4th grade: Recorders

4th grade parents, 

Your students should be bringing home a letter on Friday about recorders. 4th grade will be starting recorders the week of October 21. 

Recorders can be purchased for $4 through the school, or students can provide their own. Either way, however, students need to return the recorder form. 

If you need another copy of the form, click the following link:

Recorder form

Please return the completed form with payment by WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16.

Thanks!

-Mrs. Minch

Trumpet help

5th grade trumpeters:

This video might be helpful to those of you who are having trouble with those first few notes on the trumpet. I suggest you follow the teacher in this video and pause as needed to practice what it is that he's talking about.

Weekly email

Here is what's going on in the music classroom this week!

5th grade:

Thursday is the big day! Our 5th grade musical performance, Let's Sing, America!, is this Thursday at 7:00pm. Parents, please make sure your students are in their teachers' classrooms no later than 6:40pm on Thursday! Students are encouraged to dress up in patriotic colors. Military & scout uniforms are also encouraged. (Please be sure that outfits are school appropriate.)

If your student has a speaking part, please check with them to make sure it's memorized!

3rd/4th grade:

We are starting our unit on our new composer of the month, Frederic Chopin, and his instrument of choice: the piano. 

We will discuss how the piano is a member of two instrument families: the percussion family & the string family.  Students will watch a video about how the piano is made. They will also learn about the waltz, a kind of dance rhythm that Chopin liked to use in many of his pieces. We will watch a video of the famous pianist Lang Lang playing Chopin's very fast "Minute Waltz". 

2nd grade:

We are starting our unit on our new composer of the month, Frederic Chopin, and his instrument of choice: the piano. 

Students will learn about a type of music Chopin liked to compose, called a nocturne. We will make connections between art and music, and then students will create their own piece of art inspired by a piece of music by Chopin. 

We will also sing the folk song "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush". Students will create with their own words and actions for part of the song. 

1st grade:

We are starting our unit on our new composer of the month, Frederic Chopin, and his instrument of choice: the piano. 

Students will learn about a type of music Chopin liked to compose, called a nocturne. Students will learn about connections between art and music, and then will color a picture of Chopin and practice writing his name while listening to a nocturne. 

We will also sing the folk song "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush". Students will create with their own words and actions for part of the song. 

Would you like a FREE private lesson with one of Tucson's best teachers??

Parents & students,

I wanted to make you aware of a great opportunity for a FREE private lesson coming up next Saturday at the U of A. If your student is in band or orchestra and could use some extra help, or would like to get ahead, I highly encourage you to check it out! It looks like a neat event and I'm curious to see how it goes.

5th grade program information!

(This letter is being sent home to 5th grade classes week, but in case it gets lost on the way... here it is again!)

Dear parents,

We are very excited for our 5^th grade musical program coming up! The program will take place on Thursday, September 19 at 7:00 pm in the Sycamore MPR. As is traditional, the 5^th graders will be singing a patriotic program about the USA. All 5^th grade classes will be participating.

There are a few things you can do to help! First, we would like all students to be dressed in something that sticks with the patriotic theme of red, white, & blue. Additional accessories (Uncle Sam hats, decorative hair bows, etc.) are welcome, as long as they don’t interfere with the student’s visibility or ability to sing, or hinder those around them. Please be sure that all outfits follow the school dress code.

Students are to be in their teacher’s classroom by 6:40pm on Thursday evening. This will be a large event, so I encourage you to get there early and scope out a good seat!

In final preparations, please help your child memorize the song lyrics from the lyric sheet that I sent home a couple of weeks ago. (Another copy of the lyrics can be found at sycamoreelementarymusic.blogspot.com.) If your child also has a speaking part, please help him or her in memorizing that part.

Parents, I hope you can be there! I know that your students have been working very hard and I have been amazed at their progress. They are excited to perform for you. J

Sincerely,

Mrs. Minch

Sycamore music teacher