Hello Lowell Community. If we haven't met, I'm Anthony Spano and I've taught music here at Lowell for over 16 years. I hope to be preparing these newsletters on a regular basis to update you on what we've done, are doing, and will be doing in your child's music classes. Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments:

anthony.spano@watertown.k12.ma.us

This month, our musician of the month is the Jamaican-American musician, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte. Harry died several weeks ago at the age of 96. In addition to being a legendary and award winning actor and musician, Harry was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King's and played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.

Click below for information and music from this musician.

Students grades 1-5 have been studying the piano in class. The piano makes a great vehicle to teach basic musicianship, theory, and note reading.

In grade 2, we've been using a simpler finger-number notation system to play familiar melodies. Similarly, grade 1 will start playing next week using the same finger-number notation system.

In our older grades (3-5), we've spent several weeks last autumn learning to play the C-major scale using the traditional "thumb-under" technique. From there, we extended the lesson to include more difficult scales that include sharps and flats. This month, we're starting to read and play simple melodies and exercises in both the treble clef (right hand) and bass clef (left hand). Click below for printouts of some of the resources we use in this unit.

Grade 3-5 Piano Packet

Grade 2 Piano Packet

White Key melodies - finger notation

White Key melodies - standard notation

Scales and Triads

In music class, we begin, as early as Kindergarten, learning rhythm both aurally and visually through musical notation. In class, we often practice our rhythms in their most basic forms through body percussion or playing on rhythm sticks. Try some of the Rhythm Play Alongs below for review.