Music

F/1

Some of our favourite songs have been “There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea”, “The Upside Down, Inside Out, Upside Down Song” and “Mr Clicketty Cane”.

Opportunities have also been provided to perform a song or dance individually for the class and at Assembly. 

Simple rhythmic patterns have been practised using melodic and untuned instruments.

 Students have played simple 4 and 8 beat rhythms on drums, maracas, claves (rhythm sticks) and small drums, and in Term 2, we have begun to explore marimbas, xylophones and keyboards. 

Working collaboratively with the whole class or within a small group has been a focus for percussion work. 

Students have responded to changes in tempo and dynamics with improvised, creative movements, both individually and with a partner. Exploring silence and the use of rests has also been developed as part of percussion and singing activities. 

They really enjoyed watching a performance of a Haka as part of their cultural emphasis.

2/3

Students are further developing the ability to maintain a rhythm as part of an ensemble. Use of rests (silence) has featured in both percussion and singing activities as a way of promoting listening skills. Developing collaborative skills has been a focus in whole grade and small group percussion activities. 

They are beginning to compose simple melodic patterns on tuned instruments.

We have begun practising melodic dictation, using counters placed on a music staff to represent a sequence of up to 4 notes played on the keyboard. This has helped to further develop their listening skills and an understanding of changing pitch, both ascending and descending

This term, we have watched a variety of cultural dances, including a Chinese fan dance, Spanish flamenco, First Nation welcome dance and the Haka. Students have offered their opinion for their preferences, making observations regarding costumes, instruments, dance styles and props (such as fans and weapons). 

Their favourite song this term has been “Fight Song”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUxDNyrCtCo

4/5

Students have sung a variety of songs and accompanied them by playing the base notes of chords on keyboards and marimbas. They have created rhythmic ostinatos on percussion instruments and further developed the ability to collaborate with a group while maintaining a part in an ensemble. Students have listened to and discussed music from composers such as Strauss (The Blue Danube & The Blue Danube, Dixieland version), Bach (Minuet in G and Minuet in G, Lullaby version), and Beethoven, including a variety of styles of different classic pieces such as 6 different versions of Fur Elise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOQ4jBADgeI

They have particularly enjoyed comparing original pieces with “Nightmare” versions, identifying differences in tempo, dynamics and instruments used. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNXw2EAswdo

Bottom of Form

Students have increased their knowledge of music terminology, identifying specific elements in known songs such as ostinatos, bridge, coda and introductions. 

We have begun to investigate the structure of chords including the major and minor chords, playing major chords of C & G on the keyboards