December 19 - 23

Seventh Grade - We are finishing our unit on the Freedom riders. The last few who did not get to do their verse of "We Shall Overcome" will get to share their verse. Tuesday we will be creating a Venn diagram and comparing different songs. We will finish the week watching the chorus and band show and using the terms we know to evaluate the songs we hear.

No homework

Eighth Grade - We officially started our Rock and Roll Unit. This week we are talking about Elvis, The day the Music Died, and The British Invasion. Students will be presenting their research paper to the class on the day we discuss their artist.

Chorus Class - We are finishing evaluating the show. We will be caroling on Thursday!

December 12 - 16

Seventh Grade - We are analyzing and creating a sound map of Edvarg Grieg "In the Hall of the Mountain King." We will be playing our sound map using classroom percussion instruments. We will do a mini unit on The Freedom Riders and how their movement effected some music in that time period.

Eighth Grade - We are continuing our jazz unit. We are talking about Dizzy, Miles, The Duke, and Ella. We are ending the week with a Gavin Degraw song and discussion.

Research Papers are due Wednesday 12/14. The specific directions are posted on this blog!

Chorus Class: We are analyzing our show. Monday we will analyze from our memory/perception of the performance. We will watch the show on Wed and Friday and discuss the things we did well and the areas we need to improve!

CHORUS: Fudge Fundraiser Pick-Up on Wednesday at 2:35. The caroler list has been posted on the chorus board, if you are on the list please get your permission form from Mrs. Kline.

December 5-9

Seventh Grade - We are starting our Jingle Unit! Monday, we discussed jingles in music. Tuesday, every student has to pick a product and write a 15-30 second jingle. They could choose an existing song or pick their own tune for their jingle. Any student who did not complete their jingle in class must complete it for homework. Wednesday, Students will be performing their jingle for the class. Thursday and Friday - We will choose our favorite jingle and create our own commercial for viewing as a class.

All 7th Grade students had to hand in a song title and artist of their choice for a later listening activity.

Eighth Grade - We are continuing playing the guitar and starting the jazz unit.
We are learning the 12 bar blues in the key of G as well as discussing various jazz performing artists.

Homework - all research projects are due next Wednesday 12/14/11 - please follow the directions on the previous blog page!

EXTRA CREDIT FOR ALL CLASSES - Attend the Chorus and Band Concert this Thursday, December 8, 2011 and you will receive 10 extra credit points. See me after the show for credit!

Chorus Class - Your midterm grade is upon us. We will be performing our show this Week. Invite your family and friends to see the show!

8th Grade Artist Assignment

You will write and research on the artist/band you chose in class.

You must have 1 picture of your artist /band.

Your report: (5x5) Must contain –
Biography of Artist (personal details)
History of Artist (musical information)
Influences (Those who influenced the artist and vice versa)
Update (If still living, where is the artist today?)

The report MUST be in PARAGRAPH FORM!!!! I do not want bullets or fragments. This MUST be in your own words!!! If you copy and paste from the internet you will get a zero and be reported for plagiarism. You must have a minimum of 5 paragraphs in your report.

Back Page –
Artist’s “Greatest Hits” in quotes
BIBLIOGRAPHY of all Work Cited (at least 3) – all references must be in bibliography for proper credit!
DUE WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14thPicture – 10pts
5x5 – 50 pts
Greatest Hits – 10 pts
Bibliography – 20 pts
Presentation – 60 pts

November 29 - December 2

7th Grade - We will be creating a found sound piece of music and performing it for our classmates. We will listen to a piece of found sound music and analyze what we hear.

There will be a written quiz on Friday on the Vocab for Listening. Use the vocab sheet as a study guide.

Home Work - DUE Monday 12-5-11 Students must give me the title of a song and the artist of a song they want to hear and have their classmates analyze. This must be school appropriate with both language and message!

8th Grade - We are learning the e minor chord this week. We will continue to practice the 5 chords we learned already and learn to accompany a few songs.

All students must sign up for the rock and roll artist that they want to research and write their 5x5 about. The directions for the assignment will go out next week, but they will sign up for their artist this week.

Chorus Class - We will be rehearsing on stage with the microphones. We will be finalizing everything we need for the show.

November 14 - 18

Seventh Grade - This week we are performing our pentatonic songs. We are learning the terms for music listening activities. We will be getting the vocab in the form of a study guide.

We will analyze the piece "Spring" using a perception chart. We will be reading music and playing a song together using the boomwackers. Friday we will be listening to songs in many styles and we will use our listening vocab to help us determine which style of music we are hearing.

Eighth Grade - We will finishing performing our own rendition of "The Banana Boat Song." We will do an experiment on the effect music has on our mood and how we write. We will be discussing the guitar and it's make up as well as being assigned a guitar for use this marking period.
We will begin learning the first four chords on the guitar.

Chorus Class - We will be working on getting our pictures for the power point presentations. I would like to get onto the stage with the microphones for a full sing through using the microphones we have available.

November 7-11

Seventh Grade - We are writing a song using the pentatonic scale. The students will be performing their song starting on Thursday. We are doing a rhythmic listening dictation activity.
Students will be taking a written test on the notes, rests, note values, and rest values on WEDNESDAY!

Eighth Grade - Students learned the calypso rhythms on Monday as well as "The Banana Boat Song." Students are writing more verses to go with this songs. We will begin to perform our verses on Wed or Thursday.

Students will be taking a written test on the notes, rests, and their values on WEDNESDAY!

Chorus - Students will finish choreographing the swing song for the concert. We will be taking some pictures for our PowerPoint at the night show. We will continue singing our feature piece on stage.

October 31 - November 4

Seventh Grade - We only have two days left in the marking period. We will be listening to the remainder of the song choices from the students as well as finishing up our sing off duet round.

Eighth Grade - We will be finishing our sing off solo style. I was truly impressed with the singers in round 1!!!! I can't wait to see how our performers dazzle us today and tomorrow.

Chorus - We will be working on choreography for our swing piece as well as working on our feature.

I have had a wonderful first marking period with my classes! I wish them well as they continue this school year.

Week 9 October 24 - 28, 2011

Seventh Grade - Students are participating in the NS Music Class Sing Off!!! Students elected to be either a judge or a singer for this activity. Singers sang their first song on Monday. Judges listened to them and judged them on a set criteria. Two were eliminated from the morning class and six moved to round two. The afternoon class will follow the same procedure.

Tues. We will follow some of the same criteria and eliminate more students. If you are a singer you must be prepared each day with a new song.

Wed. Final elimination. We will write a 5x5 on our experience as judges or as singers.

Thursday - Students will play a piece of music using the boomwackers. They will use the skills they already developed reading music.

Friday - We will be singing a piece of two part harmony music.

Goal - To develop our listening skills and singing ability using skills we have already been using.

Eighth Grade - Eighth grade students are continuing the rock and roll unit.
Monday - solo artist
Tues - Hard Rock
Wed. - Pop Artists
Thurs - Grunge
Friday - Dance Music

Goal - To expand our understanding and knowledge of Rock and Roll music!

Chorus Class - We will do vocal warm-ups. Work on our feature. Begin our Power Point presentation for the concert.

HW - Each member of Chorus Class will sing the feature piece as a solo on Thursday - this will be a note and word accuracy grade.

Week 8 - October 17-21

SEVENTH GRADE - We are starting a unit on American Musical Theater.
Monday - Overview of the History of Theater in the United States - Vocab to Study
Tuesday - Discuss and Analyze two songs from Showboat
Wednesday - Listen to and Discuss Porgy and Bess selections
Thursday - We will be featuring Oklahoma
Friday - Guys and Dolls - if time permits this may get pushed to next Monday.

Goal - to gain a greater understanding of musical theater. To broaden our listening skills and reinforce the knowledge of the elements of music.

We will have a quiz on the vocab next week - Tues. or Wednesday.

EIGHTH GRADE - We are continuing our Rock and Roll Unit
Monday - W will be discussing Surf Music including the Beach Boys and The Mama's and The Papa's
Tuesday - We will discuss Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who
Wednesday - We will look into punk bands and particularly talk about The Ramones
Thursday - Disco Music will be a feature and we will talk about The Village People and ABBA
Friday - If time permits we will discuss Solo Artist - Specifically Billy Joel, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Janet Jackson.

Goal - To broaden our knowldege of rock and roll music.

CHORUS - Chorus Class will be onstage working on our feature. We will rehearse without music. We will go over our movements for the group piece on Monday in class.

SPEAKING PARTS FOR THE CONCERT SHOW ARE DUE ON FRIDAY!!!!

After school chorus is canceled for Monday - good luck at District Auditions.
UNIFORM FITTING IS TUESDAY!!!!
Pick up of Fundraiser is on WEDNESDAY!

October 10-14

Seventh Grade - Students will finish their verse to the Freedom song "We shall overcome." Students will perform their verse in little groups for the class.

We will begin our daily listening to their chosen songs - we will listen to the music while evaluating what we hear.

Students will do an activity the combines multicultural music and rock and roll.

We will start Friday with the beginning of an American Musical Theater Introduction.

Eighth Grade - We are starting a 15 day unit on Rock and Roll. We will begin with how Rock and Roll started, Elvis, The day the Music Died, The British Invasion, and Soul Music. We will speak about each topic for one day. The goal is to broaden the students background knowledge of Rock and Roll Music.

****HOMEWORK DUE FOR EIGHTH GRADE ON WEDNESDAY!!!! Their rock and roll or country music hall of fame project. They have the sheet with all of the directions. If you need additional information please email me at bkline@northschuylkill.net

Chorus Class - We will continue staging our piece of music. We will continue memorizing our feature piece.

******HOMEWORK - Students will have to write a brief synopsis on two of the pieces being sung at the Holiday show. They will be used to introduce the songs at the concert.

Week 6 - October 3-7

Seventh Grade - We will create a sound map using Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King." We will add instruments to accompany the song while we follow our sound map. We will pick rhythms for each instrument to add to the piece we are hearing. We will take turns playing different instruments.

We will do a mini - 3 day unit on freedom riders and the song "We Shall Overcome." The students will learn about different freedom riders. They will share what they learn with their classmates. We will work on singing the Freedom Song "We Shall Overcome." We will write an additional verse to this song, keeping in the them of what we have learned.

Eighth Grade - We will be finishing our Jazz Unit this week. We will learn about Ella, The Duke, and Dizzy. The students will finish performing their blues pieces. We will try our hand at improvising.

EIGHTH GRADE HOMEWORK ASSIGNED ON WEDNESDAY - They will have one week to write a 5x5 on their favorite band or artist from the rock and roll hall of fame or the country music hall of fame. They will be given a sheet with specifics as to how the assignment is to be completed. They are due next Wednesday!

Chorus Class - We will complete our choreography of the Irving Berlin Piece. The class will help the after school chorus students learn the choreography. We will get back to working on our feature piece and brainstorm some picture taking opportunities for the power point.

Week 5 - September 26-30

Seventh Grade - Monday - We will discuss Jingles and listen to 7 jingles in class.

Monday HOMEWORK - Choose a product they will use to write their jingle (they do not need to bring it in, they just need to know the product they are using). Choose the tune for their jingle.

Also - they must submit the title and artist for the song they want to use as their listening piece for the marking period. They must listen to the song first and make certain there are no foul words or inappropriate messages.

Tuesday - Students will write a 20-30 second jingle in class. Any student not completing this assignment in class will have to finish it for homework.

Wednesdsay - Students will perform their jingle for their classmates. We will decide as a class which has the catchiest tune and sends the best message.

Thursday - We will take our favorite jingle from Wednesday and turn it into our own ad. We will add percussion parts, actors, etc. and record the advertisement.

Friday - We will create our own sound map to the piece "In the Hall of the Mountain King."

Eighth Grade - We are starting a Jazz Unit.

Monday - Read and discuss a Jazz time line. We will listen to Louis Armstrong. We will start playing the guitars using the chords we learned to play the blues progression.

Tuesday - We will listen to Billie Holiday sing the blues. We will begin writing our own piece of blues music.

Wednesday - We will listen to Miles Davis. Students will continue writing their piece of blues music. They will also be playing the blues chord progression on their guitar.

Thursday - We will listen to the fabulous Duke Ellington. Students will begin to perform their blues pieces.

Friday - We will listen to Benny Goodman and finish performing our blues pieces.

CHORUS - Chorus class will be having measures assigned to them for choreography homework. We must finalize our movements for the Irving Berlin piece. We will also sing through our feature song at each rehearsal.

Afterschool Chorus - You must attend rehearsal. The only excused absence is an absence from school. If you have an appointment you must see me prior to rehearsal and inform me that you won't be at rehearsal. If you submitted your conflict paper then I know the days that you are somewhere other than rehearsal. We know it isn't going to be easy, but if you want to make it "worth it" you must attend rehearsal!

Tuesday we are breaking into parts - Half with Miss Kraft working vocals and half with me working vocals.

Week 4 - September 19-23, 2011

Seventh Grade - Students will listen to Stomp the Yard and a Kitchen Found Sound Excerpt. We will be working on creating our own piece of found sound music. Students will be working in a small group to compose their own selection.

*Students must bring in their own "instrument" from home to make their composition. Examples would be bowls, wooden spoons, whisks, or plastic bottles. Anything that you can use to make sound that is not a traditional instrument or body percussion.

Students will use a listening rubric to assess each ensemble.

We will listen to "The Unsquare Dance" this week.

We will end the week working on reading and singing a piece of music in an SAB formate.

EIGHTH GRADE - We are in the thick of guitar playing! We already learned 4 chords. We will be working on playing those chords to the song Rockin' Robin. We will also be adding the eminor chord this week. With the chords we learn we will be able to play many different popular songs. The students will have an opportunity to pick a popular song and work on it in class. The end result will be the students playing their selection.

*Eighth grade will have a quiz on the parts of the guitar as well as the fingerings on a tab grid to the first four chords we learn. QUIZ IS WEDNESDAY!!!

CHORUS CLASS - We will continue working on our feature song. We are going for correct rhythms as well as notes. We will begin to choreograph the Irving Berlin Medley for the large chorus.

SPAR"TONE" TREBLE MAKERS - Do not miss rehearsal! We have a lot of work ahead of us!

FUNDRAISERS ARE DUE ON FRIDAY!!!! ONE CHECK MADE OUT TO NORTH SCHUYLKILL ACTIVITIES FUND!!!!

Third Week of School - Sept. 12 - 16

Seventh Grade - Students will learn and define – Tempo, Meter, Beat, Rhythm, Staccato, Legato, Register, Tonality, Dynamics, Melody, Range, and Harmony. We will discuss how these words are used to describe the music we hear. We will also review the families of instruments.

Students will use the “Spring “ Perception Chart to listen to and analyze the piece of music.
Students will use boomwackers to perform music written on a music staff. (Easy Selection)

Students will use the proper musical terms to analyze a piece of Latin Music.Students will perform a piece of music as a class using the boomwackers. This will be a more challenging piece that we played yesterday.

We will discuss how the elements of music create different styles of music - listening and analyzing.

FRIDAY - WRITTEN QUIZ ON THE ELEMENTS OF MUSIC INTRODUCED ON MONDAY!

We will also be playing the silent rhythm game.


Eighth Grade

We will finish performing our calypso pieces.

Students will be exposed to music with different moods. We will discover how that effects both our writing and our mood.

Students will be introduced to the Guitar this week. They will first learn about the parts of the guitar. Then we will learn to strum 4 different chords.

Chorus Class
Chorus class will begin singing our feature piece for the December concert. We will also continue working on the county chorus piece for this year.

After School Chorus
Make sure you have your fundraiser! You only have 2 weeks to sell!

We will begin working on the first selections for the holiday concert.

Second Week of School - Sept. 6-9

Seventh Grade:  We will be composing music this week!  Students will each compose a minimum of 8 measures in 4/4 time.  We will start with the rhythms then using the pentatonic scale create a simple melody.  The students will practice playing their melody and perform it for their classmates. 

We will also be learning how to critically evaluate the music we hear.  I hope to get to this lesson by Friday.

***Afternoon music section only will have their written test on Tuesday.  The morning section completed this on Friday.

Eighth Grade: We will also be composing music this week! 

Students will be using the tune from "The Banana Boat Song" as the base melody for their own calypso song.  They will be writing their own lyrics for the song.  When the songs are complete they will perform their composition for the class with the help of their peers.  Students may sing alone or enlist the help of a friend or two.  We will be using the calypso rhythms learned last week to accompany their song.

***Afternoon music section only will have their written test on Tuesday. The morning section completed this on Friday.



Chorus Class: We will continue working on the County/District audition piece.  We discovered our ranges this past week.  We will be tracking our range to see how large it grows over the course of the year.  We will be discussing breathing and how to make the best possible sound.  We will discuss how to follow/read choral music.

Chorus After School: Informational meeting/Sign-up are on Tuesday from 2:35 - 3:10.  Our first regular rehearsal is Friday September 9th from 2:35 - 3:10.

Have a Rockin' Musical Week!!!!

First Week of School 2011-2012

Seventh Grade Music - Students will discuss parts of music. We will create rhythms and perform them in groups and individually. We will listen to rhythms and chart what we hear in the appropriate grid.

Friday - We will have a two part test - written assessment on the parts of music. Performance assessment on rhythms.

Eighth Grade Music - Students will discuss the Four Styles of music we will be featuring this year. Students will begin with Calypso music. We will be learning and singing The Banana Boat song. We will be learning and performing calypso rhythms.

Friday - Students will have a calypso rhythm assessment.

Chorus Class - Students will begin with vocal warm-ups. Students will begin learning the county chorus audition piece. Students learn breathing/singing techniques that will be needed for the year. We will also be discussing their role as a leaders in the choral program.

Frozen February

Hi Gang - the Chorus and Band rehearsals have been very hit or miss with our cold weather. I hope all band students are spending time practicing. We need you to pull your own weight all the way to the concert date!

Third Grade Students all have their recorders - remember to practice every week and bring your recorders to class.

Sixth grade Students are in the middle of a dance unit! Keep up the good work!

Winter Happenings

We had a wonderful holiday concert this year. I am so proud of all the music department students.

Chorus and band will be working on their spring show.

The third grade students will be starting recorder in the end of January.