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Winter Update

3/12/2018

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Making Music!

We continue to plug away in the music room at Lyman. Over the past few months the students have experienced the joy of music and dance during our time together!

Here are some of the highlights!

Kindergarten Students

The kindergarten students have been singing and dancing their way though music class. They have learned songs such as "Bow, wow, wow", "Snail, Snail", "Purple Light", and others. We have also learned a dance or two such as a song and dance called "Amasee" where they are in a "two way set" (two parallel lines) where each partner group has to promenade down the aisle in their own special way. The students have also become quite proficient at reading rhythms using quarter notes (ta), eighth notes (Ti-Ti), half notes (to-oo), and quarter note rests (shhh). 

First and Second Grade Students

We have started the process of learning our music for our upcoming concert on May 2nd. The theme for this years performance is similar to last years theme of long lost children's songs. I am going through my music books and finding the songs that we learned from our grandparents and passing them onto the children. We continue to strengthen the students music theory skills such as rhythm reading, melodic dictation, and formal analysis of music. In other words, reading and talking about music!

Third and Fourth Grade Students

Classroom!- In the music classroom the students are putting all of the work and learning we have been doing since kindergarten to good use playing their recorders! Over the past few weeks we have been learning the basics of playing the instrument for the third grade students; the fourth grade students are helping to teach their third grade classmates along with practicing their own pieces of music. At this point in time, we have had quite a few belt tests for recorder karate, and I have had the pleasure of awarding quite a few belts as well. 

IMPORTANT!!!!- In order to be a bit more efficient in my belt testing process, I have given the fourth grade students permission to video record them playing their song and send that into me via an email or a private YouTube link. If this is something you choose to do, you need to make sure that I can clearly see their face and recorder while playing. The video must be close enough to the instrument that I can see what their fingers are doing. By being able to see the fingers and embouchure (mouth position), I can diagnose any issues that may occur while the student is playing. If you submit the video, then I will listen to it, give it a grade, and then give out a belt if it meets the standards. Please email me with any questions.

3/4 Chorus

The chorus is hard at work preparing for our upcoming concert during the Lyman Lytes festival in early June. I want to send out an extra big thanks for the support of the program at the Hartford Wolfpack game back in January. The money we made on the fundraiser is going towards some new equipment for the music room. I have purchased a wonderful Bluetooth speaker that links seamlessly to my computer and other audio devises, and plan on upgrading a xylophone in the next few days.
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Notes for November!

11/6/2017

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Concert time is quickly approaching!

Our first performance of the year is quickly approaching, and I can't wait for you all to hear it! Our first concert is on December 14th and will feature the kindergarten students and the third and fourth grade chorus. I will send out a more formal notice in a week or two, but here are the main points!
  • There will be two performances. 
    • The daytime performance will be at 2:15 in the afternoon at John Lyman in the cafe.
    • The evening performance will be at CHRS and will begin at 6:30
  • Dress
    • Students should wear their normal school clothes for the daytime performance. 
    • For the evening performance the students should dress up nicely. Girls can wear a dress, a skirt or pants and a nice top, and shoes. Boys should wear slacks, a nice top, and shoes. Since this is a holiday based concert, feel free to wear holiday colors! 
    • No hats! I have nothing against hats, except they block the face of the student behind them. 
    • Long hair should be worn back and out of the face.

Like I said, there will be a formal announcement coming home in the Wednesday envelop with more details. Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comments and I will respond to them in a timely manner! Feel free to email me too at mmeurs@rsd13.org.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone there!

-Mr M

Follow me on Twitter @MusicalMrMeurs
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Bring In The Band!

10/2/2017

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I Love the Autumn!

I love the autumn! The smells, colors, tastes, and crisp air. I love the newness of the school year and the excitement on kids faces. I also love, and I mean this, that a group of fourth grade students are breaking out band instruments and learning how to play them! I know what you are thinking! Parents with older children who have been down this road before are not looking forward to the "interesting" sounds coming out of the end of an instrument that would raise the hair on the dead. Parents who are experiencing this the first time are wondering what they got themselves into. However, fear not! The brand new instrumentalist will quickly start to actually sound... good. 

So What are my Kids Actually Doing During Lessons?

That's a great question!

In the beginning, the students are working on learning the fundamentals of playing their instrument. Such as putting the instrument together, how to maintain the instrument, how to blow into the instrument, play a few notes, and the importance of rehearsal etiquette. Once they get these basic skills down we can start to really look at music in their method books. A typical 30 minute lesson I teach is structured a bit like this.
  • 5 minutes making sure the instrument is properly set up and breathing exercises with and without the mouthpiece.
  • 10 minutes on specific warm up strategies that will focus on breath control, articulation exercises, tone production, and other instrument specific techniques that will help build musicianship and playing ability.
  • 10 minutes working through the material found in the method books.
  • 5 minutes review the practice expectations for the week.

​As the year progresses, I will spend less time on warm-up activities, and more time focusing on the music. The most important thing the student can do for their lesson is to Have their instrument for their lesson!  We do have instruments for students to borrow. However, each instrument is a little different, and your son/daughter knows their own instrument the best. 

Band Time

The full band usually meets once a week. We meet with the students on Thursday from 2:15 to 3:00. Ms. Wiener is the director and I am there to help out with the random things that pop up, and also am another set of eyes and ears to assist both the students and the conductor. During this time, we work on basic ensemble tone, rehearsing as a group, and learning how to be a team. About 10 minutes of the time is dedicated to basic warm ups, the rest is dedicated to rehearsing music in the method book, or band music. Every student needs to remember their instrument for Thursday!

Final Thoughts!

I hope that this post was informative! Again, please make sure your daughter/son has their instrument on their lesson day, and on Thursday for band. Please feel free to leave a comment or a question on this post if you have anything you want to add. 

​Next week: Tackling the beast... Practicing! 
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Welcome Back

9/11/2017

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Welcome back to a new school year! I hope everyone had a good summer and had a chance to sit back and relax a bit. My family and I went on a few adventures, spent some time at the beach, and spent some time together making music!

I do not have a whole lot to talk about right now, except that I am happy to be back with your children! In class, we are spending some time reviewing what we have done in the past to prepare for a whole lot of new learning over the year. Third and fourth grade students are reviewing rhythmic counting, singing songs, and have a fun little assignment where they have to find the rhythm in their name! The first and second grade students are doing similar things with rhythms, singing, and we also used the bucket drums! The kindergarten students are going through a period of musical exploration with their singing voices, and on instruments!

If you are interested in private music lessons for your child, take a look at the Music Resources page. I have a list of instructors in the area, along with a couple of studios that offer a variety of instrumental lessons. I will also be happy to answer questions you may have about private music lessons.

Lastly, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I randomly post things about whats going on in the classroom, music education advocacy, and the occasional meme about life as a musician/music teacher!

​Take care!
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We've Only Just Begun!

10/31/2016

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Off To A Good Start

It is official... We have made it through our second month of music in school. Over the past two months, band students started to learn how to play their instruments. The Third And Fourth Grade Chorus started to prepare for the winter concert, and the general music students are singing, dancing, and learning how to read music. Here are some of the high lights we have experienced over the past two months!

Kindergarten

We started off our musical adventures learning about each other, singing, and learning some new dances. Some of the high lights are the Halloween songs we have learned over the past three weeks. 

First and Second Grade

We have spent the past few weeks working on reading rhythmic notation, singing songs, and diving into folk dances. And yes... also having fun with Halloween themes as well.

Third and Fourth Grade

The third and fourth grade students have been busy with many things. In the music class they have been singing rounds, songs, and performing on instruments such as the xylophone, tone bells, drums, and shakers. They spent a few weeks learning how to play a folk song called Rocky Mountain and were able to perform it on the instruments. In chorus, we started to prepare for our upcoming winter concert. This is a wonderful group with some excellent vocalists, and we cannot wait for our upcoming concert.

Fourth grade students who are in band have also started to learn how to play their instruments. This is a long process, but one that I am already seeing pay off. The progress of most of our band students is commendable along with their dedication. The only issue I am seeing is students forgetting their instruments. Also, you can head over to the "Band Room" page for more information about what your son/daughter should be working on in band lessons with Mr. Meurs. 

Feel free to leave any comments below.

Enjoy a beautiful Halloween Night!

​Mr. M
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    General music/vocal teacher who occasionally teaches instrumental music at John Lyman Elementary School!

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