Sunday, March 29, 2020


JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Grade One:

  • Students continued to develop steady beat as well as their singing voices with the game "Lost my Shoe".   Everyone had an opportunity to choose a classmate's shoe and sing the question "Yoo hoo! Whose shoe?" followed by the response "My shoe!  Thank you!" from a classmate.  The beat was kept by the class by patting steadily on their laps.
  • We reviewed our "I Think Music's Neat" chant to reinforce 'ta' (quarter note).  
  • Movement and literacy were combined for the story "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.  After reviewing and discussing the activities that 'Peter' did on his winter outing, the students acted them out through pantomime.
  • "What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?" - more pantomime work - students shared, sang and acted out activities that we could do outside on a winter's day :)
  • Spoons (Carnaval) - We practiced hand-positioning and eight rhythmic patterns before performing them to French-Canadian folk music.  Lots of fun!
  • "Hot Cross Buns" (a traditional song) - focused on rhythm through singing and moving.  Also an introduction to quarter note and quarter rest.  Students referred to the quarter rest as 'a pointy three' or 'a sideways M'.
  • Opera - in preparation for the Calgary Opera performance of "The Bremen Town Musicians", students listened to variations of the story, learned about vocal styles (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass) and moved to operatic music (Overture from "The Barber of Seville").  We also watched the video "The Bathtub of Seville".  Do you remember the type of singing voice 'Placido Flamingo' had?  Answer:  baritone
Grade Two:
  • Rhythm Reading (independent/small group work) - students continued to reinforce their understanding of note and rest recognition/identification (quarter, half, eighth) by creating and drawing 4-beat rhythms. 
  • Ear-training - Mme Zdrill tried to 'stump' the Grade Twos by playing 4-beat rhythms that the students would then have to identify and draw.
  • "Tell Me, Tell Me" - a game based on listening, singing and improvisation.  Each student took turns being blindfolded and tapped a 4-beat rhythm for a "hidden" classmate to play (echo).  The blindfolded student then carefully made their way to the circle edge from where the sound came,  followed by singing the question "Yoo hoo!  Are you here?"  
  • Spoons (Carnaval) - see Grade One description above.  Sixteenth-note rhythms were also introduced (tika-tika).  Students had an opportunity to create a 4-beat rhythm pattern for the group.
  • Opera - see Grade One description above.  Students also became 'critics' and reflected on the performance.
Grade Three:
  • Recorders - our unit started off with the following questions: What do you know about the recorder?  What do you want to know about the recorder?  What would you like to learn?
  • Our next step, to learn some facts about the instrument.  For example, there are various kinds/'voices' (range) of recorders:  sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
  • Recorder positions - resting, practice, ready
  • Parts of the recorder:  mouthpiece, body, front, back and bell
  • Playing the recorder:  breathing gently without 'blowing out the flame of the candle', tonguing -using the tongue to separate notes
  • "Sarah", a professional recorder player, provided suggestions and demonstrations via video for proper technique and position of notes
  • Notes learned to date:  High C, B, A, G, E
  • Spoons (Carnaval) - Students reviewed technique and rhythm patterns.  Patterns were used to accompany instrumental music (French-Canadian folk music).




Sunday, January 12, 2020

Novembre et Decembre 2019

In November, all grades participated in the singing of "Une Colombe" ("A Dove").  Actions were used to support the lyrics.  The students in Grade Five provided accompaniment to the song.

On December 13th, everyone gathered in the gym for Caroling.  Students were joined by their family members to sing along to familiar Christmas songs (French and English).  Our Grade Five and Grade Four students provided instrumental works on handbells and ukuleles.   A fun and merry time!

Grade One:

  • "I Think Music's Neat!" - An introduction to steady beat.  Students demonstrated their understanding of steady beat through movement (patting, clapping, walking, marching, etc.), writing (pre-notation) and listening (ear-training; pulse vs environmental sounds).   
  • Steady Beat or Not - Students listened to series of sounds and had to identify whether what they heard was a steady beat or not (ear-training).  
  • Musical Four Corners/"Four Voices" - A game to distinguish four different types of voices (speaking, whispering, shouting, singing)
  • "Going on a Bear Hunt" - Students provided actions and sound effects for the story.

Grade Two:
  • Rhythm Reading - Students read aloud rhythm flashcards to reinforce their reading skills.  Djembes were also used for reading and playing rhythm patterns.
  • Djembes - Used to introduce note values (quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, eighth notes).  
  • "Three Little Muffins" - Reviewed forte, piano and mezzo forte  (dynamics; volume in music) through poetry.  Symbols (f, p, mf) for these dynamics were also reviewed and used to create changes in volume throughout the poem.  
  • Musical Four Corners/"Note Values and Rests" - A game to reinforce note identification.  

Grade Three:
  • Group Work - Students worked in small groups to integrate rhythmic reading, movement and djembe playing. The following process was used: planning, practicing, editing, presenting.  Both classes demonstrated great teamwork!
  • Musical Four Corners/"Dynamics" - A game to reinforce knowledge of dynamics (symbols; ff, f, mf, mp, p, pp, crescendo, descrescendo).  A new dynamic symbol was introduced:  sfz (sforzando)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Music Notes for October

Halloween has come and gone for another year and colder temperatures continue to descend upon us.  But that's okay because in the Music room we have been busy keeping things warm, fun and upbeat!  Here's what's been happening:

"Une Colombe" (A Dove) by Celine Dion

Une columbe est partie en voyage
Autour du monde elle porte son message
De paix, d'amour et d'amitié
De paix, d'amour a partager
Et c'est sa jeunesse qui la fait voler

Our students have been practicing Verse One of this beautiful song in preparation for our upcoming Remembrance Day Assembly (Nov. 8).  Our focus has been on singing in unison using actions.  Ask your child to show you the actions for the following lyrics:

  • une colombe  
  • en voyage
  • autour du monde
  • son message
  • de paix
  • d'amour
  • d'amitié
  • a partager
  • voler         

Grade One

  • "Four Voices"(expression) - a poem about voices we use to express ourselves:  speaking, whispering (quiet), yelling (loud) and singing.
  • "Chante toi ton nom" (singing) - matching our voices to the tones heard.
  • "I Think Music's Neat!" (rhythm) - preparing for quarter notes by using a steady beat
  • "Gobble, Gobble, Gobble" (rhythm, singing, moving) - a Thanksgiving game similar to "Duck, Duck, Goose".
  • Djembes (playing instruments) - learning basic playing technique, communicating without using words ("Rumble", "Do You Like..."), partner work, playing as "one voice" (teamwork), steady beat.
  • Halloween (singing, moving, literacy) - "C'est l'Halloween", "La chanson des squelettes", "If You're Spooky and You Know It..." and "Five Little Pumpkins" (action songs).

Grade Two
  • Move and Freeze (moving) - exploring with movement (eg. marching) and body shapes; partner work.
  • Djembes (playing instruments) - playing bass (goon, doon) and treble (go, doe) tones, playing technique (eg. flat hand, fingers together), practicing patterns (walking and running), "Rumble" (expressing our feelings), "The Echo Game" (a listening game), practicing steady beat, aiming for "one voice" (teamwork).
  • "Mabel, Mabel" - a Thanksgiving circle game about setting the table for dinner.
  • "Trick or Treat" - learning about sections in music (A B), moving to a half-note beat
  • Half Notes, Quarter Notes, Eighth Notes:  Hearing the Difference (rhythm) - playing these note values with a steady beat on the djembes.

Grade Three
  • Music Listening - class opener; listening to various styles (genres) of music.
  • Rockin' Dynamics - comparing our feelings to the following dynamic symbols:  piano (quiet), mezzo forte (medium loud) and forte (loud).
  • Djembes - playing technique, teamwork/"one voice", small group work incorporating movement and non-pitched rhythm instruments.

Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions.  Thank you 😊

May each day begin and end on a beautiful note! ♫


Wednesday, September 18, 2019

What's Happening in Div. 1 Music?



Bonjour mes amis!

My name is Mme Zdrill and I am the music teacher for Grade One (Salle 1, 2, 10 and 11), Grade Two (Salle 5, 6, 7 and 8) and two of our Grade Three classes (PT2 and PT3).  It's great to back at school working with my partner-in-music, our Div. 2 music teacher, Mme Edgett.  It's also great to be back working with all of our students, both returning and new to our school.  

Our first couple of classes were focused on learning new names, mostly for Mme Zdrill, and establishing the expectations during music class.  They are as follows:

  • Be Safe
  • Be Responsible
  • Be Respectful - to the room/instruments, to each other and to yourself.
Below is a breakdown of what we've been working on so far:

Grade One:  


  • "Bonjour mes amis" - our opening song/greeting
  • "Personal Favourite" - sharing our names and our favourite things (e.g. colour)
  • Action song - "Oliver Twist"
  • Movement - "Move and Freeze", focusing on listening, levels (high/low), moving in different ways (e.g. skipping). 
  • Djembes - exploring with sound (e.g. loud/quiet) and accompanying  a story with appropriate instrumental effects. 

Grade Two:
  • "Personal Favourite" - sharing our names and miming our favourites things (e.g. hobbies)
  • "This Music Makes me Feel..." - listening to the song,"Getting to Know You" and interpreting/expressing how it makes us feel (moving, listening, drawing a picture).  Students share their interpretations with the class. 
  • Djembes - will begin week of September 23-27.

Grade Three:
  • "Jump!" -  a socialization activity focusing on sharing our names and our likes and wants through mime (improvised movement).
  • Djembes - focusing on technique and rhythm patterns.
  • Form - to begin week of September 23-27.  We will be using the "Jump!" chant and the djembes to create musical sentences (e.g. phrases/sections).
Coming soon...
  • Music Share - information will be sent via email about our popular "show and tell"activity.  
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me.  Thanks!

Hoping that your day begins and ends on a beautiful note! :)


Monday, September 2, 2019

Welcome back!



Welcome back to the 2019-2020 school year!  This year, our whole school will be using Blogger to make our daily agenda posts.  To make it easier for you, you can sign up to have each post delivered directly to your email by going to the right side of this page and entering your email address in the "Follow by Email" box.  You can also add the blog right on to the home screen of your phone or iPad.  We hope this makes the communication between home and school easier and opens up great conversations between you and your child.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Grade One: Students continued to develop steady bea t as well as their singing voices with the game "...