Videos From Recent Performances

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for your attendance at your child's recent music concert! I thought they all did a wonderful job, especially considering the short time they have had to work on their programs.

As the director of these programs, I love to "see" them through your eyes in order to enjoy, and improve on my own program and ideas. As such, if anyone video taped the concert and would be willing to bring me a copy of it to keep, I would very much appreciate it. Please do not bring me your original copies as I would love to keep a copy. It is ok if the video focuses the most on your own child as long as I can see the overall program as well. I am looking for videos of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and choir concerts held last week.

Thank you again for all of your support and I wish you a very relaxing summer!

Sincerely,

Juli Van Eizenga

Concerts Coming Up Next Week!

Remember your child's music concert next week!

On Tuesday, May 25th grades 1-3 will be performing at the following times:

8:30-9:15: 3rd Grade (Please look at the previous costume postings for information on what they should be wearing. They should come to the MPR already dressed at 8:20. They can drop their bags off in their classrooms first.)

9:30-10:10: 2nd Grade (There are no costumes for 2nd grade)

10:30-11:00: 1st Grade (There are no costumes for 1st grade)


On Thursday, May 27th the choir will perform at 7PM in the MPR

They can wear whatever they like but should look "nice" since it is a nighttime concert. I would like the kids to be there at 6:30 so we can run through some of the songs.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Fun Music Websites

Here are some great music websites with lots of activities and games. These are a great way for your child to learn through play! Click on the address and it will link you to the website!

http://www.creatingmusic.com

http://www.classicsforkids.com/games

http://www.dsokids.com/2001/rooms/musicroom.asp


Have fun!

Simple Tips for Healthy Singing

There is such a thing as healthy and unhealthy singing. Of course, I would like all children to use healthy singing techniques in order to produce a more beautiful sound without damaging their vocal cords. Here are some simple steps to ensure beautiful, healthy singing:

1. Open your mouth! You'd be amazed what a difference it makes when you open your mouth wide, allowing for better resonance.

2. Enunciate. Slightly over-exaggerate the words you are singing so the audience can hear you more clearly.

3. Stand up or sit up straight with your shoulders relaxed but back.

4. Drink plenty of water.

5. Try to warm-up before you sing. Long, slower tones going up and down work well. Use syllables such as "ooh" or "maa". I would bet that your kids know my warm-ups pretty well by now and could do them on their own.

6. Try to sing in your "head voice" as much as possible. The head voice is usually a light, clear sound. You can almost feel it "vibrating" in your head. I sometimes tell the kids to imagine that they are a whale with a spout coming out of their foreheads and to make their sound come out of that hole. Here is an interesting video about the head voice vs the chest voice (the lower, more aggressive sounding voice): http://www.ehow.com/video_2388050_head-voice-vs_-chest-voice.html

7. Use common sense. If it hurts, stop! It is always a good idea to take breaks and of course, have lingering problems checked by a doctor.

New Instruments for Greenbrook Students!

Exciting news for Greenbrook students! There will soon be new instruments for all students to enjoy and learn with. We are especially excited to be able to introduce Orff instruments to the school. Orff instruments were created by German composer and educator Carl Orff to be used with his Orff Schulwerk technique. This technique emphasises repeated patterns, improvisation, and musical literacy.





I truly believe that these instruments, along with the other new instruments, will really take Greenbrook's music program to the next level of excellence in learning.

The funding for these instruments was made possible through our wonderful PTA fundraisers, as well as a grant from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Thank you to Cheri Eplin for her help with the grant! I look forward to introducing these instruments to the students very soon!

Working on Rhythms

All Grade 1-3 students have been working on reading rhythms in music class. So far they have learned to clap the rhythms using "fish and whales." The whales represent quarter notes and the word "ta" is also used to represent it. The fishes represent eighth notes, and students say "ti ti" to show them. Here is a brief video, courtesy of Ms. Eplin, showing her class learning about the fish.

Mrs.V Teaching from Cheri Eplin on Vimeo.

Students will soon learn to identify the proper quarter note and eighth note symbols and will even be composing their own rhythmic music.

Ms Freeman's Class Song- Kapulu Kane

Ms. Freeman's class song is called "Kapulu Kane" and is a song from Hawaii. They will be singing it in Hawaiian and performing a puili stick movement game with it. Here are the lyrics, a pronunciation guide, and a translation of the text:

Lyrics:

Ka-pu-lu pu-lu ka-ne
(repeat 3 times)
Ku-ka-na-lu-a

Pronunciation:

kah-poo-loo, poo-loo kaha-neh
(repeat 3 times)
koo-kah-nah-loo-ah

Translation:

That careless messy man, a very messy man
No doubt that every one can plainly see, indeed!

Ms Parlett/Smutney's Class Song- Crawfish

Ms. Parlett/Smutney's class song is called "Crawfish" and is a Cajun song and dance. Here are the lyrics:

Verse:
Now there's a funny little dance
The Cajun people love to do
That when you hear me talk about it
You're gonna wanna do it to
First you shake your little tail
Shimmy back a step or two
The put your hands in the air
Do like the crawfish do

Refrain:
Crawfish!
Got to do a little mud bug boogie
Crawfish!
Do the mud bug jitter bug boogie
Crawfish!

(instrumental verse)

(sing refrain)
Crawfishin' to the left, crawfishin' to the right
Let's all go crawfishin' on a Saturday night
Crawfishin' to the front, crawfishin' to the back
Let's all go crawfishin' with a crawfish sack
Crawfishin' going up, crawfishin' going down
Let's all go crawfishin' all around this town
Crawfish! Crawfish!

Ms Erickson's Class Song- The Penguin Polka

Ms. Erickson's class song is called "The Penguin Polka" and they will be singing it and performing some polka movements. Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1: I know a penguin who likes to polka
Eats tapioca, and lives in Boca Raton

He has some freckles, a lot of speckles
And that is why we call him Polka Dot

Refrain: One and two and waddle waddle
Do the penguin polka
One and two and waddle waddle
Polka, Polka Dot!
(repeat)

Verse 2: This little penguin can only waddle
But he's a model for any toddling town
He may be spotted, but we applauded
Because we love our little Polka Dot!

(Refrain)

Yah!

Ms Alves' Class Song- Any Turkey Can Tango

Ms. Alves' class song is called "Any Turkey Can Tango" and is about a turkey who can dance the tango. Students will be dancing their own version of the tango while singing the song. Here are the lyrics:

Refrain: Any turkey can tango
Any turkey can dance
Any turkey can tango
If they have the chance
(repeat)

Verse 1: Any turkey can flap, flap, flap (flap their "wings" 3 times on flap flap flap)
Any turkey can clap, clap, clap (clap 3 times on clap clap clap)
Any turkey can snap, snap, snap (snap 3 times on snap snap snap)
Any turkey can tango

(sing refrain)

Verse2: Any turkey can turn around (turn once all the way around)
Any turkey can touch the ground (tap the ground 3 times on touch the ground)
Any turkey can strut through town (wing flaps & head movements on strut through town)
Any turkey can tango

(sing refrain)

Ms Civitano's Class Song- Achshav

Ms. Civitano's class song is called "Achshav." It is a song from Israel, and students will sing it in Hebrew and in English while moving to the music in a dance that gets faster and faster! Here are the words:

Achshav, achshav
B'emek Yisrael
(repeat)

Tumba, tumba, tumba
B'emek Yisrael, Hey!
(repeat 3 times)

Awake, awake
The valleys of our land
(repeat)

Tumba tumba tumba
The land of Israel, Hey!
(repeat 3 times)

A Movement Song for all Second Graders

Here is the first song we learned as a second grade. All second graders will be singing "Mi Cuerpo" together in Spanish and English.

Mi cuerpo mi cuerpo
Hace musica
(repeat)

Mis manos hacen (clap 3 times)
Mis pies hacen (stamp 3 times)
Mi boca hace "la la la"
Mi cuerpo hace "cha cha cha (shake body to the cha cha cha)

My body makes music
It's easy you will see
(repeat)

My hands, my hands go (clap 3 times)
My feet, my feet go (stamp 3 times)
My mouth, my mouth goes "la la la"
My body does the cha cha cha (shake body to the cha cha cha)

Second Grade Performance is All About Movement

The second graders are preparing for their May 25th performance by working on songs that are all about movement. They will be singing two movement songs all together as a grade level, and each class will do their own movement song as well. Good thing second graders have lots of energy!

Concert Dates!

Parents, mark your calendars! The music concert dates have been scheduled! 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders will perform for parents on Tuesday, May 25th. The times are as follows:

Grade 3: 8:30-9:15AM
Grade 2: 9:30-10:10AM
Grade 1: 10:30-11:00AM

The choir will perform on Thursday, May 27th, from 7:00-8:00PM.

We hope to see all of you there!

Ms V

Welcome to the Greenbrook Music Page!

Welcome students and family members!

This blog is your source for all information regarding the Greenbrook Elementary School Music classes. You can find lyrics for the songs we are working on, concert dates, and even tips on becoming a better singer. We will also post information as well as video and pictures of what we are working on in class.

Thank you for visiting!

Ms. Juli Van Eizenga AKA "Ms. V"