Music Notes: End of December 2013

Music Notes

December 2013

Greetings from the Lannoye music room!

I’m very proud of all of our students for the spectacular winter concert performance they gave earlier this week! They were great vocalists, instrumentalists, speakers, and audience members. Audience members were able to witness this cross-sectional view of students’ growth from kindergarten through 5^th grade. We had a great turnout and a wonderful day of performing!

As a reminder, whenever your child goes to any performance (band, choir, etc.) outside of the school day, if s/he brings back a program with a sentence written on it stating one thing s/he liked about the concert and why, s/he will receive a DRUM (Demonstrating Respect and Understanding in Music) card. I encourage everyone to explore the musical performances in the area. Speaking of which, there is a time change for tomorrow night’s Christmas Collage concert, featuring the Pulaski Area Community Band, children’s choir, and Ringers & Singers.

            Thursday, December 19          7 - 8 pm           Community Band Christmas Collage
                                                                                                PHS Ripley PAC

Attending outside performances is not required, but it is a great way to explore the musical happenings in the community (and a way for your child to earn a DRUM card). J

Glancing ahead to area performances in 2014…

If your family is interested, there is a variety of shows coming to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton in the next six months, including Wicked (The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch of the West’s perspective), Step Afrika! (a professional step show), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act, The Phantom of the Opera (the longest-running show in Broadway history), and the Fox Valley Symphony’s performance of Carmina Burana. There will also be a variety of performances at the Weidner Center in Green Bay, including Man of la Mancha (the musical about the literary character Don Quixote), West African Dance of Madison, and the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Ode to Joy. The Meyer Theatre in Green Bay is also hosting numerous events, including Doctors in Recital (over 50 area physicians perform musically to raise money for local charities), Gaelic Storm, and multiple performances by both the Civic Symphony of Green Bay and the Allouez Village Band. Over break, I will assemble a blog post with all of this information in it and more, including ticket prices and links to the events.

Moving back to the present, the 2^nd graders are finishing up their unit on The Nutcracker this week. In addition to learning about (and listening to) the story, they learned about the similarities and differences between authors, composers, and choreographers. They also learned a fun fact about composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: He was convinced that if he conducted an orchestra, his head would fall off! He combated this fear by holding his head with one hand and conducting with the other. The students also took a field trip to see the Northeastern Wisconsin Dance Organization perform highlights of Act II of The Nutcracker last Friday, and they found it enjoyable, with “relaxing music,” as one student told me afterward.

I've really enjoyed the portion of 2013 that I spent with your children, and I’m looking forward to continuing our learning and music-making journey in 2014! Happy holidays and safe travels, everyone!

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Ms. Corinne Galligan
(920) 822-0433
cmgalligan@pulaskischools.org
lannoyemusic.blogspot.com 

Happy Holidays!

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I would share some fun music-related holiday videos with you all!

Straight No Chaser: "12 Days of Christmas"
Straight No Chaser is a male a cappella group (no instruments). Here is their rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas"...with some other songs thrown in the middle of it!

Claymation Christmas: "Carol of the Bells"
This piece probably sounds familiar, but it might look different in this video! The narrator has a "hunch" (get it - because Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, is conducting it?) that it will be a good performance. Instead of having people play the bells, the bells play themselves! One of the bells is rather naughty, though...how will they get through the piece of music?!

Claymation Christmas: "Here We Come A-Waffling"
This clip from Claymation Christmas is a parody (silly version) of the song "Here We Come A-Wassailing." This is the original version of the 3rd graders' song "Here We Come A-Caroling." However, "wassailing" kind of sounds like "waffling," so there is a bit of confusion...until some carolers turn up singing the original song and explain that wassailing is caroling!

The Piano Guys: "Angels We Have Heard on High"
This is the 32-fingers-and-8-thumbs (how many people is that?) version of "Angels We Have Heard on High."

The Piano Guys: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Isn't it such a bummer when nothing you do impresses your own dog?

The Piano Guys: "We Three Kings"
I'd be a little scared to play on an ice rink...

The Piano Guys: "O Come, Emmanuel"
This has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs. It just has such a beautiful melody!

The Piano Guys: "Carol of the Bells" for 12 cellos
This video shows the awesomeness of video editing.

Pentatonix: "The Little Drummer Boy"
Pentatonix is an a cappella (without instruments) group. They do some really neat song arrangements!

Pentatonix: "Angels We Have Heard on High"'

Lindsey Stirling: Celtic Carol
Lindsey Stirling composes, arranges, and choreographs her own music and dances. She's a YouTube violin sensation with lots of videos and lots of views! (And no, she's not always dressed like an elf.)

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

"Christmas Don't Be Late" (The Chipmunks Song)

United States Air Force Band: Holiday Flash Mob 2013
Featuring both "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Joy to the World"
The USAF Band (plus a few strings and singers) did a flash mob performance at the National Air and Space Museum.

Do you have any other videos you think should be in this post? Send me an email at cmgalligan@pulaskischools.org with the link, and if I agree, I'll add it!

Found Instruments: Ice, Garbage Cans, Sports Equipment, Vegetables, Cars...and more!

Not all instruments have a place in the band or orchestra. Some of them are called found instruments, which basically means that if you can pick something up and make a sound on it...congratulations, you've found an instrument!

Not all found instruments fit nicely into the woodwind/brass/string/percussion categories, but they fit into even broader instrument categories. These categories are the following:

• Idiophone (produces sound through vibration, like claves, guiro, xylophone, maracas, etc.)
• Membranophone (produces sound by vibrating a stretched membrane, like that of a drum head; examples include drums and kazoos)
• Chordophone (produces sound by vibrating one or more strings; includes piano, violin, banjo, etc.)
• Aerophone (produces sound using a vibrating column of air, like flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, whip, slide whistle, etc.)
• Electrophone (produces sound electronically, like the clavinova (the piano in the classroom) or theremin) 

Now for the cool part: seeing found instruments in action!

Ice of Lake Baikal in Siberia (a super-cold, very large part of Russia)

Stomp!

Basketballs and shoes

Vegetables

All sorts of things...not necessarily all "found," but quite complex (link to the creative process for the music video and all the planning that went into it - super neat!)

Household objects
Please note that this is a Swedish comedy film with trained actors. Do not treat your electrical appliances like this. Do not use other people's toothbrushes. Do not spray all of the hairspray and perfume you can get your hands on at once. Be safe. This has been a public service announcement from the music room.

Created from garbage in a landfill

This video is especially neat because not all areas of the world have the money for music education, and this is one way that a town in Paraguay has devised to combat this issue.

If you want to earn a DRUM card, watch at least 2 of these videos and tell me what you thought about them in at least 3-5 sentences using proper spelling and grammar (as well as proper punctuation and capitalization!).

Music Notes: End of November 2013

Music Notes

End of November 2013

  

Greetings from the Lannoye music room!

We are currently deep in our winter concert preparations here in the music room. As a reminder, our winter concert will be held on Monday, December 16, with performances at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm. All grades, K-5, will be performing. I will send out a reminder email to all parents closer to the event.

Speaking of performances, I would like to congratulate the 5th graders on their spectacular performance in the first-ever district-wide Kaleidoscope Concert last Thursday, November 14! They were excellent performers and audience members, and judging from the reflection surveys I received, they enjoyed it a lot! I was very proud of them for all of the work they put into the concert. Thank you, 5^th grade parents, for bringing them to the dress rehearsal and the concert. We all appreciate it!

December is a time of plenty of performances. Whenever your child goes to any concert (band, choir, etc.) outside of the school day, if s/he brings back a program with a sentence written on it stating one thing s/he liked about the concert and why, s/he will receive a DRUM card. I encourage everyone to explore the musical performances in the area. Here’s a list of upcoming concerts in Pulaski that may interest your family:

            Tuesday, December 10           6:30 – 8:30 pm            PCMS Choir Concert/Bake Sale
                                                                                                PCMS Auditorium

            Saturday, December 14          7 – 8:30 pm                 PHS Sounds of the Season Concert
                                                                                                Peace Lutheran Church

            Tuesday, December 17           7 – 8:30 pm                 PHS Band and Choir Winter Concert
                                                                                                PHS Ripley PAC

            Thursday, December 19          6:30 – 7:30 pm            Community Band Christmas Collage
                                                                                                PHS Ripley PAC

Again, attending these concerts is not required, but it is a great way to explore the musical happenings in the community (and a way for your child to earn a DRUM card). J

In other recent news, the 4^th and 5^th graders attended a Civic Symphony of Green Bay concert last Friday, November 15. I was very pleased by how attentive they were and by the excitement on their faces as they got to see and hear the instruments in full ensemble action! They had a great time, and it was a wonderful way to culminate our instrument unit.

The 3^rd graders are gaining multicultural experience in music class. One of their songs for the winter concert is a traditional Russian Christmas song. The students learned about the years that Christmas was outlawed, and how the Russian people found a loophole to sing this song. (Ask your 3^rd grader what s/he learned about Russia and the USSR! If a memory trigger is necessary, their Russian history lesson is posted on the music blog.)

Kindergarten, 1^st grade, and 2^nd grade have all been continuing to reinforce topics that we learned about in October while learning our winter music. Notably, the 1^st graders have now learned the proper names for ta (quarter note), ti-ti (two eighth notes), and rest (quarter rest), and can even draw them! (Ask your 1^st grader why dogs and puppies are important to remember…)

Throughout our adventure of concert preparations thus far, I’ve been warmed by your children’s love for music and singing. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on December 16 for our winter concert!

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, please check out the blog! I updated the template so you can sign up for email updates along the right side of the home page.

Ms. Corinne Galligan
(920) 822-0433
cmgalligan@pulaskischools.org
lannoyemusic.blogspot.com

Kaleidoscope Concert

Congratulations to the 5th graders who performed in the Kaleidoscope concert tonight! Everyone did a fantastic job, and you made us all proud.

"Music Alone Shall Live" (music starts at 0:52)

"An American Celebration" (music starts at 2:00)

I got pretty excited when I heard that the high school percussionists were going to do a small feature using rhythms from Riverdance. Fun fact: I, Ms. Galligan, was an Irish dancer for 6 years throughout middle school and high school.

Here's the dance where they got the rhythm:

Another fun fact: Michael Flatley (the solo dancer in the video) toured with Riverdance for a short time before creating his own show, Lord of the Dance. His legs are insured for $40,000,000. Yes, that is the right number of zeros. By the way, he also plays the flute!

3rd Grade: "Yolochka"

The 3rd graders are learning a Russian Christmas song, "Yolochka," for the winter concert.

A Russian cartoon, Masha and the Bear, using the song "Yolochka"

There's another cartoon at the end of this post that shows the story of the tree as the song is sung.

The song is about the life of a Christmas tree (or fir tree) growing in a forest.

Photo courtesy of High Country Christmas Trees

This song has an interesting history behind it. It was first published in Russia in 1903. Russia is a country in the continent of Asia, and it's really big!

Image from mapsofworld.com 

Russia is the largest country in the world - it's almost twice the size of the United States. The map below shows an outline of Russia placed over the United States so you can compare the sizes of the two countries. 

Image from mapfrappe.blogspot.com

In 1917, a civil war started in Russia. It ended in 1922, but with a new government in place, and with larger borders. Russia combined with some other countries to form the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). 

The new government was very strict, and they had harsh punishments for people who did not follow their laws. People were no longer allowed to celebrate Christmas! Instead, the people of the USSR moved a bunch of their Christmas traditions (like decorating a fir tree and exchanging gifts) to New Year's, which they were allowed to celebrate. Since "Yolochka" is about a tree, they were still allowed to sing that song. 

The USSR dissolved (broke apart) in 1991, and now the people can celebrate Christmas again. New Year's is still a big holiday, though, after celebrating it as such for so many years.

The lyrics (or words) of the first verse look like this in Russian (which uses a different alphabet than English):

В лесу родилась елочка,

В лесу она росла.

Зимой и летом стройная,

Зеленая была.

 This is what that sounds like in English:

Vlayzoo rodeelas Yolochka
Vlayzoo ohna rosla
Zeemoy ee lee-ehtome stroynaya
Zelyonaya bilah 

And finally, here are all five verses in English:

1. The forest raised a Christmas tree,

‘Twas silent and serene

In winter and in summer

It was slender and so green.

2. The wind sang it a lullaby:

Sleep Christmas tree, sleep tight!

The snow was making clothes for it:

It was a pretty sight!

3. A trembling bunny put himself

Beneath its arms so wide;

The hungry wolf just passed him by -

A lovely place to hide!

4. Some sleigh bells rang throughout the woods,

The snow was crisp and clean,

A horsey brought a forester

To hew that tree so green.

5. And now it comes to visit us,

With lights and garlands bright,

While all the children dance and sing

To greet it with delight!

The Piano Guys (just a few of their awesome videos...)

The Piano Guys have a channel on YouTube that I definitely recommend if you are able to access it. Their story is neat - click on the first link above to check it out. Fun facts: The Piano Guys started in Utah. The cellist has ADHD and is super creative. A bunch of this group met by completely random happenstance.

Star Wars fans: Check out "Cello Wars" - The creative ideas in the video are great (light saber cello bows? Jedi versus Sith? Darth Vader plays a...what?). You'll never guess what Darth Vader plays...

"Mission Impossible" - This one is funnier when you remember that cellists have to sit down to play. Poor Steve is running around with a folding chair, and Lindsey Stirling, who guest stars in this video, is too fast for him to set up.

"Paradise" (originally by Coldplay) - Yes, the piano is actually up there. The Piano Guys have an operations manager who doubles as a "Piano Stunt Coordinator" because he's a fearless piano mover (as evidenced by where the piano is in this video).

"Rockelbel's Canon" (arrangement of Pachelbel's "Canon in D") - The cello part for this song is...repetitive...to say the least. The poor cellist plays the same 8 notes in the same order, in the same rhythm, for the whole piece. This can be bad when the cellist you hire for your wedding comes to the job sleepy...

Rock Meets Rachmaninoff - Check out the piano videos in the string family post - one of them is a Rachmaninoff piece. Here's a rocking arrangement of another Rachmaninoff piece, "Prelude in C# Minor."

I encourage you to check out more of their videos!