All State audition rehearsals

This is the last week (Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st) of after school rehearsals for the All State Musicianship test and Sight-singing audition. We will meet in the chorus room after school from 2:15pm-3:00pm. Audition is at 8:30m on Saturday, October 3rd at Electa Lee Middle in Bradenton.

WEEK 6

7th and 8th grade chorus reviewing the difference between slurs and ties. (Learning Goal #4) Rehearsing "A Different Kind of Hero" and "Disney Spectacular". We will be in the keyboard lab on Wednesday.
6th grade chorus learning how to identify and draw the 3 clef signs, Treble, Alto and Bass. (Learning Goal #8) Working on breathing and producing a good vocal tone. Keyboard lab on Wednesday this week.
6th grade music wheel begins a musical study of "Annie". We will have an accompany assignment as we watch and experience the original movie version.
7th and 8th grade keyboard begin reading the Grand Staff and playing hands together. Our theory assignment this week focuses on rhythm...identifying whole, half, dotted half, quarter notes and rests and counting them.
7th grade music appreciation finished our study of music in the Renaissance. We are learning of American great Leonard Bernstein and studying his famous musical "West Side Story". Students are participating in a music survey of how music is used in movies/television and their opinions about that.

WEEK 2

ALL Chorus and Keyboard classes begin our annual fundraiser "Broadway Cafe" this week. Ms. McGinnis from Encore Fundraising will be here Wednesday, September 2nd, for the fundraiser kick-off.
7th and 8th grade Chorus have begun rehearsing. We are working on breathing, vocalizing, and sight singing in C major. We will be in the keyboard lab on Friday to help reinforce our music reading skills.
6th grade Chorus is off to a great start! We are focusing on diaphragmatic breathing, learning the pitch names of the Treble Clef staff and vocalizing. Friday is keyboard lab day :-)
8th grade Keyboard has begun learning the lines and spaces of the Treble Clef staff. This week's written theory assignment focuses on that skill. We have begun playing in C position with the right hand. New song "Ode to Joy"
7th grade Music Appreciation will finish our study of music in the Middle Ages. We have listened to Gregorian chants and now will discuss life in medieval times and the arrival of polyphonic ("many voices") music. We will begin an American musical theater segment with the study of "My Fair Lady" at the conclusion.
6th grade Music Wheel continues working with reading the Treble Clef staff. We will have various assignments each day focusing on this skill. We will begin our first musical theater study by watching and completing assignments related to "The Music Man". Packets will be completed in class and finished by Tuesday, Sept. 8th.

WEEK 1

All students need to turn in a SIGNED course outline for a grade. Please have your parents review your outline, sign it and turn it in SOON!

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year! We look forward to a wonderful year of learning and performing music. On this blog you will find weekly updates for each chorus, keyboard and music appreciation class taught by Mrs. DeWitt. Important dates and reminders will also be posted. Best of luck for a successful school year!

WEEK 37

6th grade chorus students and 7th/8th grade chorus students are in final rehearsals for our CHORUS SPRING AWARDS CONCERT - Thursday, May 21, 2009, 7pm in the Brookside Cafetorium. Students should report to the chorus room in uniform...6th grade - white shirt/blouse and black pants/shoes. 7th/8th grade Brookside Chorus shirt and black pants/shoes.
7th grade keyboard students are completing their final composer study on Italian great, Rossini. We will complete a final written assignment.
6th grade music students are watching Act II of "The Sound of Music" then heading back to the keyboard lab to learn the melody "Climb Every Mountain" from the musical.
8th grade keyboard students perform their final exam recital on Monday, May 18th. Congratulations and Good luck!

WEEK 34

8th grade keyboard students weekly written assignment is a review of rests...quarter, half, and whole...and how to count rhythm in music. We are working on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" by learning the left hand accompaniment...C chord. Final exam will be Monday. May 18th. There is no listening quiz this week.
6th grade music wheel students are studying and watching "The Music Man". We are completing a packet of study that accompanies the musical.
7th grade (multi-age) keyboard students are preparing for their final exam on Monday, May 4th by preparing a piece for classroom performance. Our composer study this week is 19th century great, Johann Strauss, Jr., the King of 3/4 Time and Father of the Waltz. We will complete a written matching assignment.
6th grade chorus students have received their speaking parts for our May 21st concert. We are rehearsing our mini musical "Celebrate Goodwill" and completing Learning Goals #34 and #35 on rhythm. Our 9 week vocabulary test is Monday, May 4th.
7th and 8th grade chorus students are continuing to learn the choreography to our mini musical "Rock and Roll Forever". The students received their speaking parts and can begin memorizing for the May 21st concert. We will complete Unit 4 Lessons 3 and 4 this week reviewing musical terms/symbols. Our 9 week vocabulary test is Monday, May 4th.

WEEK 33

6th grade chorus students are performing for all of the 5th grade orientations this week (April 20th, 21st and 23rd). They are also performing for the 5th grade parents on Thursday night, April 23rd at 6:30pm in the cafeteria. Students-please wear long pants or jeans and a shirt. We are working toward our May 21st Spring Concert and this week will complete Learning Goal #33 on rhythm.
7th and 8th grade chorus students are beginning choreography and narrations for our Spring Awards Concert on May 21st. We will complete Unit 4 Lesson 2 on dynamics (crescendo and decrescendo). Our 9 week notebook check is Friday, May 8th.
6th grade music students are working in the keyboard lab learning right hand C position and Beethoven's melody, "Ode to Joy". We will play Music Bingo as a review.
8th grade keyboard students are working this week on learning the C chord (CEG) and our new song, "Brother John" utilizing the C chord. Semester playing exam is Monday. May 18th. Students will need to select one piece from the recital list for performance.
7th grade keyboard students are studying the Romantic 19th century composer Georges Bizet. We will learn of his opera, "Carmen", and his life as a piano teacher. 7th grade semester playing exam is Monday, May 4th. Students will perform one piece for the class.

WEEK 30

8th grade keyboard students began learning a new hand position - Middle C position. (LH-F,G,A,B,C) We began learning exercises focusing on these new notes-A,B,C. "Can-Can" was our new song while we still reviewed C position and had a quiz on identifying the white keys. This week's written assignment was a review of Treble Clef and Bass Clef lines and spaces.
7th grade (MultiAge) keyboard students also began Middle C position this week. We spent 2 days working in the keyboard lab. This 9 weeks we will spend 2 days a week on our composer unit. This week's composer was Classical great - Ludwig van Beethoven. Our written assignment was on his biography.
6th grade chorus students began rhythm reading and completed Learning Goal #32 focusing on whole, half, quarter and eighth notes. We finished our study of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" while vocalizing daily.
6th grade music wheel students are beginning to learn about musical notation. We also studied instruments of the brass and percussion families.
7th/8th grade chorus students are polishing 4 selections for our concert on April 2nd for the 6th grade students of Brookside. We are continuing with our work on flat, sharps, naturals and key signatures.

WEEK 29

Wednesday, March 18th, is the last day of the 3rd grading period.
6th grade music wheel students will be in the keyboard lab on Monday learning a new melody using black keys E flat and F sharp. Tuesday we will tie up loose ends and Wednesday will be a review day...Music Bingo...before they move to Tech Ed with Mr. Haley (room 7-101) on Thursday, March 19th.
7th/8th grade keyboard students are learning to play harmonic intervals (chords) in C position this week. Harmony is an integral part of our Western music. Written assignment this week is a matching review assignment of musical terms and symbols from this grading period. No listening quiz this week.
6th grade chorus will have the 9 week notebook check on Monday, March 16th. Learning Goals 21-31 and vocab words are included. We will finish studying High School Musical 3 and complete rehearsals of 3rd quarter literature.
7th/8th grade chorus students will also have their 9 week notebook check on Monday, March 16th. Unit 3 Lessons 1-8 and vocab words are included. We will begin some new literature for end of the year concerts.

WEEK 28

FCAT WEEK
6th grade chorus students will take the 9 week vocabulary test on Monday, March 9th. Thursday we will review with Learning Goal #31. 9 week singing tests will be completed this week. No class on Tuesday, March 10th due to FCAT. Notebook check is on Monday, March 16th.
6th grade music wheel students are continuing "The Sound of Music". No class on Wednesday, March 11th due to FCAT.
7th/8th grade keyboard students will continue in C position with some new songs (reading the Grand Staff). No written assignment this week and no class on Tuesday, March 10th due to FCAT
7th/8th grade chorus students take the 9 week vocabulary test on Monday, March 9th. We will complete Unit 3 Lessons 7 & 8 (Key Signatures and Accidentals) this week. 9 week singing test will be completed this week. No class on Wednesday, March 11th due to FCAT. 9 week notebook check is Tuesday, March 17th.

FCAT

FCAT will be administered March 10th and 11th campus wide. We will have a modified Encore schedule those days. Periods 2, 4, 6 will meet on Tuesday, March 10th and Period 3, 5, 7 on Wednesday, March 11th. Good luck on FCAT!

WEEK 27

7th/8th grade keyboard students began learning about flats and sharps. Our written assignment concentrated on notating and reading flats/sharps. We maintianed playing in C position with both right and left hands adding in E flat and F sharp as new pitches. Listening quiz this week was on recognizing quarter notes and quarter rests.
6th grade music wheel students began watching and studying the classic musical "The Sound of Music". We are completing various written assignments relating to this standard in musical theater. We will learn to play a SOM melody on the keyboard next week.
7th/8th grade chorus students are completing their 9 week individual singing evaluation. We are continuing with daily vocalizing and rehearsals. We completed Lessons 5 and 6 (flats, sharps, key signatures) of Unit 3 on Pitch. March 9th is our 9 week vocabulary test (20 matching questions). 9 week notebook check (Unit 3 Lessons 1-8) is March 16th.
6th grade chorus students are continuing to vocalize daily and rehearse. We are completing our 9 week singing evaluation by next week. This week we finished Learning Goals 29 and 30. Our 9 week notebook check (Learning Goals 21-31) is March 16th. 9 week vocabulary test (20 questions) is March 9th. Study, study, study!

WEEK 25

6th grade music wheel students began studying the great Classical composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We are learning of his life in the 18th century and his music. We will be back in the keyboard lab next week learning to play a Mozart melody!
7th/8th grade keyboard students are concentrating this week on learning the Left Hand C position (low C, D, E, F, G) and Bass Clef notation. We are learning correct hand position and how to play several melodies with just the left hand. We will also review the Right Hand C position (middle C, D, E, F, G). Listening quiz this week in on identifying Registers (low, middle, high). Our written assignment this week is the Bass Clef Sign.
6th grade chorus students are focusing on note types - whole, half and quarter. We will have a quiz on the major scale solfege syllables and hand signs. New song (in celebration of Black History month) is Gospel Train, an African American spiritual. We will continue rehearsing My America, Make a Song for My Heart to Sing, Hitori, and various Latin canons.
7th/8th grade chorus students will begin a brief look at Bass Clef notation (Unit 3 Lesson 2 - lines and spaces). We will continue with note reading in the keyboard lab on Wednesday and rehearsing When You're Smiling, Tis the Simple Things in Life, Lift Them Up!, and This Little Light.

No School

No School on Monday, January 19, 2009, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. See you Tuesday!

WEEK 20

7th/8th grade chorus students will finish watching/studying the musical "The King and I". 2nd quarter vocabulary tests will be returned and reviewed. New music and a new seating assignment for this semester will be distributed.
6th grade chorus students will finish the musical "The Music Man" and the accompanying written assignment. A new seating assignment for all students and beginning new music for this semester.

Second Semester

2nd semester began on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. Both keyboard classes and the 6th grade music wheel class changed with a new group of students coming on board until the end of the year. Chorus classes continue, business as usual, as these classes are for the entire school year. Keyboard and 6th grade music students will receive a course outline that should be signed by parent/guardian and an "All About Me..." form that should be returned, filled out, to Mrs. DeWitt. We will spend this week getting to know one another and finding out what the class is all about. Glad to have our new students join us!

Keyboard First Semester Exam

The keyboard class recitals were performed on December 17, 2008. Congratulations to all 7th and 8th grade keyboard students for working hard and presenting a selection to your classmates. Thank you to Ms. Moyer and Dr. Lynch for attending the 8th grade performance. We appreciate the support! Best of luck in your "new" class for 2nd semester :-)

Winter Concerts

Congratulations to all of our 6th, 7th and 8th grade chorus students...the Winter Holiday Concerts were fantastic! We have received many positive comments. You should be proud! All of the hard work and rehearsing paid off :-) Now it is time to focus on a new semester.