Today Mrs Hooper signed off 14 hours of netball club.
Reflection question: What did i learn about my strengths and weaknesses?

I am good at passing and am quick on court.
I get grumpy when we are not winning and am not encouraging to players who make errors.
I need to focus on pivoting on landing.

The blue man group are fantastic. Today we worked on timing and the dance routine for Shades of pale.

MYP 4/5 Perfromances

Congratulations to MYP 4 & 5. Your performances were excellent today, and i have heard many comments of congratulations since!

You performed and spoke with such confidence, and had practiced so hard - I was very proud.

Keep up the good work - and get those instrumental lessons going!!

Pictures to follow soon i hope...

Share your appreciation

Thanks for being an excellent audience today. I really enjoyed sharing some of my faves with you.
As I said - this web is yours now - share your music - funny, sad, great or bad!

You're never too young to sing

Singer one - 16, singer two - 14 and singer three - 15.

Watch this!

Ragtime - the genre

Does freedom lead to free expression?

Checkout the movie Ragtime, released in 1981 or Ragtime the musical on Broadway 2010

MYP 5 - Program notes

Please upload your program notes, either through "comments" or by adding a link to Google docs.
Thanks

MYP 4&5 Exhibition Performances

Please use "comments" to list your pieces you intend to play for the exhibition. Please include composer and full title.

MYP 5
You need to ensure you have three pieces that contrast in style or genre.
You must write program notes about all three pieces.

Chad - voice
Caitlin - clarinet
Chloe - piano
Penny - voice

MYP 4
You need to ensure you have one piece to perform.
You must introduce your piece verbally, and explain the context according to jazz, rock or musicals history.

Jesse - piano
Marco - bass
Owen - composition

MYP 2 - Rhythm & Ragtime

We have learned about notation values, rhythmic devices like syncopation and musical styles such as ragtime.

Scott Joplin was a Ragtime composer - he wrote famous pieces such as Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer.

We are learning more about syncopation through Howard Goodhalls' How music works - Rhythm.

Today, we will finish the video, and continue to learn our parts for The Entertainer.


Check out Stevie Wonder for pulse, tempo, syncopation,accents and cross rhythms:

The Codrington Exhibition 2010 - A world of pure Imagination

What is music?

• A communication of how we feel
  
• An expression of who we are and what we believe
  
• An identity of where we come from

Music is nothing but expression and communication, limited only by your imagination.

Every culture is unique

~APPRECIATION~

What do you see when you hear music?

Extraordinaire Instrument

Focus on - RHYTHM

Appreciate the accuracy of the sense of rhythm and timing that has been translated into technology




What do words add to music?

Star Wars Medley

Focus on - MELODY

Appreciate the creativity of the lyrics




How does harmony create emotion?

"Goodnight my Angel" - By Billy Joel, Performed by The King Singers

Focus on - HARMONY

Appreciate the pitch and tuning singing without a piano




Is the voice the most versatile instrument?

Voca People

Focus on - TIMBRE

Appreciate the instrumental sounds made by the voice




Should we be more open-minded to instrument types?

Swan Lake (on wine glasses)!

Focus on - PITCH & TUNING

Appreciate the dexterity of performance and the aural skills to prepare the glasses




Does music serve a purpose for our mental well-being?

The Piano - By Yann Tierson

Focus on - STRUCTURE

Appreciate the reflective nature of the music




Can we keep creating instruments?

New Ford, Beautiful Music

Focus on - INSTRUMENTS

Appreciate the human ingenuity



How does music connect us?

Eric Whitacre, A Choir as big as the Internet

Focus on - Music as COMMUNICATION

Appreciate the internationally minded approach

MYP 3 - Indigenous Music

Step 1 - Create a culture of your own. Think about what kind of history this culture has experienced, and what type of environment they come from.

Step 2 - create musical instrumentals form resources in your environment. Think about instrument types: chordophones, idiophones, aerophones and membraphones.

Step 3 - Create a piece for percussion that represents the history and beliefs of your people. Use rhythm, texture and tempo to communicate your story effectively.

Step 4 -Create a Haka that accompanies your cultural music. Remember to use body percussion to express fear, anger, anxiety, caring or celebration.

GCSE Music

Are you the kind of student to do GCSE Music?

Have a read and see – can you perform, compose and listen to music well?

DP Music

What’s it all about?

The official DP Music guide can help you build a better understanding of the course. Have a quick read

MYP 2 - World Music

My MYP 2 students have been studying world music, in particular music from Indonesia. The Gamelan orchestra is as different to western music as you can get; thick textures, new timbres, spiritual significance in the way the orchestra is played and revered, and stunningly beautiful. My students have been brilliant in coming to terms with this new music. But, what has really thrown me is how easily and sincerely they picked it up, and performed it. Last night at our end of term extravaganza these students sat and played Gamelan as if they had been doing it all their lives, and captivated the audience. But what has astonished me, is how naturally they took it in their stride; “yes, this is Gamelan. Yep, it’s different to us. Yep we can play it and connect with it”. If this is the voice of the next generation, then things really are starting to look up. Let’s credit our youngsters with more than just wearing hoodies.

MYP 1 - Writing a song

In class, after learning about the scale, and scale divisions, followed by harmony we have learned melody writing. It seems like only the most amazing musicians can write soaring singable tunes, but this is not the case. Anyone can write a tune with these simple rules:

1. chose melody notes directly from your chord (e.g. in a C chord: C, E or G)
2. chose melody from the chord, and pass through other notes in between on your way to another chord note (e.g. in a C chord: C – F – G)
3. start on a chord note and move up or down one note away from the chord, returning to where you began (e.g. in a C chord: G – A – G)

So why not try it out? Post your results.

MYP 3 - Rebellion in music

We have been looking at controversial artists in music – Stravinsky and Eminem. Yes, they are from completely different places and time, but they did the same thing – caused a ruckus! Was Eminem using irony to pass his message on? Was Stravinsky ahead of his time, or just making headlines? The big question is, is there a need for rebellion in the arts?

Here is Stravinsky's work with the original choreographed ballet:

Here is what Walt Disney made of Stravinsky's work:

If you want to watch more of Riot at the Rite, click HERE.

To what extent does culture and the development of society determine what is controversial?

To what extent have the arts helped to develop society?

Think about it – Rock n’ roll was outrageous in the 50′s, now where are we? What do you imagine will be controversial art in the year 2020?

MYP 5 - Looking at the DP

So, as I spent most of this week chatting to MYP 5 about their choices for next year, i really couldn’t get over just what a brilliant course Diploma music really is. If there was a course that embodied the IB thinking, this surely is it. You have intercultural awareness looking at the Musical Links investigation and you need the Learner Profile as you begin to experience more about the world. I got to thinking (when i was writing a TOK paper) that music is a funny subject to teach – everybody is an expert in their field. Everybody knows something about some kind of music. And then i thought – does understanding music intellectually really enhance your emotional responses to music?

What do you think?