Music 405 Projects
Emily Nesselrode
Piggyback Song
"I Am Special"
I am special, yes I am
Yes I am, yes I am
I am special yes I am,
I am special.
No one has a smile like mine,
Smile like mine, smile like mine
No one has a smile like mine
I am special.
No one has a mind like mine...
No one has a laugh like mine...
This song would be great to do at the beginning of the day for a group of students. It could also be used in reference when a particular student is having a tough day. Actions could also be easily incorporated to this song, such as pointing to their head (mind) and smile, and doing a "belly laugh". I am excited to see how I will incorporate this into my day in the future!
Musical Transitions
"It's Time For Fractions" Transition Song
Its time for math now,
So don't get lazy,
And pay attention,
Fractions are crazy!
Numerators on top,
It can get hazy,
Denominators on bottom,
Fractions are crazy!
"Silent Reading" Transition Song
This transition song is to the popular tune of “Frere Jaque”. This could be used to sing before beginning reading time. It could be repeated, and sang more and more quietly each time, so kids got in the quiet mood for silent reading. Here are a few lyrics I would use for this tune:
Time for reading, time for reading,
Choose your book, choose your book,
Quiet as a mouse now, you already know how,
Read read read, read read read.
"It's Time for Lunch" Transition Song
This transition song is to the tune of the popular clapping song “Miss Mary Mack”. I would want to use this song when it is time to line up and go to lunch. It would be a good cue so you did not have to shout to the class. You could even create actions or a clapping pattern along with the song to incorporate kinesthetics. Here are the lyrics I came up with:
It’s time for lunch, lunch, lunch
With my favorite bunch, bunch, bunch
I want to munch, munch, munch
It’s time for lunch, lunch, lunch.
"Line Up" Transition Song
Eyes are watching, ears are listening,
mouth is closed, mouth is closed
Hands are very still, feet are very still
We're going __________ (home, lunch, PE, the library, etc.)
"It's Clean Up Time We Know" Transition Song
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho
It's cleanup time we know
So find some trash to throw away
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho
It's cleanup time we know
So find some books to put away
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho...
"Give Me a Clap" Transition Song
Give me a clap. (Clap twice.)
Give me a clap. (Clap twice.)
Give me a clap, give me a clap, give me a clap. (Clap twice.)
Give me a snap. (Snap twice.)
Give me a snap. (Snap twice.)
Now fold your hands, and put them down into your lap.
"A Coloring We Go" Transition Song
A coloring we’ll go, a coloring we’ll go
Hi ho, it’s fun you know, a coloring we’ll go.
Use straight and wavy lines, use straight and wavy lines
With yellow, purple, green, and red,
We’ll make our picture fine.
A coloring we’ll go, a coloring we’ll go
We’ll put them in the box and close the top
When we’re done, you know.
Listening Experiences
Carnival of the Animals
I loved getting to hear the contrast and different representations of the animals in the various compositions. The animals were all depicted in ways that I think were spot on to their personalities and traits. For example, the lion piece was majestic and powerful, which are both characteristics of the “King of the Jungle”. The aviary piece was light and airy, just like the movement and nature of birds of the wild. I loved the opportunity to explore animals through music. I think using this piece for a physical movement activity would be a great idea in the classroom. I could have the students depict the sounds they hear describing different animals through physical movement. For example, they could crawl on all fours during “The Tortoise”, and hop around during “Kangaroos”. This would also be done for musical chairs or any other popular classroom game. These pieces could also be used if the class is preparing for a trip to the zoo, or starting a new unit about types or groups of animals. The possibilities are truly endless!
Peter and the Wolf
Listening to Prokofiev’s reminded me of the popular Disney version of this story that I used to love as a kid. You can really hear a story being told throughout listening to this piece and that is what I love most about it. You can tell when suspense is building, or something bad is about to happen. I would love to read Warren Chappell’s book based off of this song in the classroom, and play it either during or after I read. I could even have the kids read the book in groups to practice expression and voice when reading, which would transfer over into their musical abilities. This would also be a great way to teach rising action, climax, falling action and resolution during a literature lesson, and have the students create their own story maps. I could even have the students watch the Disney version after reading to put a visual to mind and connect the music and the story together. I love how many options this song and book give me to use in the future!
A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
I liked how this piece gave each section of the orchestra a time to shine, but still tied everyone in the composition. The chorus is so powerful and iconic, and was a great way to warn the listener when a new group of instruments was about to play. The dynamics and tone of this piece were also very powerful and gave it so much personality and depth. I think this would be a great way to introduce kids to the basic groups of instruments in an orchestra. After reviewing the different types, I could play this song and have the kids guess what group of instruments is playing. They could do this by holding up pictures of the different groups of instruments, or I could even create actions that they could do to depict the different groups of instruments. I definitely learned a lot from the piece, and I’m sure my future students could also!
My Jeopardy Game
Exploring State Songs- An American Roadtrip
Introduction
This is a musical journey that will take us coast to coast throughout the US to learn about different songs of our states. Some songs are the officials anthems of their state, and others are adopted by the states as “unofficial” tunes. Below is a map and a listing of the states and songs that we will be exploring. We will be looking at the history of the songs and how they were chosen as official and unofficial state songs. Pack your bags, and let’s travel with music!
- Kansas- “Home on the Range”
- Connecticut- “Yankee Doodle”
- Georgia- “Georgia on my Mind” (Ray Charles)
- Oklahoma- “Oklahoma!” (Rogers and Hammerstein)
Home on the Range
Our travels start right here and home in Kansas, where we explore our official state song “Home on the Range”. The words actually began as a poem by Brewster Higley called “My Western Home” which was published in a newspaper in Smith County, Kansas. Daniel Kelley, a friend of Higley’s, then wrote music to his poem. This song quickly became an anthem for cowboys and settlers, and Kansas adopted it as its song as a tribute to the new American West. While some of the lyrics have changed slightly over time, the message and basics have not been altered since the song’s creation. Below are a few of the different adaptions of the song, including the version that is sung today!
Dr. Brewster Higley (1876)
Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam
Where the Deer and the Antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Chorus
A home! A home!
Where the Deer and the Antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Oh! give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Throws its light from the glittering streams,
Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
Like the maid in her heavenly dreams.
Chorus
Oh! give me a gale of the Solomon vale,
Where the life streams with buoyancy flow;
On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever,
Any poisonous herbage doth grow.
Chorus
How often at night, when the heavens were bright,
With the light of the twinkling stars
Have I stood here amazed, and asked as I gazed,
If their glory exceed that of ours.
Chorus
I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours,
I love the wild curlew's shrill scream;
The bluffs and white rocks, and antelope flocks
That graze on the mountains so green.
Chorus
The air is so pure and the breezes so fine,
The zephyrs so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home here to range
Forever in azures so bright.
Chorus
William and Mary Goodwin (1904)
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
There seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Chorus:
A home, a home
Where the deer and the antelope play,
There seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Yes, give me the gleam of the swift mountain stream
And the place where no hurricane blows;
Oh, give me the park where the prairie dogs bark
And the mountain all covered with snow.
Chorus
Oh, give me the hills and the ring of the drills
And the rich silver ore in the ground;
Yes, give me the gulch where the miner can sluice
And the bright, yellow gold can be found.
Chorus
Oh, give me the mine where the prospectors find
The gold in its own native land;
And the hot springs below where the sick people go
And camp on the banks of the Grande.
Chorus
Oh, give me the steed and the gun that I need
To shoot game for my own cabin home;
Then give me the camp where the fire is the lamp
And the wild Rocky Mountains to roam.
Chorus
Yes, give me the home where the prospectors roam
Their business is always alive
In these wild western hills midst the ring of the drills
Oh, there let me live till I die.
Chorus
John A. Lomax (1910)
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.
Chorus
Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.
Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free,
The breezes so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home on the range
For all of the cities so bright.
Chorus
The red man* was pressed from this part of the West
He's likely no more to return,
To the banks of Red River where seldom if ever
Their flickering camp-fires burn.
Chorus
How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light from the glittering stars
Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours.
Chorus
Oh, I love these wild prairies where I roam
The curlew I love to hear scream,
And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks
That graze on the mountain-tops green.
Chorus
Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Flows leisurely down the stream;
Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along
Like a maid in a heavenly dream.
Chorus
Yankee Doodle
Next stop: Connecticut! It is quite a trip, but very worth it to learn about this popular and iconic American tune. Many do not know that this song was originally sung by British soldiers making fun of American “Yankees” during the Revolutionary War. Truth be told, it still makes me giggle to this day! Many artists, including Archibald MacNeal Willard, have created their own visual representations of Yankee Doodle (image is shown below). Each term in the song also has unique meaning that not many still use to this day. “Doodle” is derived from a German word that means “fool or simpleton.” “Macaroni” was becoming a new popular wig trend for men who cared greatly about their appearances. The British took this term to the extreme and used it to make fun of colonists, claiming they were feminine and weak. So, why did Connecticut, and the rest of the US, take this song and make it a popular anthem? Well, we did what anyone would do-- make it our own way to tease the enemy! After being ridiculed enough, American soldiers finally decided that they would use the tune to mock the arrogant British and make it all their own. Well, looks like it worked!
Below: "The Spirit of '76 (aka Yankee Doodle)" by Archibald McNeal Willard
Georgia on my Mind
Our next stop takes us down to the south in Georgia, where Ray Charles’ rendition of Georgia on my Mind became the state song in 1960. While Charles was not the original writer of the song, he was one of the most iconic artists to make it famous. The song was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930, and it was long misunderstood whether the song was written about the state, or a woman named Georgia. It was later discovered that Carmichael’s friend recommended that he write a song about the South, since he felt like it was overlooked in music. Thus we have concluded that the song was in fact about the state of Georgia.
In 1960, Georgia took the number one spot on the Billboard Top 100 after Ray Charles’ famous cover. Many years later, it was included on Georgia’s license plates and was one of the songs played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Lyrics:
Georgia, Georgia
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
I said a Georgia, Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in the peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
I said, Georgia, oh Georgia
No peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
Oh Georgia, Georgia
No peace, no peace I find
Just an old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
I said, just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
Online Music Games
The following websites are great for elementary students to explore concepts of music. The sites include everything from quizzes to fun interactive games. Take a look of what I found, and what I will attempt to incorporate into my future classroom!
Music Tech Teacher
This site includes many quizzes and activities that help kids learn the fundamentals of music, such as identifying features of a keyboard and listening to rhythm patters. This would be great to help students feel comfortable in the world of music, and could be used formally or informally for tests and quizzes for students. Here is the link:
PBS Kids- Music Games
As I have gone deeper and deeper into the world of education, I have learned that PBS is an amazing site for elementary kids of almost any age! I was not surprised to find that PBS had their own special music section filled with school appropriate games for kids. The site includes so much, including a game on how to make your own band, and games starring characters from students favorite shows. Here is the link:
Theta Music Trainer
This interesting site is great for beginning musicians and singers. It is sort of like “brain” games to help kids train their ear, strengthen their sense of pitch and tone, and other vital skills. The games get students involved with balancing out the sounds of a band, recognizing pitch changes, and even how to manipulate an equilizer unit! This site would definitely be great for the student who is serious about gaining musical knowledge and improving their skills. Here is the link:
Midnight Music
This site focuses more on virtual instruments that students can play online. It provides links to various instruments, and would be great for a student who wants to start a new instrument. The site also includes links to fun online music games for use in the classroom. Overall, the links were very helpful and would be great for classroom involvement. Here is the link: