Laura Jeffrey Academy is currently engaged in the redesign of our classroom web pages. Our goal is to create pages that are more readily accessible, easily understandable, and more consistent in format and content across subject areas. Additionally, they are being designed to complement and align with the new Parent Portal that we are now piloting and intending to implement fully in the fall.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to Quarter 4! This quarter, we will be singing and preparing for our summer spectacular featuring music from musicals that will be showcased the evening of Thursday, June 24th! In addition to the Summer Spectacular, the 6/7th grade choir will be performing at the Midtown Global Market on Tuesday, June 8th between 4:00-6:00. As our music program continues to grow we will have performance opportunities for all of the students to participate in.
Students have expressed interest and enthusiasm for developing all aspects of this music concert from dances, decorations, and props. This is an excellent way for them to be musically creative and collaborate with their peers and I am looking forward to supporting them in developing their amazing ideas! We will be in need of supplies such as large pieces of cardboard, any extra paint you many have, toilet paper rolls, tinfoil, and clothing for costumes. If you have anything you can donate that would be much appreciated.
I had originally planned to have students study the history and development of Jazz this quarter but after careful consideration this quarter I have decided that we will not have as much time as I need to give this curriculum the depth it deserves. We will begin with Jazz and Improvisation in the fall.
This quarter violin students will be focusing on playing posture, intonation, and preparing a piece for the Summer Spectacular. Each student needs to play with either a sponge or a shoulder rest in class and at home so that they can hold the violin securely with their shoulder and jaw freeing the left hand to play. I recommend purchasing a shoulder rest if possible. Now that we have learned many notes we will be working on developing good intonation. This means, playing in tune, which is difficult on the violin. Students need to use their eyes and ears to make sure that they are playing exactly on the marked frets. We will be learning the notes on the E string and continue to learn music in 2 parts as an ensemble.
The LJA staff is currently in the process of finalizing the schedule for next year. Once this is complete I will be able to plan and provide specific information about continuing the string program for next year. I will get this information to families as soon as possible.
As always, please contact me with any questions, concerns, or ideas of how to support your student. Thank you for supporting the music program!
Annie Dau
annied@laurajeffreyacademy.org
Quarter 4 Music Learning Targets: Planning, Creating, and Performing our Summer Spectacular!
NOTE: All of our work this quarter will be done in class, therefore it is important that students come to class on time and prepared to learn. This means students are responsible for bringing their choir and violin music, their violin (violin students only) and a pencil.
All learning targets will be assessed through observation of in-class rehearsals and work time as well as performance in the Summer Spectacular.
1. I contribute to the musical production of the Summer Spectacular. (All Students)
* I actively participate during warm-ups, sight reading, and rehearsal
* I perform with excellent concert etiquette during the summer spectacular
2. I collaborate with my peers to develop entertaining products for the Summer Spectacular. (Choir students only)
* I contribute ideas to the class and in small groups
* I listen and respect the ideas of my peers
* I am actively involved in the creation of a dance, decoration, or prop for the Summer Spectacular.
3. I play the violin with good posture (Violin students only)
* I use a sponge or shoulder rest each time I play in class
* My violin is secure and my left hand is free to move when I play
* I stand straight with feet slightly apart
4. I play the violin with good intonation (Violin students only)
* I play the correct pitches – my fingers are on the correct string and fret
* I place my finger exactly on the fret – not before or after the fret
Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a great break. In music class we are beginning our unit on sound. This week we are learning the parts of a sound wave; wavelength, amplitude, and frequency. We discussed how amplitude relates to volume (loud or soft) and frequency relates to pitch (low or high). Students did an experiment with slinkys where they discovered the difference between longitudinal and transverse waves. On Thursday and Friday students will be using mirrors and flashlights to actually see sound waves in action!
The music concert has been scheduled for February 9th at 2:15! (time might change but will be at the end of the school day)
This week choral students will be learning about and practicing dotted rhythms, ties, and slurs. We will find these in our music and practice the game songs John Kanaka and Sow it on the Mountain to reinforce these musical concepts. We will also continue to progress in our preparation for the music concert. We have just about learned all of our notes and will start focusing on expression,dynamics, and concert etiquette.
The violinists are working on their first concert piece, Lullaby by Johannes Brahms, which I am sure many of you will recognize. Last week students added another fret on their violin, learning a new note and using their 4th finger. We have been discussing how to take care of the violin in the cold; never leave it in a car or in cold temperature and make sure that it has enough moisture so that it does not dry out and crack. You can purchase a dampit that keeps the violin moisturized for around $11 or a damp sponge inside a ziplock bag that has a few holes punched in it for a cheaper option. Students will always have violin class on Mondays and Thursdays. Please help them to remember bringing their violin on these days. Also, please make sure your student is bringing their violin home and practicing daily and on the weekends.
We are off to a great start this quarter, hard at work preparing for a concert at the end of the quarter (date yet to be determined). Last week we learned the difference between tempo, beat, and rhythm and did some activities to help our understanding. This week we will be learning about syncopation and singing some songs with syncopated rhythms.
The choirs are sounding good and developing sight reading and harmonizing skills. Students now complete self evaluations at the end of each rehearsal to really think about their own progress and understanding of music.
The violinists are learning their first piece of music that is written in two parts! We are working to listen to each other and play as an ensemble. If your student is struggling with violin please encourage them to meet with me over lunch so that I may work with them!
Welcome back! I am excited to continue the music making this quarter at LJA. I have posted a page with information about this quarter’s curriculum. We will be spending a lot of time rehearsing for a concert at the end of the quarter! I hopefully will have a date by the end of the week. This week students are doing activities around the difference between tempo, beat, and rhythm. We will also be learning to read and play quarter, eighth, half and whole notes.
This week we will start discussing and preparing for our summative assessments. We will practice composing sight reading exercises and begin our first draft of the actual composition on Thursday and Friday. Students will also be asked to begin thinking of a question about the music industry that they would like to research and present on. Students need to have a question by Thursday or Friday (whatever day they have music) that they can discuss with me.
Violinists have started bowing and will continue to bow on the D and A strings, as well as tune their own instrument.
The choirs will begin two new pieces, El Vito, a song in Spanish and Soon I will be done, a spiritual.
This week in music we will be learning about what marketing is and how music is marketed. Students will create and act out commercials for a given product. We will also be learning more about record companies and the disputes that arise between artists and record labels.
The choir has been hard at work reading 2 and 3 part music using solfege (do, re, mi). Although it has been tough work, it is paying off as students develop music literacy and improved intonation. Not to mention reading music has been proven to increase math and reading comprehension!
Violinists are working on reading notes on the staff. Up until this point the letter names have been given in their music. This week I expect students to move away from reading the letter names to reading the notes on the staff. I expect that each student be able to play one piece on the staff before they progress to bowing.
Students must be practicing violin at home in order to progress and be successful in the classroom. If your student is struggling or not enjoying playing please let me know so that I can arrange a time to meet with her outside of class.
Students have been hard at work learning how to read music and use their instruments! The choir this week will be starting a new piece and using solfege to figure out the pitches instead of me teaching themthrough rote. We have been doing exercises and writing the solfege in our music to practice and develop this skill.
Violinists will continue to develop thier ears by tuning their own A and D strings. We will be learning three notes on the D string - B, C#, and D. We will also be learning how to read notes on the treble clef. Students should be learning to use the bow next week!
Last week all students explored and discussed the many careers within the music industry. This week we will be focusing on record companies; what they do, how they function, and the departments within record companies (legal, sales, publicity, business affairs, new media, promotion, marketing, artists and repertoire).
This week in choir we will continue working on understanding how to read our music. Students are marking solfege (do, re, mi etc) in their music, doing daily sight reading excersies, and learning game songs using solfege.
Violinists will learn three new notes on the A string, how to tune the A and D strings, and start practicing how to hold the bow. They are progressing quickly!
Every class will be searching to find careers that exists in the music industry. We will be looking closely as to what each job entails and what skills are needed.
