Week 20

At the beginning of every class with grades 2,3, and 4, students sing an A from memory, then checking their remembered note with a tuning fork. This A is the same note to which orchestras and other instrumental ensembles tune before playing, and falls very comfortably into a child's singing range. At the beginning of the year, second grade was often off by large intervals when finding this note on their own, but now they are usually within a whole step.

First grade and Kindergarten have begun a new game, called "Where, oh, where". In this game, students sing four beat phrases and patterns while keeping a three beat pattern with their hands. This game, and others like it that students play in music, help them learn rhythmic skills that help them when we play instruments and learn dances.