Fourth Grade 

Watch this cup passing tutorial video and then try it for yourself a couple times. You will need one plastic cup.  PLEASE DO NOT use glass!!!   

See how far you can get in this My Turn/Your Turn game (Call and Response)!  What level player are you?  You can use a drum if you have one, or just use your knees.  Practice every day.  Good luck...

Level 1: 0:00-1:13 Easy and short rhythms all on the beat

Level 2: 1:13-2:08 These are still easier, but longer

Level 3: 2:08-3:40 Much trickier rhythms

Level 4: 3:40-5:15 Using more rests and playing on upbeats

Level 5: 5:15-7:15 Congratulations! You are a master!  

Here is a really fun song from the country of Ghana. Try to play each part with the song. For shakers, you can use any container with something in it that makes sound (like a can with rice in it). If you don't have a drum use your hands on the floor or knees. You get the idea... I usually play a game with this song, but we'll save that for another time. 

This is a really fun and challenging clapping game. It gets more and more challenging as the song goes on, so you may need to practice this several times. I must admit, it took me several times before I got it, but you will probably do better than me.  

Here is a Maori children's song that is very popular in New Zealand. See if you can make it to Level 3. Remember... it only counts if you can play the pattern AND sing the song at the same time. You might have to practice this a bunch .  What level can you make it to with no mistakes? 

This is a traditional Maori song and dance called the Haka.  Watch this video and then think about these questions.  

1. What is the purpose of this song/dance? 

2. Why do they make such ugly faces during the dance? 

3. What would be the closest thing to the Maori here in America?  

In New Zealand they don't play football like we do here in America.  Their favorite sport is rugby and they have the best rugby team in the world- the All Blacks (also my favorite rugby team!).  Before every game, the All Blacks perform the Haka.  Watch this video and think about the same questions above.   

Have you ever seen Line Rider?  It’s a very popular youtube series.  Here is a fun way to listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony- one of the most famous pieces of music ever written.  Many people believed that Beethoven wrote this music to express how he felt about continuing to compose music even while he was going deaf.  It’s meant to be a triumphant piece of music. 

How does it sound to you?  What part of your life would this sound good as background music to?  Do you recognize any musical symbolism in this?  

Now you are ready to play some intermediate rhythms!  This is a rhythm reading challenge that uses some of the more difficult rhythms: the dotted quarter note (Ta-i), the single 8th note (ti), and the 8th rest(sss).  See if you can play every level correctly.  How many levels can you play perfectly?  

It's time to practice those syncopation rhythms (quarter-8th-quarter note patterns) we have been working on.  This is an easy song to sing and an easy rhythm to play, but to do them both at the same time is challenging! Why does Mama say "No play?"  

This year we will be singing lots of rounds.  This is a 3-part round to the song "Row Your Boat."  Choose either the blue, red, or purple part and see if you can follow your part all the way through.  When you finish, try it again with a different part.  Keep trying until you can sing all three parts.  Which part was easiest?  Which was hardest? 

This is from an amazing episode of the Muppet Show and stars Harry Belafonte.  Harry Belafonte was a very important leader in the African-American community as well as a phenomenal musician.  Do you notice how this song has two different singing parts and then they combine them together?  What percussion instruments do you recognize?

One of our 4th grade rhythms is the triplet.  The triplet looks like three 8th notes with a "3" above them .  The triplet is one beat long, even though you play 3 notes.  When we say the triplet we say: "trip-le-ti."  Use this video to improve playing and saying triplets.  Only go to Level 3 in this video- the later levels use rhythms we haven't gotten to yet.   

This is a really fun song to sing called "Agents of Change."  Once there was a really smart man who said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."  What do you think he meant by that?  What is something that you would really like to change in the world?  

This is a dance called the Cha Cha Slide.  It's super fun and is great exercise.  Can you follow all the steps?  Remember, the more we practice this, the better we will get at it.   

We are trying to improve at singing in rounds.  Here is another great practice to a song called "Hey Ho, Nobody Home."  This is a 3-part round so practice singing all 3 parts.  If you have a piano or keyboard you can play along too- just follow the notes that they show you. 

This is a really challenging solfege exercise that will test your solfege skills.  This is a call and response, so you will hear each section first and then you will sing it back.  The tempo to the song is a little fast so it may take you a bunch of practice runs before you get it.   

Have you ever heard of a dance called the Cupid Shuffle?  I hadn’t, until I found this video and learned it myself.  It was really easy to learn and it was also a lot of fun.  Once you learn how to do it, try doing it with a few of your favorite songs.  What kind of music works well with this dance?  What kind of music doesn’t work as well?  Now go get moving!   

This is a really amazing concert called a Kecak that takes place in Indonesia! The concert tells the folk story of a monkey and a prince battling an evil king. Does this music sound strange to you?  Do you hear any instruments other than voice in this?  Do you notice how the tempo (speed of the music) keeps changing?  How do you think everyone changes tempo at the exact same time?   

I once saw a Gamelon performance while in college and it was amazing!!! The gamelon is a group of instruments that are similar to our xylophones and are played with wooden hammers.  The instruments range in size from tiny (smaller than a glockenspiel) to huge gongs.  Dancers come out and perform alongside the gamelon players.  Here is a video showcasing gamelon music by the Indonesian Embassy! 

Did anyone notice how their hands are doing two different things?