January
1-19/1-22
We are still working to memorize our lines and spaces of bass and treble clef to help with note recognition. Click the link and test yourself.
Getting to know students/speaking on the rhythm
Instructions for the bitmoji classroom: Click the bitmoji of me to hear my example of the intro rap. Click the DJ table to go to groovepizza and experiment with creating a beat. Set the BPM to 80. Click the piano to access the sheet to write your lyrics and see my example. Next week we will put it together.
Ms. Fanning
Welcome back!!! How did your break go? I want to hear two great things that happened!!!
This week, we will be starting our third quarter with another Sonic Meditation from composer Pauline Oliveros. Approach this activity with an open mind to get the most out of it. Perhaps you could try this with your family or other members of your household. Oliveros asks that these be done in a group, if possible. Happy learning!
Welcome back everyone! I hope you all enjoyed you break are ready to learn more this semester! For the first two weeks we will review a lot of what we talked about last semester. For starters we are going over notes on the treble and bass clef. This is important even if you read only one of the clefs. This will helps later in the semester when we talk about intervals, chords, and melodies.
Create your free account, if you haven’t already and view the tutorial. Once you have understood the tutorial pick what ever level you feel like you are at. (I recommend Pre A to get the feelings of the game. Thanks and have fun!
1-25/1-29
Continue to work on memorizing lines and spaces from the previous week. Read the following document on tied notes and why they are used and how they compare to rhythms you already know.
Visit google classroom again and you can continue to work on your name rap. Click the key signature poster to quiz yourself over the key signatures.
Ms. Fanning
KEY SIGNATURES! We talked about SHARP keys. BEADGCF is the order of the sharps. 1. Come up with your own way to remember this acronym. 2. Tell me the difference between a HASHTAG and a SHARP
This week, we have a fun listening assignment! Below is a step by step process on how to complete the activity. Have fun with this activity, and have a great week!
More key signature games!
February
2-1/2-5
While to many this chart may seem like common knowledge, I know there are several students (myself included at that age) who are struggling to break apart basic rhythms and see the bigger picture. Take a look at the following image and see if you can clap through all of the rhythmic formats on the chart. Don't be afraid to ask questions in class on rhtyhm or ask your instrumental teacher to clap out the rhythm of the music that you are playing.
Continue working on your name rap and key signatures (click the poster). Also click on the blob people picture to try out making a blob opera!
Ms. Fanning
Now let's talk about FLAT keys: FCGDAEB. Fat Cats Get Dizzy After Eating Birds. 1. Can you come up with another way to remember this? 2. What's the difference between a FLAT and NATURAL symbol?
This week, we have another listening assignment, but this time with a turn to “popular” or “vernacular” music! Below is a step by step process on how to complete the activity. Have fun with this activity, and have a great week!
Mr. Pacheco
Black History Month! We talked about William Grant Still. As you know there are more than just white European composer. Here are some links on William Grant Still so you become familiar with Black American classical music.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Grant-Still
https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200186213
2-8/2-12
We are continuing on with rhythmic exercises from last week. Clap through the following patterns on your own and see what is easy and what is not. Remember to give yourself a steady mental pulse as you go through each rhythmic pattern.
Click the Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse poster and to see the rhythm play along activity!
Ms. Fanning
Now that we've done all that work with key signatures..... I have a super nice cheat sheet you can use as you get older 
Haha. I'm mean I guess. All this time I had a cheer sheet.
This week, we have another listening assignment, but this time with a turn to “popular” or “vernacular” music! Below is a step by step process on how to complete the activity. Have fun with this activity, and have a great week!
Mr. Pacheco
Black History Month! Since we did not meet due to weather. We were going to talk about Florence Price who is another Black American composer. Here are so links you can check out the impact she made.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/28/florence-price-americas-lost-musical-genius
https://www.last.fm/music/Florence+Price/+wiki
2-15/2-19
Check out the following game in the link below and test your knowledge on the lines and spaces of the bass and treble clef. Work on the clef that you play on and then work on the clef that you don't. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself and work on the Alto clef as well
The other links from previous lessons still work so continue to practice key signatures and feel free to use the other links as well. This week I have added a video of bucket drumming to the song Thunder, later on you will get to create your own bucket drumming patterns but for this week follow along! click the lightning to get started!
Ms. Fanning
Cup rhythms!!! These are my fave! Before we get started, get your favorite plastic cup from your cabinet, turn on your favorite song, and TAP the cup on the table or the floor to the BEAT/TEMPO. If you're brave, do some improv! If you're extra brave.... record it and post it! 🙂
This week, I thought it would be fun to learn some conducting basics! Click my name for a link to the video where I teach these patterns.
Mr. Pacheco
Black History Month! Since we did not meet again due to weather we will continue our black composer list regardless. This week is Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A long name I know!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/arts/music/black-mozart-joseph-boulogne.html
2-22/2-26
Now that we're starting to really excel at note reading we are moving towards adding in solfege syllables. Click on the link below and listen through some of the solfege exercises with the treble clef. Remember that C is Do, E is Mi and G is Sol. You should be able to fill in the rest!
For this week, click on the bitmoji of Mr. Tyler to access a link to a rhythm activity using objects from home. The other links should still work as well if you would like to keep using them!
Ms. Fanning
Cup rhythms!!! We've started these. We learned quarter notes and half notes with these cup rhythms. Either hit it on the table or tap the top or PASS it. Come up with some other ways we can spice it up and make it harder! Don't do the forehead hit yet. That's coming next!
This week, I would like the students to explore Chrome Music Labs.
Mr. Pacheco
Black History Month! WOW! Another week gone! Oh well. Hope you all stayed warm! This week’s musician is the famous LOUIS ARMSTRONG! You may have already heard of the name or his music!
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Louis-Armstrong/352783
https://kids.kiddle.co/Louis_Armstrong
September
9-8/9-11
Choose your instrument's clef and challenge yourself! Click on the tab "lines and spaces"
Fill out this form and tell Ms. Giorgia what you know about music and what you want her to know about you.
Try out all of the cool sections of Chrome Music Lab.
Record an introduction using Flipgrid
Use the password Okc12345
Answer these questions to get to know Mr. Waymon and your friends.
Powtoons is an awesome program that’ll transform you into a comic book type animation! Make a student account and then follow the instructions below:
I wanna get to know you and so will others! I want you to tell me your name, what school you go to, grade, instrument you play, what you love about El Sistema, favorite music, a BORING fact about you and what do YOU want to learn this semester. Have fun with it!
9-14/9-18
Theory and Fundamentals review
Composer Research activity
Review these music notes in preparation for our rhythm games next week. 🙂
Record an introduction using Flipgrid
Use the password Okc12345
Review your key signatures with these flashcards from Quizlet.
A creative listening lesson
9-21/9-25
Choose the clef that you play in test yourself on how well you know your lines and spaces!
Continue Composer Research activity
Here's some bass clef practice! There's another game for this later on but this is a good review 🙂
Students will identify as many note names on the staff as they can in 5 minutes.
Play the note names and key signatures exercise.
This week, we have another listening assignment designed to help you listen more broadly and become more aware of the sounds around you!
9-28/10-2
I've had the opportunity to work some vocal exercises as well as solfege with a lot of you and I would love for you to read this article on how singers and instrumentalists relate. I know singing can be a very vulnerable thing and I appreciate your willingness to participate. After reading the article, ask yourself how what you do as an instrumentalist relates to a singer?
Play some fun music games here.
Ms. Fanning
NATURE WALK: get outside! Take a walk in silence— no headphones. What do you hear? Find 5 sounds around you. Now, think about each sound and ask yourself: "Is this music?" Be prepared for talk about it next week! Can't wait see what you discover!!!
Nature Walk. Supplies: paper to make notes or take notes in your phone/device
Students will identify as many perfect and major intervals as they can in 5 minutes.
Play the note names and key signatures exercise.
This week, we have a really interesting activity. The activity is to experience/participate in a portion of a composition by Pauline Oliveros called Sonic Meditations. This activity should challenge your conceptions of music and performance, revealing and questioning the inequities between audience and performer.
October
10-5/10-9
We are beginning to work on singing solfege exercises. Play a C on your instrument or an online keyboard and begin working through some of these basic solfege exercises.
You will need your laptop and a phone or other mobile device to play this fun Kahoot!
VIRTUAL DRUMMING! Since we've been working on rhythm, playing with drumming seems pretty awesome. Check out this website! Have fun! If you create something super cool and want to share, let me know!
Watch this video to review the circle of 5ths which we discussed in class this week
This week, we are beginning a unit on score study. To start, I wanted to teach you some basic conducting patterns. Below is a link to the video where I teach these patterns.
You can never practice too much on your key signature. This is a great exercise to practice our key signatures. TIPS for sharps. Each sharp makes up a line for a letter. For example: Two sharps equals two lines and you make the letter ‘D’.
10-26/10-30
We have begun to do some basic work on singing and working with solfege "Do Re Mi" Click on the Link to work on your solfege and sight singing skills.
For today’s lesson I would like for my kids to explore this website and just have fun with music!
Last week we worked on RHYTHM! I know y'all love bingo, but remember... it's getting harder this week! This website is a FUN way to practice. Check it out! Let me know how ya did!
Draw the circle of 5ths on a piece of paper. You can use the last video to help you out. Then, use your diagram to see how many major key signatures you can identify in only 5 minutes.
This week, we are continuing our unit on score study. Studying a new score can be a daunting task. Luckily, I have a systematic approach to score study that makes any piece imminently learnable. This week, we will go through the first three steps, which involve learning the background information of the piece.
Play around and make your own rhythms then have them played back to you.
November
11-2/11-6
We are working on the basics of DO MI SOL with solfege and are working into SOL LA. Watch the video in the link and sing along as we work on getting these pitches and scale degrees into our memory.
Ms. Giorgia
Print out and search for the musical styles
WE'VE BEEN INVADED!!!! Jk, it's just a game. Check out this game if you want to practice your Bass clef notes. What was your score? Can you beat me? Hmmm. 
Use our "Whole, whole, half" chant to help you build as many major scales as you can before the clock runs out!
This week, we are continuing our unit on score study. Studying a new score can be a daunting task. Luckily, I have a systematic approach to score study that makes any piece imminently learnable. This week, we will go through steps four and five, which are the first steps where we get to really dig into the score.
Please read the Solfege section and practice the activities
11-9/11-13
Sight singing an exercise is just as important as being able to sight read an exercise with your instrument. Read the description and give the first few exercises a try! Sing the pitches on "LA" and then use solfege as you sing through the exercises.
Ms. Giorgia
You guys are already super great at this, but I want us to be experts at it. Let's practice our time signatures. Can you spot the correct measure?
Record a flipgrid of your favorite chant that we have learned this semester using the link with the password: Okc12345
This week, we are continuing our unit on score study. Studying a new score can be a daunting task. Luckily, I have a systematic approach to score study that makes any piece imminently learnable. This week, we will go through steps six and seven. In these steps we truly begin to analyze the music. Below is a step by step process to these activities. Happy learning!
We recently talked about different chord qualities such as; Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented. On this interactive piano you can play major or minor. Click on any key and it will highlight a chord. Use this to help get your ear to tell the difference. Remember major is happy and minor is sad ☹
11-16/11-20
This entire website is a great resource for working on both your sight singing and sight reading ability. Select a level, key signature, time signature and try to sing along on "La" to some of the exercises provided. Then grab your instruments and try to actually play them!
Ms. Giorgia
Everyone likes food, right? You guys did SO WELL with the rhythm work we did this semester and I am so proud of you. So. Let's take those rhythms and write a Thanksgiving Themed Rhythmic Poem! Click on the Google form and follow the directions. 🙂
Ms. Lizzie
This week, we are continuing our unit on score study. Studying a new score can be a daunting task. Luckily, I have a systematic approach to score study that makes any piece imminently learnable. This week, we will go through steps seven eight and nine. In these steps we finally begin practicing physically conducting the piece. Happy learning!
Play the piano keys and pick anything between pre A and grade 3. This is great practice to learn the piano notes so we can talk about chords next semester. You have to create an account before you can play. ITS FREE