Where did April go? Here are a few highlights of music happenings.

We have a new Orff instrument! Thanks to generous donations from The Parent Group and Margaret Price (Ms. Price’s wonderful mom), we were able to purchase a beautiful alto metallophone. The unveiling took place in all classes K-6, and what fun we had exploring the various attributes of this instrument.  Since then, students in Gr. 2-5 have been working on writing some “chance music”, allowing the throw of dice determine which notes will be sounded.  In preparation, we have studied several kinds of scales (major, minor, pentatonic), triads (3-note chords), sharps and flats. Students have had to choose which scale, or which specific set of notes, they want to assign to particular numbers on dice. After many throws and jotting down the results, the notes will strung together to create melodies. Students will  then be faced with decisions about how to best group the notes rhythmically to produce the best melody. Finally, the compositions will be played on an instrument of  each student’s choice from the school collection.

Our annual Spring Show is Friday, May 10 , beginning at 9:00 am, and will last about a hour.  Several students auditioned to be in the show and all grades, K-8, will be represented. We are looking forward to another  fun musical extravaganza!

Following the Big Event, TCPS students marched back into music classes.

Kindergartners learned and acted out the song, “I’m a Lucky Little Leprechaun”, each student holding a miniature “pot of gold” – very cute! They also did a circle dance to the Irish tune, “McMichen’s Reel”. They love dancing so much, we spent part of another class dancing to a different Irish tune, giving the spotlight to each student who wanted it, while the rest of us imitated their moves. They also played the game, “Redlight, Greenlight” using rhythm sticks to produce various patterns. Another highlight was singing the song, “Down By the Bay”, then coming up with their own sets of rhyming words, plus one action word, to create new verses.

Gr. 1 enjoyed having music on 3/13/13. We had fun with the fact that this date is a palindrome. We also focused on the number “three”.  We sang triads (do, mi, so) , both as block chords and as broken chords. We learned the waltz , then tried to dance to Chopin’s Minute Waltz – it’s way too fast!  Then, we learned how to direct music in 3-4 time. We also sang “My Hat, it Has Three Corners”. Another day, we danced to Irish music, spotlighting students who wished to do solos while the rest of us copied their moves. We also sang the song,”Down By the Bay”, and the students created new verses by coming up with a verb plus a set of rhyming nouns for each verse. There were some very amusing combinations!

Gr 2 and 3 practiced playing the flutophone. One day, after a good warm-up, we played “Hot Cross Buns” perfectly in tune, and in sync rhythmically, the very first time we tried!



What do you do with a drain pipe, a bagful of squishy balls, a pinwheel, and a kazoo? You learn to sing! That’s what the TCPS Chorus was doing last semester, and they had a good time doing it.

The drain pipe is a “telephone,” which our singers used to help them hear their own voices and learn to sing in tune with a lovely sound.

The squishy balls help to extend vocal range, teaching singers how to project their voices, and encourage singing into their “facial mask.”

The pinwheel is a tool used to help students learn to focus on different types of breathing (and to focus in general).

The kazoo helps them notice how the throat and jaw should feel when singing.  Just try singing through a kazoo with a closed  throat and a tight jaw!

Our singers didn’t spend their entire rehearsal time working on technique, though. They also learned fall and winter songs, practiced harmonies, and made beautiful music together. Every week there was something new for students to learn, but there was always something to come back to as well. The last song at nearly every rehearsal was the beautiful song by ABBA, “I Have a Dream.” It was a wonderful way to begin a Thursday evening.

Photos are coming, so please check in again!

In December there was a great deal of singing ringing through the halls of TCPS, which culminated in our annual winter holiday sing-along on the last day of school in 2012. What a fun way to finish the semester and send us off on our winter break!  But, up until that final day,  here’s what was going on in  music classes.

Kindergarten and First Grade: They sang and they sang. They played bells and wood blocks and coconut shells. And they danced.  Some of the songs were, “I Have a Little Dreydel”, “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah”, “Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights”, “Jingle Bells”, “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and  “Oh Happy Kwanzaa”.  It was delightful to  see students enter the Fine Arts Room, notice the rhythms of our December Rap written on the whiteboard, and begin clapping them out without any teacher instruction!  Along with some fun free-style dancing, the boys and girls also began learning one of the basic steps to the Hora.  Jenya played a special holiday solo on the keyboard for our listening enjoyment!

Gr. 2/3 had a great time reviewing the lines and spaces of the treble clef by playing the game, Treble Clef Hangman. They are becoming more comfortable playing their flutophones in ensemble too! This class thoroughly enjoyed singing  holiday songs in preparation for the all-school singalong. Kai entertained us on the keyboard,  playing “This Is Not Jingle Bells” and “The Dreydel Song”!

Gr. 4/5  continued practicing,  and some groups performed their  Reader’s Theater pieces witch go with this year’s Music Memory selections. These students are so creative and entertaining, and, by spending some time focusing on their short vignettes, they’re connecting a little more deeply with the music as well.  Paul’s interpretation of  “Night Rider” on the keyboard was riveting!

Gr. 6 continued working in their individual theory packets and practiced their individual keyboard pieces. They are making solid  progress, asking for more and more music. Yes!

Gr. 7/8 On YouTube, students watched some fine guitarists :  John Williams – classical guitarist from Australia; Van Halen -  80′s rock band; Tommy Emmanuel – current guitarist from Australia;  The Zac Brown Band – southern country/rock. Students also worked on a version of Pachelbel’s Canon. Mr. Sanchez taught them how to “palm-mute” the bass line.  Sophie accompanied herself on the keyboard and sang a stunning version of  “Under the Mistletoe”!

The TCPS chorus sang songs of  the seasons from October through December.  The hands-down student favorite was’ “I Have  a Dream”, from the musical,” Mama Mia”.  We did have a wonderful time making beautiful music together.

November has been a month of wonderful music-making at TCPS. In Gr. K -3, we celebrated this special month by learning a November rap – reading and clapping the rhythm first, then reciting the lyrics in the rhythm. Gr. K-5 listened to “Seventeen Come Sunday”, a rich orchestral piece by English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, and did various follow-up activities. The kindergartners and first graders especially enjoyed moving freely and expressively to this beautiful music. Gr. 2/3 practiced their tricky two-part rhythm piece, “Rockin’ Stix”, then played the rhythms on their flutophones. And speaking of flutophones, their ensemble is really coming together on “Hot Cross Buns”! Gr. 2/3 also learned some history of the well-known song, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, as well as learning a few more verses, which tell a story. Gr. 4/5 worked some with the soprano and alto recorders, and began to play while reading sheet music for both sized recorders. Fourth and fifth graders are looking forward to working in small groups to perform reader’s theater pieces which correspond to several of this year’s Music Memory selections. Gr. 6 continued to work on keyboard pieces and were excited to learn how to add back beats and chords to pieces they have chosen. They also worked in their music theory packets. Guitar students focused on the pop song form. They learned a bass line and a few other musical lines, which all fit together neatly when played simultaneously. From there, students broke up into two groups and created their own short pieces based on what they had learned.

Throughout the month, all classes have been singing “Give Thanks” by Marta Keen. Tomorrow, the entire TCPS community will bring our voices together and sing this song once more, just before sitting down to our delicious annual Thanksgiving feast. Here are the lyrics:

Give thanks for the sun, give thanks for the moon
Give thanks for the fresh clean air
Give thanks for the mountains, sea and shore
Give thanks for the friendship we share

Give thanks for the food we have to eat
Give thanks for loved ones too
For now is Thanksgiving and most of all
I’m thankful just to be here with you

We all have someone who’s helped us along
Who was there when we needed a hand
We all have something to be grateful for
It isn’t very hard to understand

Give thanks for the time we have with friends
Give thanks for our neighbors too
For now is Thanksgiving and most of all
I’m thankful just to be here with you

Happy Halloweeen! October was a fun month for music at TCPS. In their own music classes, Kindergarten through Gr. 3 enjoyed acting like trolls as they burst forth from their mountain cave to move to “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg. Another way our students experienced this great classic was to be “inside the music” by playing a rhythmic pattern on drums along with the recording. They had to listen carefully, then respond as the music changed tempos, paused, and suddenly again changed tempo and mood. One day in music class, boys and girls in Gr. K-5 spent some time at “the theater”, spellbound by a “live” YouTube performance of a British orchestra playing “Hedwig’s Theme” by John Williams. Ms. Jenkins was impressed by her students’ abilities to name so many instruments as they were spotlighted on the screen!

All throughout October, Gr. K and 1 delighted in singing “Five Little Pumpkins” with hand movements, sound effects and taking turns at the light switch. A frightfully fun time was had by Gr. 1 when they played a form of freeze dance and created dance patterns which were copied by their classmates. “They did the Mash, they did the Monster Mash.” Gr. K and 1 continued to practice reading and tapping out rhythms – combining quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests, and learned or reviewed the musical alphabet.

Gr. K-5 had some fun singing Charlie Brown’s Pumpkin Carols. In Gr. 4/5, while waiting for the rest of their class to arrive, Sierra, Caroline and Nikkala created a very cute and catchy rap. We were all so taken by it that we ended up spending about 15 minutes learning it, figuring out the form (ABA), playing around with back beats, and dividing the class into two groups to perform both parts simultaneously. The 3 composers decided to name it, “Big Fat Pumpkin”.

Gr. 2/3 began working on a rhythm piece called, “Rockin’  Stix”. They also began their training on the flutophone. Gr. 4/5 began their training on the soprano and alto recorders. They are excited to be training on both instruments! Gr. 6 has been practicing on the electronic keyboards, learning some rudiments of theory, and singing. Gr. 7/8 music students began learning to play “Imagine” by John Lennon, and sharing and analyzing some of their favorite music.

Check out the November blog for updates and more details about our TCPS budding musicians!

Throughout September, students in Gr. K-6 have been enjoying the music of Hawaii and learning a bit about Hawaii’s most popular instrument, the ukelele. On the first day of music class, they created a gentle Hawaiian rainstorm, using their own hands, laps, feet, and mouths to make the various percussive sounds and textures of the storm. The boys and girls also listened to some contemporary music by the very popular group, Hapa, and have also been learning to sing a song, “Ulili E” (“The Sandpiper”) which is traditionally sung from August – October, during the Aloha Festival. Along with singing and moving to the music, they have picked up shakers and practiced finding and keeping a steady beat. Kindergartners and First Graders have also learned 2 singing games: “I Have Lost the Closet Key” and “Lucy Locket”, which emphasize: working together, listening, memorizing, form and patterns, echoing, singing, crescendo, diminuendo, and having fun! Gr. 2/3 has begun their flutophone study, and Gr 4.5 has begun their study of the soprano recorder. Gr. 6 has begun their music study on the electronic keyboard, focusing first on learning the patterns of black notes, locating and naming the white notes, learning finger numbers and good hand position, and trying out a few pieces on the black keys, using a “music map”.They have also figured out which buttons to push to get chosen backbeats, voices (trumpet, organ, flute, accordian, strings, etc.) and tempo settings.

Gr. 7/8 music students have begun their study of the guitar with Mr. Anthony Sanchez. So far, they have listened to recordings and learned the forms for the blues and pop. They have also learned the names of the guitar strings, finger numbers, how to hold a guitar, the pattern of whole and half steps in a major scale, practiced rhythms using quarter notes, half notes whole notes and sixteenth notes, and have begun learning a piece based on the song, “Superstition” which Mr. Sanchez arranged for the class.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this years Spring Show! We have so many talented students who showcased their various talents — singing and dancing, playing the piano, trumpet, and violin.

A special thank you to Mr. Meyers for overseeing the MC and tech teams – John, Alek, Sammy, Ian, Jordan, and Raphael.

Click below to watch the various acts:

Acts 1-6: TCPS Chorus, Olivia & Jenya, Jenya, Gr. K/1 dance, Gr. K/1 song, Jakob

Acts 7-15: Ben, Gr. 2/3 & 8 accompanied by Peter Barnes, Livvy, Flavia, Caroline & Nikkala with the Kindergarten girls, Paul, Nikkala, Max, Hannah

Acts 16-20: Lily & Surina, Grace Karina, Hana, Nico, Gr. 4-5 Class

Acts 21-24: Whitley, Vivi, Grade 6, Whitley, Katrina, Talia, Vivi, Johnny

Acts 25-27: Kaylee, John, Surina & Chameli

The theme for the second semester of TCPS chorus is “Love, Peace and Harmony.” Students are singing in rounds such as “Shalom Chaverim” (“Peace Friends, Until We Meet Again”) and “Oh, How Lovely is the Evening.” Other musical pieces include “Waka Waka”, a fun African song about believing in oneself, “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars, “Siyahamba” (“We Are Walking in the Light), a beautiful Swahili song, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music. To  celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday, we sang one of his original songs, “Hungry, Hungry”, but changed the lyrics just a little bit to sneak in a Happy Birthday greeting to Dr. Seuss!

Students begin each chorus session by preparing their bodies and voices for singing. Students stretch and center themselves, practice correct breathing techniques by blowing on pinwheels, focus on their pitch accuracy using PVC “telephones,” and hum through kazoos to warm up their voices and to help with relaxed voice placement.

The TCPS Chorus will be performing at the TCPS Spring Show on May 18th!