Today students learned about BEAT and Rhythm. Beat is the constant pulse of the music. It's the feeling that makes you want to tap your toe or bop your head. Beat has the ability to change tempo. Rhythm is the arrangement of the notes. By dividing beats and combining beats you can create all kinds of rhythm. Using the syllables of words you can create rhythms. We clapped, snapped, tapped and even danced to music in the classroom today. Pick your favorite song and tap, clap, or snap to the beat of the music.

In addition to beat and rhythm we reviewed 4 common notes used in music and their relation to each other. A whole note usually gets 4 counts, a half note is 2 counts, a quarter note is 1, and an eighth note is a 1/2. When we are talking about relationships, a half note is half of a whole or 2 half notes equal a whole. Two quarter notes equal a half, and 4 quarter notes equals a whole. Lastly an eighth note is half of a quarter note so that means that 2 eighths are equal to a quarter, 4 of them equal a half, and 8 eighth notes are equal to 1 whole note. Here is a great video to watch about note values.

Today before the class began students worked on a rhythm that was written on the board. After I took roll I snapped a beat while they clapped the rhythm together. They did very good and were together. We discussed what element of music keeps students playing and singing together. Beat is the element that keeps us together and it is the conductor/directors job to set the tempo of the beat. In addition we discussed how the first beat is the strongest beat we play or sing. After our rhythm exercise I taught students about the major scale and how it is based upon a pattern. This means no matter key we start on, if we follow the major scale pattern it will always sound the same. This pattern is W-W-H-W-W-W-H (Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half). I played a few major scales for them on the piano starting at different keys. We then used the steps to harmony workbook page 3 and sang exercise #1, which was a major scale. For the last 5 minutes of class we sang "My Hometown" by Morgan Wallen with the computer. It was suggested by a student.

In class I a assigned seats and folder numbers to partners. It took most of the class. We got to listen to and learn a little part of a new song called "Howdidow, Deedidleumday" It is a fun song that shows how fun rhythms can be made by using syllables of words. You can listen to this song HERE. More fun music to come.

We reviewed, rhythm, beat, and note values today. In addition we discussed the staff, pitches, and ledger lines. After exploring this musical elements we sang "Howdeedow Diddleumday" part 1 only. We listened to Seasons by Ola Gjielo and Shenandoa. Students were a little talkative today, but when they sang it sounded great. Many of them sang with good posture.