High 5ive!

The pentatonic scale uses only 5 notes, but there is a lot you can do with those 5 notes. Penta means five and tonic means tones, so pentatonic means five sounds. The pentatonic scale has been used all over the world. It is the basis for Chinese music.

Here is Bobby McFerrin using the pentatonic scale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk

A capella

A capella is singing without music. Just because there is no music doesn't mean that you can't sing! Some of the most interesting music can be made with just a voice. We will be doing a lot of a capella songs this year.

Here is our buddy Bobby McFerrin doing what he does best.

Check out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eH8jS0DyO0&feature=related

Percussion! BOOM!

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit, shaken, rubbed, or scraped.

The word "percussion" comes from Latin, meaning "to beat or strike" in the musical sense, and also means "the collision of two items to produce a sound". Percussion is a family of instruments including drums, rattles, metal plates, or wooden blocks which musicians would beat or hit to produce sound.

Bobby McFerrin has been one of the most famous body percussionists. Watch him do his thing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codmxk7uLv8&feature=related

Joel Turner, Beatbox Champion, makes percussion sounds using only his mouth. Watch his first television appearance on Australian Idol here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRGYAhfmQUs

Recorders are cool!

The recorder is a woodwind instrument. The recorder is blown and the mouth of the instrument is blocked by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple. It is different from other woodwinds because it has holes for seven fingers, and one for the thumb.

The recorder was popular in medieval times but was later replaced by orchestral woodwind instruments, such as the flute, oboe and clarinet. During its most popular time, the recorder was traditionally associated with birds, shepherds, miraculous events, funerals and marriages.

In the mid 20th century, recorders could be made out of plastic, which made them cheap and easy to produce. They are also easy to play. Like other instruments, the recorder requires a lot of study to play at an advanced level.

The recorder has often been used in popular music, and can be heard in songs by The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix.

Grade 2/3 Choir

Mme. Lavis and Mme. Anderson will be leading the Grade 2/3 choir, beginning after the Thanksgiving long weekend. Practices will be held on Tuesdays during the lunch hour in Mme. Anderson's Kindergarten classroom.

Coming soon:

November 9th - The choir from the Mully Children's Family Orphanage of Kenya will be performing at R.H. McGregor.