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September: This month in music, students will learn the routines and rules for a safe and fun music class. We are learning to show and maintain steady beat in kindergarten-second grade and are reviewing and learning notation in the upper grades. Students will learn to echo, read, and/or compose rhythms and play a variety of instruments. All students will use their singing voices and incorporate movement throughout each class.

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October:  This month in music, students will continue to build on feeling steady beat and expand on those ideas. In kindergarten and first grades, we are adding more instruments and learning about high and low voices. In second and third, we are beginning to hone our rhythm skills and develop our singing voices. We are adding movement (folk dance) that will help us identify the difference between beat and rhythm. In fourth and fifth grades, we are building on those skills by incorporating rhythmic activities and notation, working on our head voice, and preparing for chorus to begin.

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November: Students are excited to begin preparations for their Winter Concerts! Students in kindergarten and first grade did a will study in conducting and pieces in 3/4, while students in second and third grades are finding the pulse through adding more percussion instruments to their pieces. Students in fourth and fifth grades are working on complex pieces of different styles, and the Bryant choir will partner with another grade for one piece. Mrs. Albus just completed a DonorsChoose project that helped fund the purchase of many more unpitched percussion instruments for this upcoming performance! We can't wait to get un-boxing!

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December:  December is what we call lovingly... "concert prep madness!" We had an incredible time preparing for and performing our winter programs! We utilized props and instruments, had lots of combined grade rehearsals, and learned about the more advanced aspects of concert etiquette. We were thrilled with the final outcome!

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January: Each grade level is becoming more advanced with the skill set we have already learned. In kindergarten and first, students are learning about form through movement (scarves, dancing, and patterns). In second grade, we created minor mode patterns on barred instruments to accompany ourselves, and added boomwhackers to make things more challenging and fun. In third and fourth grade, students began their melody unit through the use of recorders. They mastered playing two pitches in varying rhythms and were "Sorted" into their Harry Potter practice Houses. In 5th grade at Bryant, students began their melody unit studying keyboards. They are practicing 5 finger patterns in C position and began to write their own compositions. In 5th grade at Warren, students reviewed the notes they learned last year and began to play more difficult melodies, utilizing two new notes. All grades did a mini-unit on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this month and Bryant Choir did an improvisational drum circle to a piece dedicated to his memory- DreamKeeper, with poetry by Langston Hughes.

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February:  In grades k-1, students are learning music from around the world. We began with Latin styles (Tito Puente, Santana, Rodrigo y Gabriella, to name a few!). Then we began to study artists for Black History Month and accompanied ourselves singing "This Little Light of Mine". In second grade, we learned a vocal and xylophone piece from Israel. Kinder through 2nd grade students learned a special circle and partner dance for Valentine's Day! In 3rd and 4th grades, our melody unit continues by adding a third pitch and learning to compose. They, too, learned a minor mode piece on xylophones with a vocal and recorder accompaniment. Playing well as an ensemble is challenging, but our students are making great progress! In 5th grade at Bryant, keyboard students are learning to play Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and are putting the finishing touches on their own melodies. In 5th grade at Warren, students have begun a medley of rock pieces on their recorders, which is both extremely challenging and fun, as we change the piece to suit our needs, instrumentation, and abilities. All students have been listening to famous artists in recognition of Black History Month (Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Hazel Scott, Alicia Keys, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, and more!).

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March: In grades k-5, all students have been studying Celtic music-music primarily from Ireland, but from surrounding areas (Scotland, Wales, and even some English folk songs). Students have all learned at least one jig step with some classes learning up to three. In K-2, students have begun to work on different bordun patterns on barred instruments. Recorder students have moved on from creating with their small groups to working on a medley of rock pieces- we are jammin' out in the pentatonic scale! Keyboard students at Bryant have learned to play a melody of "The Irish Washerwoman" while continuing their classical unit from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. At Warren, 5th grade students are memorizing their recorder and xylophone melodies, preparing them for joining a musical ensemble next year. 

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Helena Public Schools K-5 Music Scope and Sequence:

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http://fineandperformingarts.helenaschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/HSD1-K-5-Music-Scope-and-Sequence.pdf

When does my child have music?

 

Bryant schedule: ext: 1218

Monday: 5C, 4Q, 3M, KM, 1L, 2B

Wednesday: 5V, 4R, 5C, 3F, KR, 1A, 1L, 2H

Friday: 4R, FV, 4Q, 3F, 3M, KR, KM, 1A, 2H, 2B

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Warren schedule: ext. 1582

Tuesday: KR, KT, KS, 1O, 1B, 1H, 5K, 5M

Thursday: KR, KT, KS, 1O, 1B, 1H, 5K, 5M

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