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 Edgren's Class Song- Minka

Ms. Edgren's class song is "Minka." It is a song from the Ukraine. The Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe that is relatively new as an independent country. It became independent again with the disillusionment of the Soviet Union in 1991. It is slightly smaller than Texas and has over 45 million people. They have had to deal with a lot of political and economic instability. Most people in the Ukraine are Christian. You may have seen their famous Easter eggs before. They are marked with wax and dyed to create interesting patterns. A very famous composer named Tchaikovsky is from Ukraine. The class will sing the song in Ukrainian. Here are the lyrics, a pronunciation guide, and the translation of the text:

Lyrics:

Tizh men-ye pid-ma-nu-la
Tizh men-ye pid-ve-la
Tizh men-ye mo-la-do-va
Zu-ma, ra-zu-ma zve-la
(repeat)

Pronunciation:

teezh mehn-eh peed-mah-noo-lah
teezh mehn-eh peed-veh-lah
teezh mehn-eh moh-loh-doh-vah
tzoo-mah, ehzroh-zoo-moo zhveh-lah
(repeat)

Translation:

You're the one who's let me down
You're the one who has betrayed me
I so young and innocent and
You drove me insane

Ms Ravin's Class Song- Sonando

Ms. Ravin's class song is "Sonando." It is a Cuban song in the son montuno style, which combines the Spanish and African influences. Cuba is an island in the Caribbean. There are 11 million people in Cuba. It’s name means “where fertile land is abundant.” The Spanish colonized it and brought over slaves from Africa. Now the two cultures have mixed to give Cuba a unique cultural heritage. The music, art, and food are all mixes of these cultures. The students will dance a samba with the song. Here are the lyrics, a pronunciation guide, and the translation of the text:

Lyrics:

So-nan-do
Pa-ra bailar
Go-za
Mi cha cha cha
Lle-ga-re Ma-ri-a, lle-ga-re

Pronunciation:

soh-nahn-doh
pah-rah bI-lahr
goh-tsah
mee-chah-chah-chah
djeh-gah-reh mah-ree-ah, djeh-gah-reh

Translation:

[Music is] playing for dancing
Enjoy my cha cha cha
I will arrive, Maria, here I am.

Ms Selover's Class Song- Doong Gul Ge

Ms. Selover's class song is called "Doong gul ge." It is a game song from Korea. There are two parts of Korea. North and South Korea used to be united as one country but split in 1948. They are bordered by China and Russia, and Japan is also nearby. There are about 70 million people inKorea- 23 million in the north, ad 50 million in the south. Korean food has noodles, rice, and meat, but is best known for kimchi, which is a fermented vegetable (usually cabbage), like a pickle. The traditional clothing is called hanbok which means “Korean clothing”. It usually refers to the formal wear which is very colorful and often has many layers that are tied on. Students will sing the song in Korean and English. Here are the lyrics, a pronunciation guide, and the translation for the text.

Korean Lyrics:

Doong gul ge doong gul ge
(repeat)
Bing gul bing gul dol ah kah miaw
Chum ul chup shi da
Son bia kul chi mian sawh
No reh rul pu ru miaw
La la la lachul kaw up ge
Chum chu cha

Ring-a-ring-a-ring a-ring-a-ring-a-ring
(repeat)
Son eh son ul chop go
Mo du dah hahm ge
Chul kaw up ge chum ul chup shi da

Pronunciation:

doong gool geh doong gul geh
(repeat)
beeng gool beeng gool dohl ah kah meeyaw
choom ool choop shee dah
sohn byah kool chee myahn sawh
noh reh rool poo roo myaw
lah lah lah lah chool kaw oop ge
choom choo chah

leeng-ah-leeng-ah-leeng ah-leeng-ah-leeng-ah-leeng
(repeat)
sohn eh sohn ool chohp goh
moh doo dah hahm geh
chool kaw oop geh choom ool choop shee dah

Translation:

Round and round
Let's dance around in a circle
Let's clap; let's sing
Let's run together
Ring-a-ring-a-ring
Hold hands all together
Let's run together

English Lyrics:

Round and around we go (repeat)
Dance around the circle now
Don't let your feet be slow
Circle around and clap
Circle around and sing
Let's all run together now
Around the ring

Ring-a-ring-a-ring (repeat)
Hopping as we go
And jumping as we sing
Let's all run together round the ring

Grade 3 Welcome Song- Hello to All the Children of the World

All third graders will open the performance with the song, "Hello to All the Children of the World." It is a song of unity with kids throughout the world and features greetings in several different languages. This song has been a favorite with the third graders so far. Here are the lyrics:

Refrain: Hello, bonjour, buenos dias
G'day, guten tag, konnichiwa
Ciao, shalom, dobrey dyan
Hello to all the children of the world

Verse 1: We come from different places
From all around the world
We speak in many different ways
Though some things might be different
We're children just the same
And we all like to sing and play

(sing refrain)

verse 2: There's children in the deserts
And children in the towns
there's children who live by the sea
If we could meet each other
To run and sing and play
then what good friends we all could be

(sing refrain)

Here is a video of Ms. Eplin's class working on the song:

Music for Ms.Eplin's Class from Cheri Eplin on Vimeo.

Ms Eplin's Class Song- Artsa Alinu

Ms. Eplin's class is working on a song from Israel called "Artsa Alinu." This song is from Israel and is sung in Hebrew. Israel is a very young country and was established in 1948. This song expresses the people’s love of the land, which they value so highly that there is dispute over it now. It is a small country near the Mediterranean Sea with a population of about 7.5 million people. Most are Jewish but there are many people of other religions too. Here are the lyrics, a pronunciation guide, as well as a translation of the text:

Lyrics:

Artsa alinu, artsa alinu, artsa alinu
(repeat)
K'var cha-rash-nu v'gam za-ra-nu (repeat)
A-val od lo ka-tsar-nu (repeat 3 times)

Pronunciation:

ahr-tsah ah-lee-noo (repeat 6 times)
kvahr hkhah-rahsh-noo veh-gahm zah-rah-noo (repeat)
ah-vahl ohd loh kah-tsahr-noo (repeat 3 times)

Translation:

We have come to the land, our home
We have plowed and we have sown
But we've not yet reaped our own