High, Low, or the Same?

This week we had new students join the fun of music class. Together we explored making music with the glockenspiel. We played a listening game called High, Low, or the Same. The game focuses on listening to an interval jump using the notes of the glockenspiel. Then the students say if the notes jumped high, low, or stayed the same. It's a great game for older students to introduce them to an RSF class! The new students then played chords on the ukulele and the glockenspiel together combining them with the drums for a fun jam session.

Johnny and His Multiple Hammers

We had so much fun in our music class this week. Some new kids showed up for the first time and all participants were super excited to sing and share music even before the class started.

There were lots of movement songs on the setlist. We helped Johnny with the super fun Johnny Works With Hammers song and the kids loved to find all of the “hammers” to work with.

A Family Affair

It was great to see the same familiar faces back at Yorktown this week, and the kids couldn't be more excited.  We were joined by a grandma and a dad today, and they both brought the energy despite being new to the class. The highlight of the class was dancing to Move on Up by Curtis Mayfield while we shook the parachute to the rhythm, with fast/slow and left/right variations.  It's a long song and normally I fade it out, but this time I kept it going longer than usual because the kids were having such a great time with it.  I'm sad to only have 1 more week with this group, they've been a delight!

Posing and Droning

Today I switched things up in the physical warm up, and brought back an old favourite game, where the kids walk or dance the length of the room like a runway and pose at the end of the room. It gave a great opportunity to hear some of the kids' favourite songs, and for some of the boys who are a bit shy with singing, they got a chance to come out of their shell and do some truly amazing group tableaus. One of the kids even launched into the splits! It was a lot of excitement to start, but for the second half of class we brought things into more of a listening zone, as I brought out my clarinet and droned with circular breathing to give the kids a consistent pitch to match their own voices against. I had never heard them sing in tune so well together! Then we tried making a collective drone with our eyes closed and the difference in musical quality was really apparent. The kids can really listen when you get them in a curious frame of mind!

We Are Happy And We Know It!

Our five participants were very excited this week. Before our class started they said “Hi Zeca,” probably about 20 times between them. Even before I was ready to start, they were already sitting in a circle waiting for the fun to start.

We did lots of movement improvising actions for If You’re Happy and You Know It. A highlight was our jam to Bob Marley’s classic Three Little Birds.

Game With No Name

I love introducing new students to one of my favorite games. After introducing the C major scale with a glockenspiel, and the students understanding how the notes go up and down, I gave the two students 10 seconds to mix up all of the notes and create their own melody. Students of all ages love this game! It is a wonderful way to introduce a new instrument to a new student that feels fun and easy to play. Students will play over and over again creating their own songs! So far this game has no name. What would you call it?

Another Successful Music Class

On this week’s music class, we had a full room of participants once again. With classics like Wheels on The Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider, we all did lots of dancing, actions and movement.

A fun moment was our jam, in which we played I’m in the Mood for Music and featured all of the instruments in our magical choo-choo train (musical instruments bag).

Healthy Self-Esteem

This week at Nellie's was fun and sweet. The ages of the children ranged from 4-months to 4-years old, and there was something for everyone. Highlights included the song I Love Me Everyday, in which we sang about our body parts and appreciating our bodies when we look in the mirror - an awesome song about healthy self-esteem, as well as The Walking Song, and the parachute!

New Faces

In this week's class, we had a brand new family join us halfway through the class. This was this family's first evening at the shelter, so I felt a personal responsibility to make them feel welcome. Luckily, this sister and brother duo jumped right in and were excited to participate, especially in the jam portion of the class as well as the parachute. It was an honour to make them feel perhaps a little more at home on their first day.

More Great Energy!

This is such a fabulous group. Not only did they pick up on all the songs from the first week with total ease, the parents didn't require any additional nudging to participate in the actions and hand signs. Everyone seems genuinely excited to be there, and the grownups and kids alike went with full silliness into songs like the Little Green Frog and Apples and Bananas. Everyone was all smiles when we left, and I felt like the kids and parents really got a great time to connect with one another.