Week of April 20

Hi Sixth Graders!

Here's what you can explore this week. Have fun making music!

Go to the website musicplayonline.com to review the games from last week. I am keeping these on for this week for two reasons: (1) we want to maintain our skills for rhythm and lines & spaces; (2) you can try some of the higher levels.

Student log in - Username - snow Password - 2020

Also, try the website tonictutor.com to review some basics for playing piano. You will see two games to review from last week and one new game.

Student log in - Username - labmand Password - labm98957

Then, use the links below to explore our composer of the week.

Go to the website tonictotor.com to try these three free games related to piano playing.

Login with username "labmand" and password "labm98957."

Go to the menu--the lines at the top/left of the green screen.
Click on "freeplay" in the games section.
Click on "finger puppets."
This has one level. Remember: thumbs are always number 1 and pinkies are always number 5.

Go to the menu--the lines at the top/left of the green screen.
Click on "freeplay" in the games section.
Click on "piano keys."
You will see various levels. You actually should start at Pre-A for a review of the piano white keys. [Remember: dog house and people house--dog, cat, elephant, front door, back door, Aunt Anne, grandma.]

Go to the menu--the lines at the top/left of the green screen.
Click on "freeplay" in the games section.
Click on "jungle journey."
You will see various levels. You should only use Pre-A this week.

NEW LEARNING: The game will ask you to move "up" or "down" by "steps" or "skips."

"Up" means to move to the right on the piano keyboard (as you move to the right, the notes/pitches get higher).
"Down" means to move to the left on the piano keyboard (as you move to the left, the notes/pitches get lower).
Moving by a "step" means to move to the next white key to the right or left (or to move forward or backward by one letter in the musical alphabet).
Moving by a "skip" means to move two white keys to the right or left--skip a white key and go to the next one. [Skips can also mean to move "two or more" keys, but for this game, stick with two.]

Lines & spaces and more...

Also on the musicplayonline website, you can click on 6^th Grade and play the games listed above. These are actually ways of practicing some skills and knowledge we have been working on in music class (lines and spaces and music vocabulary). Follow the directions below.

1. Click on the game you want to play

2. Read the instructions

3. Click START and play

4. Also, for each game, there is a menu above the game called “activity type.” The first time you play, leave it where it is. Then you can try the various “activity types.

Remember our sayings for treble clef lines and spaces (from bottom to top):

LINES—Every Good Boy Does Fine

SPACES—F,A,C,E spells the word “face”

Remember our sayings for bass clef lines and spaces (from bottom to top):

LINES—Great Big Dogs Fight Animals

SPACES—All Cows Eat Grass.

Rhythm games...

Go to All Games, click on "Rhythm Racing," choose the level and play the game. 6^th graders should be able to play levels 1-4 in the game. Here are some new helpful hints:

1. Listen to each rhythm (the game gives you plenty of time to answer)

2. Figure out what the counting should be--like a rhythm reader (1, 2e+a, 3+, etc)

3. Decide if this is the same as what you heard.

4. Click on YES or NO.

Our composer of the week is Leonard Bernstein. Remember, we have been studying American composers from the twentieth century (1900’s).

20^th Century American composer, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).

Although Bernstein was a famous composer, he was also a conductor, author, and educator. He conducted one of the greatest orchestras in the world--the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. During that period in his life, he also recorded concert videos dedicated to educating children. As a composer, he is probably most well-known for writing the musical, Westside Story.

Follow the links below to listen to some examples of Leonard Bernstein’s music.
Questions to consider:

What style of music do you hear: classical, jazz, or a combination of both?

How does Bernstein use the different instruments of the orchestra to create different colors and moods?

What would it be like to have Mr. Berstein as a music teacher?

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

"Somewhere" from West Side Story

Candide Overture

Young People's Concerts | What is Melody?

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse