Saturday, August 20, 2011
Hine e Hine
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Year 4 Waiata Term two 2011
Welcome back everyone! We have started the year off with a wide variety of acitivities and everyone is haveing fun.
This term the year 4 children are learning a few waiata. Here are a couple of links for children to continue to learn the actions and sing along with. We have been having loads of fun learning these songs in year 4 and the children are picking up the actions really quickly.
When we are up to performance level I will post a video of classes doing some of these songs.
Today we also had a lot of fun dancing to the Jump Jam videos. We did three songs - The Men In Black, Umqombothi, and Star Wars. Jump Jam is an excellent resource both for fitness sake and as an exciting way to learn to move to music and to increase rhythmic awareness. Any dancing is great for these things in fact and I encoruage children to do this kind of activity often.
This term the year 4 children are learning a few waiata. Here are a couple of links for children to continue to learn the actions and sing along with. We have been having loads of fun learning these songs in year 4 and the children are picking up the actions really quickly.
When we are up to performance level I will post a video of classes doing some of these songs.
Today we also had a lot of fun dancing to the Jump Jam videos. We did three songs - The Men In Black, Umqombothi, and Star Wars. Jump Jam is an excellent resource both for fitness sake and as an exciting way to learn to move to music and to increase rhythmic awareness. Any dancing is great for these things in fact and I encoruage children to do this kind of activity often.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Intermediate Battle of the bands
The Balmoral School rock band Blood Earth competed in the Intermediate Battle of the bands competition at Wesley Intermediate rececently.
They were up agaist some great acts.
Here is what the judges had to say about their performance...
Hi Barry & the Band!
First of all, thanks so much for taking part in this year's Intermediate Schools Battle of the Bands - hopefully you had a great night! It's really important to the competition that it helps young performers grow, so here are some of the comments from the judges…
WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GREAT:
“I could see you get more and more comfortable as your set went on!”
“Musically solid all round”
“Some of those harmonies really worked”
TO TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL:
“Be stronger, have more confidence”
“Think about your stage dynamic – try not to stand still in a line”
“Created a bit of confusion having 4 singers”
OVERALL:
Great job! We hope that you enjoyed your Covers gig at the Intermediate Battle 2010 – maybe the start of a great career in music!?
Some encouraging words and directions there!
If you would like to check out the winners of the heat at Wesly Intermediate - follow the link above. The sound recording doesn't really do them justice but you can see the energy of their stage performance nicely.
If you would like to purchase a DVD of the heat at wesley - follow this link...
http://www.intermediatebattle.co.nz/purchase-dvds/
Well done to all the kids involved from Blood Earth. Balmoral school is proud of you!
They were up agaist some great acts.
Here is what the judges had to say about their performance...
Hi Barry & the Band!
First of all, thanks so much for taking part in this year's Intermediate Schools Battle of the Bands - hopefully you had a great night! It's really important to the competition that it helps young performers grow, so here are some of the comments from the judges…
WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GREAT:
“I could see you get more and more comfortable as your set went on!”
“Musically solid all round”
“Some of those harmonies really worked”
TO TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL:
“Be stronger, have more confidence”
“Think about your stage dynamic – try not to stand still in a line”
“Created a bit of confusion having 4 singers”
OVERALL:
Great job! We hope that you enjoyed your Covers gig at the Intermediate Battle 2010 – maybe the start of a great career in music!?
Some encouraging words and directions there!
If you would like to check out the winners of the heat at Wesly Intermediate - follow the link above. The sound recording doesn't really do them justice but you can see the energy of their stage performance nicely.
If you would like to purchase a DVD of the heat at wesley - follow this link...
http://www.intermediatebattle.co.nz/purchase-dvds/
Well done to all the kids involved from Blood Earth. Balmoral school is proud of you!
Friday, October 22, 2010
ukulele group rhearsal term three
At the end of term 3 the Balmoral Yookertastics (the ukulele club) went to the all schools rehearsal. We had a great time and were able to sing and play with hundreds of other kids. This was a great chance to put all our hard practice to work. We are looking forward to the festival at the end of the year. We hope to see as many supporters come along to the main event as possible. There will be lots of great bands playing as well as our over 1400 strong ukulele orchestra.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Term One 2010
Hey everybody,
This year has started off well in the Music Department at Balmoral. We are now finally in our new music suite and things are beginning to take off. There is still a lot of change to happen but we are up and running nicely. Some of the changes will be to boost the technological aspect of music making by installing Macintosh computers in the music classrooms. These will enable the children to explore modern post production music techniques as well as the ability to use the skills acquired in music class within other Mac programs used in the school.
The itinerant programme here at Balmoral is beginning to get back on track after the hold-ups to do with the building of the hall last year. There are four teachers from various providers teaching in the school and they currently teach throughout a major chunk of 4 school days. Lewis Eady's is planning to come and do a promotional concert in the first term. I will also be asking other providers to do the same. It is my goal to promote the itinerant programmes amongst the children so as to provide a beginning point for those that are learning instruments to get involved in school bands and performances.
The music groups have had major interest from students with many trying out for the Rock band and also taking part in the ukulele orchestra and instrumental group. This is a promising sign that music and performance related activities are a big draw card for students and that the cultural life of the school is doing well. There are some talented students this year in the Rock Band and in the Instrumental Group with individuals that are picking up the tunes and songs very quickly. So we look forward to some great performances.
Wishing everyone a great and successful year.
This year has started off well in the Music Department at Balmoral. We are now finally in our new music suite and things are beginning to take off. There is still a lot of change to happen but we are up and running nicely. Some of the changes will be to boost the technological aspect of music making by installing Macintosh computers in the music classrooms. These will enable the children to explore modern post production music techniques as well as the ability to use the skills acquired in music class within other Mac programs used in the school.
The itinerant programme here at Balmoral is beginning to get back on track after the hold-ups to do with the building of the hall last year. There are four teachers from various providers teaching in the school and they currently teach throughout a major chunk of 4 school days. Lewis Eady's is planning to come and do a promotional concert in the first term. I will also be asking other providers to do the same. It is my goal to promote the itinerant programmes amongst the children so as to provide a beginning point for those that are learning instruments to get involved in school bands and performances.
The music groups have had major interest from students with many trying out for the Rock band and also taking part in the ukulele orchestra and instrumental group. This is a promising sign that music and performance related activities are a big draw card for students and that the cultural life of the school is doing well. There are some talented students this year in the Rock Band and in the Instrumental Group with individuals that are picking up the tunes and songs very quickly. So we look forward to some great performances.
Wishing everyone a great and successful year.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
On the importance of music
Here is a link to an interesting article about how music affects our brains. It also makes a case for the musicality of all people.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
term two Y5/6 instrument making
Some of the Year 5 and 6 kids made their own instruments in term two. Here are a few outstanding examples. These were projects that the children completed at home. It is very impressive to see how resourceful and creative they are.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Old Mac II
This is the second video of Old MacDonald continuing the chords. There is also a pic of the song and chords attached.Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ukulele Recap
Hi everyone I am trying a new venture here - ukulele video lessons. These are meant to be a recap on lessons taught at Balmoral School as well as providing extension for students wishing to continue studying and improving their ukulele playing on their own. The first video recaps part of the lessons taught to the Y 5/6 students using the song Old MacDonald as a learning tool for playing simple melodies and chords. Have fun!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Term one 2009 - music at Balmoral School
Hi everyone,
We have started the year off well at Balmoral in the music classes having fun and learning lots of cool things.
The Year 3 and 4 children have been continuing to use the time blocks from last year with some great results in understanding time values and music symbols. We have learnt a variety of games using this equipment so that now the classes can be split into groups to work independently on each one. I can then go around to each group and assist those that are needing help. The favourite game so far seems to have been playing Shop with the time blocks. We are also continuing to use the Music Room resource to learn about other music concepts.
The Year 5 and 6 classes have been learning to accompany the song Junkanoo using a variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments. It is great to see the stundents learning to cooperate in groups to produce a cohesive group performance. The addition of ukuleles to the school instrument selection has been a source of fun and new learning for the Year 5 to 8 students. Many have picked up the basic skills of ukulele playing very fast and it will be exciting to see how far they will go in learning this rewarding instrument. Here is a link to a very cool ukulele solo on the jazz standared tune All Of Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISj9LVIZbEY
Here's another - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
...and here is a good site for basic ukulele chords and strumming from
Hawaiian music supply on you tube
Have fun!!
The new hall building is in progress and should be up around the last term of school. This will be great for the music classes because we will finally have a music classroom and practice studios.
All in all we have had a great start to the year and I look forward to continuing to participate in the children's discovery in the coming terms.
We have started the year off well at Balmoral in the music classes having fun and learning lots of cool things.
The Year 3 and 4 children have been continuing to use the time blocks from last year with some great results in understanding time values and music symbols. We have learnt a variety of games using this equipment so that now the classes can be split into groups to work independently on each one. I can then go around to each group and assist those that are needing help. The favourite game so far seems to have been playing Shop with the time blocks. We are also continuing to use the Music Room resource to learn about other music concepts.
The Year 5 and 6 classes have been learning to accompany the song Junkanoo using a variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments. It is great to see the stundents learning to cooperate in groups to produce a cohesive group performance. The addition of ukuleles to the school instrument selection has been a source of fun and new learning for the Year 5 to 8 students. Many have picked up the basic skills of ukulele playing very fast and it will be exciting to see how far they will go in learning this rewarding instrument. Here is a link to a very cool ukulele solo on the jazz standared tune All Of Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISj9LVIZbEY
Here's another - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
...and here is a good site for basic ukulele chords and strumming from
Hawaiian music supply on you tube
Have fun!!
The new hall building is in progress and should be up around the last term of school. This will be great for the music classes because we will finally have a music classroom and practice studios.
All in all we have had a great start to the year and I look forward to continuing to participate in the children's discovery in the coming terms.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
time blocks
Here are some kids using the time blocks that I have made to help them understand how to read, write amd play rhythms. There have been some promising results so far with children being able to correctly label and find combinations of various notes to equal a given note. We have been playing games like 'trainloads' and 'Mystery man' to achieve this. This is a new approach to teaching this material that I am trialling The method has been around for ages but I am reviving it for in the classroom. It is a little like using Quesionaire blocks (sorry about the spelling errors). Each block is represetative of a note of a certain length and each successive block is half the size of the preceeding one. The use of these blocks is a great way to approach more than one concept at a time, namely music rhythm and fractions. Later we place large cards alongside the blocks to link into the written rhythms concepts. We are working from the concrete to the abstract.
We are using games as a fun and easy way for kids to get into these concepts.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Te Manu Aute
I have recently been on a music teachers retreat to Motutapu island and while there was privaledged to sit in on workshops taken by Mark Dashper an expert on Maori instruments. He is employed by team soultions Faculty of Education The University of Auckland.
He heads up a new initiative for enhancing the education of Gifted and Talented (GATE)in Northland. The collaborative media approach (Web 2.0) to education is, in my opinion, quite revolutionary and well worth checking out. You can gain access to this site by using the below
username: tmuser
Password: tmpass
A related site is also this one
http://mediasite.temanuaute.org.nz
You can gain access to the presetnations on this site by using the below
username: temporary
Password: exciting
I will also make these links available on the side bar of this blog.
He heads up a new initiative for enhancing the education of Gifted and Talented (GATE)in Northland. The collaborative media approach (Web 2.0) to education is, in my opinion, quite revolutionary and well worth checking out. You can gain access to this site by using the below
username: tmuser
Password: tmpass
A related site is also this one
http://mediasite.temanuaute.org.nz
You can gain access to the presetnations on this site by using the below
username: temporary
Password: exciting
I will also make these links available on the side bar of this blog.
Recent work at school
Hey there everyone.
We have been having a great time in music at the school.
The Y5-8 students have been working on creating soundscapes and atmospheric music as well as graphic scores. There have been some creative and varied compositions put forth by the students. A note to students - don't forget to check out the graphic scores link on the side bar of this blog.
The juniors have been discovering different ways to play percussion instruments and have also been working on graphic scores as a means to compose music of their own. These students are always surprisingly creative in their approaches and also have loads of enthusiasm for the tasks set.
I will be posting some of the students' work in due time.
We have been having a great time in music at the school.
The Y5-8 students have been working on creating soundscapes and atmospheric music as well as graphic scores. There have been some creative and varied compositions put forth by the students. A note to students - don't forget to check out the graphic scores link on the side bar of this blog.
The juniors have been discovering different ways to play percussion instruments and have also been working on graphic scores as a means to compose music of their own. These students are always surprisingly creative in their approaches and also have loads of enthusiasm for the tasks set.
I will be posting some of the students' work in due time.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
room 10 kids playing Loletta
These are the room 10 kids Milan, Jarvis and others playing rhythms borrowed from Loletta by Salmonella dub on percussion instruments in term one
http://www.box.net/shared/esdjhdk0k8
http://www.box.net/shared/esdjhdk0k8
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Music so far at Balmoral 2008
Hi one and all,
It has been a wonderful start to the year at Balmoral School in the music department. I have really enjoyed teaching all of the age groups at school.
The children are very enthusiastic, talented and creative.
This year is a new venture for the school having never had a music specialist. I am hoping to introduce some new things into the school programme in music this year.
One of the exciting things that has been introduced so far has been the KBB band. It is a great opportunity for children to learn a new instrument. Some of the students that have begun learning are in Year 3. This is a good age to start learning an instrument.
We have been studying and using the Music Room resource in Years 1-4. I have found it to be a very well suited resource for these levels. The first term in Y3&4 we concentrated on Rhythm and in term two the focus has been on Pitch and Melody. The Senior Primary and Intermediate kids had a similar focus but at a more advanced level.
The Intermediate children were very impressive with the range of creative ways they found to produce sounds from buckets. Some intermediate children were really taken with the Stomp video and the follow-up activities we did. There are some real dance hopefuls in the school!
In the term one holidays I attended a Marimba (big xylophone-like instruments) making course. This was an exciting chance for me to learn how to make these beautiful instruments. My intention is to eventually make a set of 4 or 5 of different pitch ranges for the school. The first one has been completed and we have been using it in the senior school in our arrangements of the song Wimoweh. The children have responded enthusiastically to the instrument and its characteristic sound. (We are playing an instrument that is somewhat different to the one you'll here on the link but it is essentially the same type of instrument)
Here's to future fun in music!
It has been a wonderful start to the year at Balmoral School in the music department. I have really enjoyed teaching all of the age groups at school.
The children are very enthusiastic, talented and creative.
This year is a new venture for the school having never had a music specialist. I am hoping to introduce some new things into the school programme in music this year.
One of the exciting things that has been introduced so far has been the KBB band. It is a great opportunity for children to learn a new instrument. Some of the students that have begun learning are in Year 3. This is a good age to start learning an instrument.
We have been studying and using the Music Room resource in Years 1-4. I have found it to be a very well suited resource for these levels. The first term in Y3&4 we concentrated on Rhythm and in term two the focus has been on Pitch and Melody. The Senior Primary and Intermediate kids had a similar focus but at a more advanced level.
The Intermediate children were very impressive with the range of creative ways they found to produce sounds from buckets. Some intermediate children were really taken with the Stomp video and the follow-up activities we did. There are some real dance hopefuls in the school!
In the term one holidays I attended a Marimba (big xylophone-like instruments) making course. This was an exciting chance for me to learn how to make these beautiful instruments. My intention is to eventually make a set of 4 or 5 of different pitch ranges for the school. The first one has been completed and we have been using it in the senior school in our arrangements of the song Wimoweh. The children have responded enthusiastically to the instrument and its characteristic sound. (We are playing an instrument that is somewhat different to the one you'll here on the link but it is essentially the same type of instrument)
Here's to future fun in music!
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