Ms. Miller's Music Blog

  Hi Parents and Students,  With advanced technology, scientists are now able to study and measure effects that music has on the brain.  This short video, demonstrates the postitive benefits of learning to play an instrument and how that affects brain development.   Please enjoy! How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brai n

Hello Wonderful Tuscany Families,   These are just a few of the activities we have been doing in music recently.  Enjoy the photos! There are many fun rhythm play-alongs to use on technology.  We learned 'repeat sign' on this one, plus it helps us to track music from left to right and reinforces reading rhythms that we know. These colorful and fun ribbons are new to the school.  When we perform our movement activities, it is great to use these new ribbons to move creatively.  We are using instruments to practice reading and playing the rhythms that we know.  It's a fun way to read rhythms.  What is happening here?!   We are playing a game of "Cobbler Cobbler Mend My Shoe".  Half of the students are the "store" waiting for a customer.  While Ms. Miller sings a song in Spanish about a shoemaker, the students walk around.  At the end of the song the "customers" sit and have their shoe mended by the cobbler tapping the rhythm ...

Hi Tuscany Families, The grade 1 and 2 classes are awesome!  Please read the Success Criteria below to find out some things we have been doing in music: 1. I can move to a steady beat using various actions. 2. I can ID ta, ti-ti, and rest (gr. 2's can) 3. I can perform a steady beat in a group, while another group plays the rhythm. 4. I can perform the rhythm in a group, while another group plays the beat. 5. I can use a singing voice. 6. I can understand that pitch can be high, low, or in the middle. 7. I can understand that penta  means five and when some bars are removed from the barred instruments, the bars that are left make a pentatonic scale. 8. I can understand that music is organized into sections called FORM and is labelled with upper case letters beginning with A. 9. I can identify most environmental sounds I hear. 10. I can show different ways to use my voice, such as singing, talking, whispering, shouting and thinking.  (Ms. Miller likes the thinking voice th...

 Hi Tuscany Families; Recently, the grades 3-5 students recorded the song, "Strawberry Moon" by Tara Williamson, who composed song in Ojibiway and in English.   Tuscany registered to compete in the Canadian Music Class Challenge and chose a song by a First Nations Artist because of our rich work surrounding the First Nations people.   Let's cheer on our students for a job well done!! Strawberry Moon recording Learning Intentions for "Strawberry Moon" by Tara Williamson 1. I can sing the melody. 2. I can understand that the melody makes a song recognizable. 3. I can understand the musical FORM of the song as A B A B A B A A 4. I can sing using good diction, enunciating the lyrics clearly. 5. I can sing using different dynamics. 6. I can experience singing in a group. 7. I can respond to the conductor's cues

Hi Parents; Grade 1 and 2 students have been learning how to hold the mallets properly!  The top picture shows, "come from the top, come from the top, curl and stick your thumb, curl and stick your thumb".  Below we show that the mallets are held at an angle, although they are not supposed to cross!  This is the students practicing pre-paper/pencil notation of rhythms.  The circles represent the beat and we use pop-sickle sticks to 'draw' the rhythms.  Our next step is to use paper and pencil, which they have now completed.  Grade one's can print a 'ta' and grade two's know how to notate 'ta', 'ti-ti' and a rest.  

Hello Parents;   Gr 2 classes are working on review of rhythm names, along with learning how to use mallets and the xylophones/metalophones properly.   Please practice steady beat with your child and also practice keeping a steady beat in the feet and a simple rhythm while clapping.  Being able to perform these two actions at the same time is such a great brain growing exercise and improves coordination!  I am  looking forward to a great year in music!