Juniors: All Around the Gardner's Bench

In this session we learned a song called 'All Around the Gardner's Bench' to the tune of Pop goes the Weasel.  In this song flowers in the garden pop up and when each flower is visited by the watering can they improvise a small song about the flower they are holding.  The songs that were created were beautiful.  We then had a go at creating a little melody on the glockenspiels to go with the flowers too.  We had songs and music for a sunflower, poppy, lily, blossoms, cornflower, water lily, rose, daisy, and a tulip.

Flowers ready to 'pop' out of the garden.

Watering can visiting flowers in the garden.

Creating a flower melody on the glockenspiel.

Middles: Haunted House Music

In this session we created 4 beat rhythms using words.  Having done lots of work using fruit and vegetables the boys chose the theme of a haunted house.  They created 4 beat rhythms for each other to play on the xylophone.

Middles: Music Mapping: The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods

In this session we followed a music map for the piece from Carnival of the Animals: The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods by Saint Saens.  Every time the cuckoo bird makes its call (played by a clarinet) we landed on a feathery card.  The other cards showed the piano chords in the piece.

Middles: Clapping Games and Trains

In this session we learned a clapping game that went with a rhyme called 'Engine Engine Number Nine'.  We then transferred the rhythms of this rhyme to the glockenspiels to play a train piece.  We also listened to Bobby McFerrin's piece called "The Train".

Middles Music: Rhythm Play with Cups

Using two different cup sizes we made 4 beat patterns for each other to clap.  The big cups equal whole beats and the smaller cups equal half-beats.  It was lots of fun creating rhythms and conducting them for each other.

Senior Orff Class

Here is another piece we are working on.  It is a canon by Gunild Keetman.  When we get this piece more up to speed confidently we will try it as a canon!

Senior Orff Class

This term we have worked on five different Orff style arrangements in our senior Orff class.  Here is one of our favourite pieces.  It is a work in progress, we are just starting to get all our parts together :)

Music Mapping: Bees

In this session children drew pictures of bees to map the melodic shape of a song we had learned about bees.  When the notes of the song went up the children drew bees going higher in the air, when the song went down they drew the bees flying lower.  At the end we could sing the song and follow the bee music map the children had created themselves.

The completed bee music map, with repeat signs and two different endings.  First time the song goes up and at the end the song goes down.

Action Song: Copy Cat

Children taking turns leading this song.

Singing, Music and Movement: The Owl in the Magical Forest

Owl and Clock Singing Game: Improvising owl flying music while puppets dance around.

Flying the owl puppet around the magical forest.  Each tree has its own magical sound that plays when the owl flies to it.

A very magical and expressively played woodblock!

Singing, Music and Movement: Doctor Foster

Improvising "pitter patter" raindrop music and playing raindrop rhythms on the umbrella

         

Action Song: Aiken Drum

This song is about a man who lives in the moon whose name is Aiken Drum.  For each verse children choose what he is made of, normally food related eg. "his head was made of a watermelon", "his eyes were made of raisins", "his hair was made of spaghetti".  Once we had learned this song we had a go at singing and making a musical Aiken Drum too.

An Aiken Drum Creation

Playing the Aiken Drum

Music and Movement: The Garden Snail

Snail Dance to Improvised Music

Snail Dance to Improvised Music

Improvising on Glockenspiels: Pentatonic Scale

Improvising on Xylophones: Pentatonic Scale

Music and Movement: Two Little Bluebirds

Rhyme and Rhythm: 2 little bluebirds sitting on a wall

Circle Game: Bluebird Bluebird at my Window

Dancing to Improvised Music