Thursday, January 31, 2019

Week of January 28











PreK Music Makers

Imaginative play is an important part of a child's development.  It helps young children develop socially and emotionally.  It engages language skills, critical thinking and problem solving as children work out their imaginary scenarios. In music class we use imaginary play and dramatic play to act out song verses and create new ones.

In our video below, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, the children are answering the question, "What did he see?".  We used their responses and their suggested movements to create new verses for our song and act out the verse.  Taking a child's suggestion for a verse gives him or her a chance to be a leader for the class and take ownership of the musical experience. 




Nursery Music Makers

You may have noticed in a few of our blog videos that we often sing our songs without the use of a CD or other accompaniment.  In our Music Together classes (and in general), the goal is for children to recognize their voices and their bodies as their primary musical instruments.  In order for children to learn to use their voices and bodies to express themselves musically, they need to be given opportunities for independent music making. Paring away the CD or other instrument puts the focus on making music with their voices and bodies and allows them to take ownership of the experience.   Sometimes in class, children will also be asked to help create new verses or movements to a song to extend their independent music making experiences.  In our Sneak & Peek video below you will notice that we are singing without accompaniment. 


Music Together At Home

In order to create independent music making opportunities for you and your children at home, try turning off the CD and singing without the accompaniment.  This gives you the freedom to create new verses to the songs or change the words here and there.  So, when you are singing and dancing with your child at home, don't feel that you always need to have the CD playing, or an instrument in your hand.  Instead, use YOU!

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Week of January 21



Winter Blues? 

 Sing and dance them away!

Did you know, like exercise, singing and dancing releases endorphins which are a natural mood booster?  So if the winter blahs are getting you down, turn on your favorite playlist and sing and dance them away. 



Pre-K Music Makers

There is a difference between rhythm and beat in music. In our music classes, we work on both. We work on keeping a steady beat while we play or sing a song. We practice feeling macro and micro beats (or big and little beats as I sometimes say to the children) in various time signatures, duple, triple, and asymmetric. We isolate rhythm patterns separately from the songs. Feeling the beat and  keeping a steady beat is a developmental music skill that we work on week to week. Check out our Red Drum video below and you will notice that we play with the beat, switching from macro and micro. After chanting Red Drum and playing the sticks, we isolate the rhythm patterns from the chant separately.



Nursery Music Makers

This week the children have been having fun with several songs in the Drum Collection.  They love playing the sticks with There's a Cobbler  and we played the large gathering drum with Drum and Sing.  Sailing Song with the scarf canopy was another favorite. Check out our video below.  We used the scarf to accentuate the phrases and form of the music with different movements.  We also worked on our rhythm and coordination by moving to the beat and alternating right and left feet and turning clockwise and counter clockwise to the music.  Plus it was a whole lot of fun!


Music Together at Home

As you are listening to your Music Together CDs at home, have you noticed there are songs without words in the Fiddle and Drum Collections?  Each Music Together collection features a few songs without words.  These are an important part of the Music Together curriculum.  Growing children are instinctively wired to learn language- so much so that even songs can become primary language experiences for them. By using nonsense syllables or "vocables" instead of words, we allow children to have a more purely musical experience without having to process language. The children are able to focus on the musical elements of the song.  Have fun with these songs at home and make up your own nonsense syllables to sing along. 

Friday, January 11, 2019

Week of January 7, 2019







A New Year and New Music!


Pre-K Music Makers

The PreK students started the new year with a fun birthday chant called Apples, Peaches. "Apples, peaches, pears, plums, tell me when your birthday comes!"  


We have been having fun learning new songs in duple and triple meters. 
Learning to feel the beat and echoing rhythm patterns in different meters is an important part of a child's music development. 
Check out our video of Rig A Jig Jig below.  This is a fun movement song in triple meter.  




Please be on the look out for information on a new Music Together HCA after school program for parents and children.  A letter will be sent home from school next week.


Nursery Music Makers

 Its a new year and we have a new semester of Music Together! We began learning songs and chants from our Drum Collection.  Everyone is enjoying the new music, children and teachers alike.  In the last two weeks the children were introduced to several songs which include: Biddy, Biddy , They Come Back, Arirang, Sailing Song, Playing in the Kitchen, Because I Sing and our favorites so far, The Snail and the Mouse and This Train. Check our video of This Train below.  Hop on board and sing along! 


Music Together At Home

 The CD's for the Drum Collection went home this week with your child.   Don't forget, you can also download the music on the free Music Together App using the code that is included on the inside cover of your CD package.  There are lots of fun features on the app that add to your family's music enjoyment. 

We are in the process of planning a Music Together semester of parent/child classes slated to begin mid-March.  A letter with more information about this after-school extracurricular activity will be going home next week.  If you would be interested in registering for the class, please indicate that in your response to the letter.  For additional information on the Music Together parent & child classes, please visit the Music Together website at https://www.musictogether.com/parents/class-types/mixed-age-classes .

Week of June 1

Welcome to HCA Joyful Music Featuring our Early Childhood Music Makers As our school year comes to a close, I am reflecting on all the fun a...