On this beautiful sunny day, most of the kids were out enjoying the weather when I arrived. We waited for them to get back to start the class. Once this excited group arrived, we basically had a party! It was so much fun and these children had so much enthusiasm and joy to be singing, dancing and having a good time together. The highlight was the loud laughter that took the room several times during our music class.
This group of kids is amazing! We continue to have so much fun. The toddlers are supported by the mums and the big kids all joining in the class and sharing their musical skills. The school aged class is always a lot of fun and the kids are eager to learn and explore the music together. They have worked hard on reading and playing musical rhythms on the drums and have started reading the musical notes of the sheet music. They are excited to try ukuleles next week!
What an awesome group this is. We started by musically introducing ourselves to the group with an instrument we chose, and our voices. Then we did some call and response chants, playing and singing at the same time!
We all also had our turns to solo and lead the beat followed by everybody on our drum circle. Then we ended on a high note by having a dance party.
The highlight was the lovely feedback I received from some participants at the end of the class. Such an amazing group of musical kids.
The group began with various structured and unstructured musical exercises to get acquainted with the instruments and the process of creating music in the moment. Once the group was warmed up we created several musical improvisations with a varied selection of instruments. Group members remarked on the level of focus required. One group member spoke about how engaging in music lights up the senses, we're focused on the sounds other group members are creating as well as the tactile sensations offered from each musical instrument. The group then formed a bell choir, each group member was given two bells each, with a corresponding musical note in the major scale. The music therapist presented a series of visual cards for three major and three minor chords within this major scale, a total of six different chord patterns. Group members were conducted to ring their coloured bell each time their colour was presented in the chord. As the group members played each chord they were asked if the tune sounded familiar. After a few times playing the pattern, a group member guessed Lean on Me by Bill Withers, which was the correct song. Group members then engaged in listening to the piece while following along with lyric sheets. We discussed the meaning of the song and shared lines that resonated with us. Group members shared stories of people who have supported them over the years and how they have returned this support. To close, we sang the song while playing a variety of instruments.
As the days start to warm up outside, the smiles are blooming and the excitement is at its best! We did a lot of moving and dancing this week with songs like Hands Together, Hands Apart, and You Gotta Sing.
The highlight was our movement songs where we marched in a circle. We are getting so good at it and we have a blast every time.
We had a few first timers in the room for this session, and it didn’t take long for them to jump right into the fun of our music circle. We also had a participants who has been attending for a little while saying, goodbye for now.
Highlights of our class were everyone singing together to Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and our parachute time with lots of laughter.
This class was full of grown-up participation, which made it extra fun for the two young girls who attended the class. The grown-ups were game to sing, dance in a train, play instruments, and help out with the parachute. And the two girls were very enthusiastic and excited for music time.
This was one of the most focused and fruitful classes we've had all year at Birkdale. Starting off with our regular physical warmup, we got straight into vocal warmups, diving the kids into three tables, having them sing the solfege notes of a major chord separately, and then explored singing them together. The kids were curious to hear themselves, so I recorded the sound of their singing and played it back to them. I think it made a big difference to their approach toward making music collectively once they could hear the sound in its totality. I also made use of the whiteboard in the room to show them a bit of notation (some seemed into it, others a bit less so, but I wanted to introduce the concept). We looked at how chords are visualized, and the distinction between harmony and melody. We jumped off of this by playing out those major chord notes on the glockenspiel. First we explored C-E-G in any configuration, then we tried doing things rhythmically in sync. I wanted to finish off with some structured improvisation, so I directed them to play only the sharp notes on the glockenspiel (which have a tendency to always sound good together in any configuration), alternating between free playing and synced playing on the 1st beat. We got some really beautiful harmony out of those glockenspiels! We finished off with a show and tell of anything the kids wanted to perform for the rest of the group, and a few kids had some sweet dance moves they wanted to show off. There was a very good feeling in the air when I left!
This group of wonderful young musicians is shaping up to be a bunch of amazing musical nerds. They are always excited to play games, and explore new music. In the school age class we learned an entire song in one class on the glockenspiels!
The group began with some warm up exercises to get acquainted with the instruments. Group members shared the level of focus required to engage with different rhythmic patterns. Group members reflected upon how in the moment they were during music making, and how playing music can be a grounding experience. Participants were then invited to create their own rhythmic phrase with a corresponding manifestation. Loving Life was a rhythmic pattern that resonated with group members. We discussed how we could start the day by stating a phrase like this and carry that positive energy throughout our days. We then created several musical improvisations with different selections of instruments. Various descriptive words were shared to match the music including peace and gratitude. The group then engaged in singing the John Legend song All of Me. It was one of the songs suggested by a group member the previous week. We listened to the song and discussed lyrics which resonated most with us. We then rewrote the lyrics of the chorus to fit the theme of self-love. Each group member shared traits and characteristics that they loved about themselves and their fellow group members. We then used these words to brainstorm lyrics in the chorus. As a group, we sang our new version together with various instruments. We discussed the importance of self-love and supporting the relationship each of us has with ourselves.
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