McKay's Music
5th Grade Lessons
Songs with lyrics and music that we were doing in class:
go to the "Lyrics for Spring Choir" tab
Lesson #2 4.13.2020 McKay
Discovering the Composer: Camille Saint-Saens.
Pronounce his name "san" for "Saint" (as if you were saying "sand" but without the "d" sound at the end)
and then say "sawn" for "Saens" (making sawn rhyme with lawn). San Sawn.
Saint-Saens was born in 1835 and died in 1921. He was a French composer. He began learning music at a very young age. He wrote his first symphony at age 20. He was a very careful composer who believed that every note and rhythm was important. His composition, Carnival of The Animals
is a delight for adults, as well as children.
Camille liked to say this composition was a musical joke. You will see. The first animal I play for you is suppose to depict the elephant. Yes, the elephant that is clumsy or graceful? Well, as you know elephants are very big and it is difficult for them to be graceful. So Camille decides to write ballet music for the elephant. Only he uses a very big instrument, the string bass.
Imagine that you are an elephant with a ballerina's tutu on. Then, try to move gracefully to string bass. It's suppose to be comedy, so have fun!
Can you tell me, is the music in sets of three beats to a measure (1,2,3 1,2,3), or is it in sets of four beats to a measure? (1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4) You can reply in google classroom to me by saying 3 or 4.
Lesson #1 4.6.20 McKay
Lesson #1
Do Re Mi
5th Grade 4.6.20
Remember our ear training lessons?
If you need to tune up your ear, practice this exercise first (use your hand signals):
do
do re do
do re mi re do
do re mi fa me re do
do re mi fa so fa mi re do
do re mi fa so la so fa me re do
do re mi fa so la ti la so fa mi re do
do re mi fa so la ti do ti la so fa mi re do
Now, let’s go back to just do re mi.
Here is a poem I will ask you to insert do, re or mi into. Only use those three notes and write them on top of the word in the poem on the line. You may put the notes in any order you choose, but end the last note on do. When you are all done, sing your composition.
____________ ______________ _________________
One two three,
____________ _________ ____________ __________ ____________
Birds are in the tree.
___________ __________ ___________ __________ _________ _________ _________
Watch them fly up in the sky
___________ ____________ _____________
One two three
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Different key for beginner recorder:
If you want to do this in the same key that we did for recorder last year, start on a G, which is the second line up from the bottom of the staff.
In this case G is do, A is re, and B is mi. Play with it and have fun.
Song Maker - another app to play with and have fun
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/
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Lesson #3 4.20.20
Expression is an element of music.
There are other elements of music that influence expression: tempo (fast or slow), phrases (most phrases are eight beats long), and dynamics (how loud or soft music is).
Music would be pretty boring without some expression. When we are excited about something, and sing a song that way, it shows and conveys more feeling and understanding of the piece.
If you are excited about something, do you think the tempo will be faster or slower? Are you more apt to have the dynamics be louder or softer? And what about the phrases? Do they feel longer or shorter?
Excitement isn’t the only expression.
Here is a list of sixteen different expressions:
frustrated hopeful excited silly
shy sad afraid super serious
ashamed guilty proud robot
nervous grouchy bored dizzy
Take a regular size piece of school paper and fold it over four times. You will have created sixteen rectangles. Write an expression on each of the rectangles and then cut them out.
Place the words in a container (like a bowl or hat). Shake it up and draw one of the expressions out.
Say the following poem with the expression that you have pulled out. (I’ve included the rhythm below the words, but you don’t have to say the rhythm out loud):
2, 4, 6, 8, meet me at the garden gate.
ta, ta, ta, ta, ti - ti, ti- ti, ti - ti, ta
If I’m late, please don’t wait. 2, 4, 6, 8
ti – ti, ta, ti - ti, ta ta, ta, ta, ta
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Did some words make you say the poem slower? faster? louder? softer?
How many phrases do you think this poem has, two or four? Hint: When you feel most likely to take a breath naturally, or a pause, that is probably the end of a phrase.
Repeat this activity by pulling out a different expression from your container.
Maybe you can play this activity with a family member? They just may crack you up.
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Listen to another section of Carnival of the Animals. Do you think the composer, Camille Saint Saens has a sense of humor?
I think he has a long list of expressive words floating through his mind at all times.
Lesson #4c 4.27.20
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Mirroring with Partners: tempo and phrase
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Please find a recording of Common Threads by Bobby McFerrin on my website: https://parvimckay.wixsite.com/mckays-music-
(If you are unable to access the recording, please sing or play a soft song 3-4 minutes. Someone can even hum.)
Find a quiet place where you can also listen to the music. Sit or stand opposite from someone and begin by making a shape that they can copy.
Keep your movement silent, fluid, and slow. Please have the room quiet and do not talk. Try to relax during this exercise, it can be very calming. If you have someone who can ring a bell or make a quiet sound periodically then you can take turns being the leader when you hear the sound.
What is the tempo?
Are the phrases long or short?
Lesson #5a 5.4.20
Russian Sailors Dance
TEMPO – how fast or slow is the music?
Listen to the Russian Sailor’s Dance from the Red Poppy.
I had the pleasure of playing this piece on my string bass in the 9th grade when I was in orchestra. I loved playing this! There were two of us that played the string bass and it was so fun.
The composer: Reinhold Gliere, was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1875 and died in 1956. His father made wind instruments. Reinhold played violin and taught lessons. He also liked to compose music.
In 1927, Reinhold was inspired by a famous ballerina to write a ballet entitled “The Red Poppy”. This is probably his most famous work of art and is often used as an encore at the end of orchestra concerts.
The wonderful thing about this piece is the many changes of tempo, dynamics and textures of different instruments playing. We will focus mostly on tempo.
As you listen to this piece, put your finger on each section, beginning with the introduction.
It’s okay if you get lost, many of us will, but keep going, you will still recognize some things.
Listen to it two or three times or more. In my classroom, I would have you moving to the tempo.
You can try that after listening to it once. If you don’t want to move your body, use your fingers hands and arms.
hint: Each numbered section as 24 beats. I think it's easier to count eight beats at a time, so count to eight three times before moving to the next section.
Begin counting after the introduction. You know when the introduction is over because the music stops suddenly.
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If you are able to find the beat it is easier to know when to move from section to section.
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Enjoy.
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Lesson #6a 5.11.20 .........................................................................................................
5th Grade Lesson #6a 5.11.20
Syncopation
Pronunciation: sing kah pay tion
Syncopation is when the strong beat lands on an off beat.
When you have four beats: 1 2 3 4 your stronger beats are usually 1 and 3
Your weaker beats are usually 2 and 4.
Clap on beats 1 and 3 and lightly pat your lap on 2 and 4. Ready?
1 2 3 4
clap pat clap pat good! ……………..but that’s not syncopation.
Syncopation is putting the clap on 2 and 4 and the softer pat on 1 and 3.
The rhythm is usually more complicated than what you have done in the past.
But remember this?
Ma- ma says no play
ti – ta – ti ta ta
accent The accent is where you clap a little harder or louder. An accent mark
is a sideways V. Draw one sideways V under the first ta below
the note to the left. Be careful to only put it under the first quarter note (ta).
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ti ta ti ta ta
Tap or clap the rhythm eight times while you say the poem.
Mama, says no play
This is a work day
Up with the bright sun
Get all the work done
If you will help me
Climb up the tall tree
Shake the papaya
Down (rest)
Yes! Now, here is a Hebrew Song called “Artsu Alinu” on page two.
The translation to this song is: We went up to our land.
We have plowed and we have sowed.
But we have not yet harvested.
The translation to this song is:
We went up to our land.
We have plowed and we have sowed.
But we have not yet harvested.
Notice the time signature? It is 2/4 instead of the 4/4 that we played for the Papaya rhythm. The “2” stands for two beats to a measure. The bottom number “4” means a quarter note gets one beat. The first measure is syncopated: ti ta ti.
The second measure is not: ta ta.
Even though we are in 2/4 time instead of 4/4 time, the rhythm for the first two lines is much the same. Listen to the recording and see if you can tap the rhythm when you hear it. (The 5th graders two years ago sang this song at their Spring Concert. They sang it in two parts. It can go quite fast and is played with a lot of energy.)
Play the rhythm lightly on your lap while you listen to the music for Artsu Alinu that is located on my website under 5th grade:
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Then, if you follow the link below, you will find rhythm cards. Find the rhythm card that begins with the syncopated rhythm. You are looking for ti ta ti and then there may be more notes on the card. If you can find the card with the rhythm we have been practicing, you succeeded!
https://www.tptschoolaccess.com/student-view/Mzk2MzM1MTUwMzg3NTIwMjAtMDUtMDFUMjE6MTQ6MDMuOTYyWg==
Lesson #7a 5.18.20 .........................................................................................................................................................................
5th Grade Lesson #7a 5.18.20
Improvisation: Making up different melody ideas that go with the song.
Vocabulary: Ostinato: a repeating rhythmic pattern
Listen to “The Fly” and then play the video that says “learning the phrases.
click on the following link:
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The fly made a visit to the grocery store
He didn’t even knock, he went right through the door.
He took a bite of sugar, he took a bite of ham,
Then he sat down to rest on the grocery man!
Now that you’ve heard the song, learn it phrase by phrase.
Listen to: “The Fly learning the phrases separately”
click on the following link:
The Fly - learning the phrases separately
Practice the song at least seven times so that you are comfortable with it.
The song is the A section of the piece.
Now, we will go into the B section of the piece, which has the ostinato.
Listen to the ostinato in the following video, click on the following link:
Su-gar, ham. My, oh my, he ate the
ti - ti, (rest) ta (rest) ta ti ta ti - ti - ti repeat 4 times
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Repeat saying the ostinato out loud at least seven times. Then, you can begin to improvise with it. Sing the words using notes you make up out of your head. You can also tap it out on cups or a table while you work it out.
I have provided three different singing examples of the ostinato in the following video. You can come up with any notes you choose. Click on the following link:
Examples of different melodies for the ostinato
If you want to experiment with different kitchen percussion sounds on the
ostinato, that’s okay, just ask permission from your family first.
Here is a possible form you can use:
A B A B A
song ostinato song ostinato song
voice percussion
sounds
After you practice, sleep on it. Try singing some new melodies everyday this week.
There are many times in our lives that we have to improvise, meaning that we have to come up with different ways of doing things. Look at our online classes at school. We had to come up with a different way of learning when we were not allowed to gather in the building. We improvised. We were not necessarily good at it in the beginning, but we kept at it, practiced, and got better. That is the same for many things in life. In music, the improvisation eventually turns into composition, where we are writing our own songs.
Lesson #8a 5.26.20 ...............................................................................................................................................
Cup Game: rhythm, patterns, phrase
You might already know or have seen the cup game. This is a traditional Appalachian game that became very popular a few years ago. Here are some words that help to make the game easier.
1 2 3 4
clap clap bum-ble - bee Bumblebee is one word, but I separated it
clap up down to show “bee” on the 4th beat. Where you do
clap turn touch touch not see a word on the 4th beat, it is a rest.
change pat down The numbers in this chart represent the beats.
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Where are the eighth notes? Answer: They would be where you are clapping “ti-ti”.
Did you guess? Answer: The eighth notes are on the word “bumble”. All the other notes are quarter notes (you say “ta” on a quarter note).
There are four measures:
1) ta, ta, ti-ti, ta 2) ta, ta, ta, (rest) 3) ta, ta, ta, ta 4) ta, ta, ta (rest).
We will use the words to keep the rhythm going. Use the visual that works the best for you.
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Here is another way to learn the words for memory:
Fold a regular size piece of notebook paper or blank printer paper in half three times. Open it up and cut out all sixteen sections.
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write “clap” on four different squares
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write “bumblebee” on one square (it covers beats three and four)
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write “down” on two different squares
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write “up” on one square
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write “turn” on one square
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write “touch” on two different squares
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write “change” on one square
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write “pat” on one square
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You have three squares left over, discard them.
Put the cards in order of the phrases like you see the diagram to the left.
Say the whole thing, then take a card off and place it where you can’t see it.
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Say the entire phrase again.
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Take another card off
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Say the entire phrase again.
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Etc...............
Say the words again having to remember to say the word of the card you took out. Keep taking another word off and repeating the words until you no longer have any words left but can say the entire thing for memory.
Now that you have memorized it, get a large plastic cup and practice using these motions with the words.
At home you may have to improvise if you don’t have a large plastic cup. Find something in the kitchen or the house that is a plastic cup like container that will work: measuring cup, little brother or sister’s plastic building blocks, toothbrush cup holder might work, etc. It can also be a cardboard container if it is thick enough to make a decent sound.
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This diagram tells you what to do on each word, but when you do the cup game, follow the pattern of words above to stay on track.
Here is Anna Kendrick showing her version of the cup game. It’s too fast for a beginner, but if you practice you can get there! Click on the link below and click on “skip ads” when you see them.
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Lesson #8b 5.26.20 .......................................................................................................................................................
Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: counting eight beat phrases
Recording by Glenn Turner and Five Guys Named Moe
Have you ever ridden the train? In our country’s history there are many parts of the country where riding the train was and still is very common when traveling. It’s exciting when the train begins to get up to speed. This song embodies the joy of riding the train.
A lot of music is divided into eight beat phrases. When the music starts you will hear an introduction that begins with a train whistle followed by music that is unmetered (meaning you won’t be able to count any beats). Then, you will hear some music that you can count. When that happens, count to eight four times and then you will hear the singer come in. Go back over the introduction 3-5 times if necessary to try and get it right. Then do a movement for eight beats.
Activity: This is most fun when you play it with someone else, so if you can find a partner, go for it. If you can’t find a partner you can do this by yourself.
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Do a body percussion movement for eight beats.
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Stop while your partner copies your movements
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Continue doing another movement for eight beats and then stopping so that your partner can copy you.
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After a while, you can change who the leader is.
Examples:
Partner #1) clap, clap, clap, clap, pat, pat, pat, pat
Partner #2 copies you while you stand still
Partner #1) stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp stomp, stomp, stomp
Partner #2 copies you while you stand still
Partner #1 stomp, stomp, pat, pat, clap, clap, snap, snap,
Partner #2 copies you while you stand still
I recommend you start out simple. Maybe only use one movement for eight beats until you get the hang of it.
Click on the link below
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This music, in the genre of blues and jazz, is what's known as a "twelve bar blues".
This song is also know as "jump blues". Jump blues came about when songwriters, who had a background in country and western music, began writing the "blues". This song was composed by Darling, Horton and Gabler. It gets you moving! Turn it on when you have to clean up your room, or do the dishes!
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Here is what to expect once you turn the music on:
1. Train whistle
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2. Unmetered Music
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​3. Introduction: count to 8 four times (=32 beats)
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4. Singing comes in: do a movement for 8 beats and stop while someone copies you for another 8 beats.
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5. Repeat
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6. Movements, clap, snap, pat, stomp, walk, tap, finger walk your fingers across the table, etc.
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Be creative!
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If you are unable to access this recording, use another song or play one off the radio that is easy to count.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The Bones ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
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“The Bones” with lyrics (click on "Bones Choir music" below, it will take you to the JW Pepper Media player )
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2. “The Bones” without lyrics - click on the link below: (remember, don't come in until you hear the eight beat phrase twice)
3. To hear the teachers version of the song click on the link below
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ya866-CZVqfCcKoiDmUH-cg5NbziFk2w/view?usp=sharing
We’re in the homestretch of the hard times
We took a hard left, but we’re alright
Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it, but
We build this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move it.
When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it rain-----’cause you and I remain the same
When there ain’t a crack in the foundation
Listen, I know any storm we’re facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don’t fall when the bones are good
Ooh---
Call it dumb luck, but I know you and I
Can’t even mess it up, although we both try
No, it don’t always go the way we planned it
But the wolves came and went and we’re still standing
When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it rain-----’cause you and I remain the same
When there ain’t a crack in the foundation
Listen, I know any storm we’re facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don’t fall when the bones are good
Ooh--------- Ooh---------
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Around the World
Try to say the answer before I do. You can also compete with a family member. Keep track of all the answers you got right.
click on this link to play the game