, correct rhythm accuracy, as well as note accuracy. Third Grade is learning the last two notes of the year--low D and high E. This will complete their first year curriculum for recorders, and will give them the complete set of tools they will need to play more complex melodies next year.
Fifth grade is enjoying the end of their last year of Elementary School, with lots of rhythmic activities to get them ready for Middle School. They did a beautiful job performing the Living Stations of the Cross for the school during Lent, and there are some very promising voices developing in the class. They are very excited to be a part of Cantata for next year!
Middle School has wrapped up their survey of music history through the mid-twentieth century, and we are now spending the last couple of weeks exploring the popular music and famous artists of the last few decades. This is the students' chance to share with me their favorite genres of music! Eighth Grade is very enthusiastically getting ready for their graduation, which includes their Graduation Liturgy and Graduation Brunch.
It’s been a great year of music-making at Saint Paul School, and I am very proud of the musical progress each class has made! Congratulations!