Music with Mrs. Karia

Whittier's new buddy bench is a hit! Stay tuned for more of Whittier chorus' original song in the upcoming weeks.

3rd- 5th Graders have been playing the West African drums for the past few weeks. We started with simple echoing activities and now have worked up to working on ensemble pieces. Ensemble pieces build listening skills, teamwork skills, and a feeling of community!

Whittier Wildcats have been listening to music around the world! Bach Cello Suite #1 in G major (played by Yo Yo Ma) Earl of Essex (played by the Royal Wind Ensemble) Call Me Maybe (arranged for clarinet, bassoon and oboe arr. by Dave Kropf) Nimrod Enigma Variations (played for U.K. Rememberance Day) Drummers from Burundi (performing in Arusha Tanzania) All these pieces can be found on YouTube if you want to hear to what your children have been listening (and stretching) to!

The treble trophy is an award given every week to a class that has an exemplary music lesson, demonstrating the three rules of Whittier: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. It has already been traveling around the school and has visited a 5th grade, a kindergarten, a 2nd grade (pictured here) and is currently with a first grade. Who will win the treble trophy next week?

This week students in all grades started playing percussion instruments. Kindergarten through 2nd graders played smaller hand drums while 3rd through 5th graders worked on the West African tubano and djembe drums. This week we were specifically discussing that rhythms are composed of long sounds, short sounds, and silences. In the upper grades we played a game "tikatika ti and stop" to work on our rhythmic listening skills. It will get harder as the year goes on. This week the whole school also listened to a piece by a brass ensemble while we did our stretches and learned the song Great Big Stars.

In these first few weeks of school all the Wildcats have been working on echoing on a limited number of pitches to master singing together in tune. These 2nd graders are already on their way to creating a beautiful unison tone!

In class we've been doing mixer dances (where you keep changing partners) . They're a great way for students to learn to cooperate and are loads of fun! Everyone also learned the song Down by the Bay this week.  It's an echo song so if you child remembers it they can sing it and you can echo. Down by the bay (down by the bay) Where the watermelons grow (Where the watermelons grow) Back to my home (back to my home) I dare not go . (I dare not go) For if I do (for if I do) My mama will say (my mama will say) Did you ever see a fly wearing a tie? Down by the bay The underlined line can be replaced with any animal and something that rhymes with it. Your child might enjoy making up their own animal rhyme with you!