Concert info

Here are some of the particulars for my students about our concerts.

2-3 graders: arrive at 6:45pm. Sing from 7:00-7:20ish
4-5 graders: arrive at 7:25pm (or come early to hear the others). Sing from 7:30-7:55ish

Wardrobe:
Black on the bottom, solid white on top. If you don't have black pants, wear the darkest you have. Ladies, skirts are a-okay. Make sure your shirt is plain without a logo or pattern. Please no Santa hats (sorry!).

Songs for Hanukkah

Our concert in December just wouldn't be complete without some holiday cheer! In addition to our old favorites we're learning some really fun songs for Hanukkah, and we'll be employing accelerando (gradually speeding up) and crescendo (gradually getting louder) to them both!

Burn Little Candles (2-3 grades)

Burn, little candles, burn, burn, burn

Burning bright and clear

Burn, little candles, burn, burn, burn

Hanukkah is here

Eight little candles in a row

Hanukkah is here

Eight little candles in a row

Burn so bright and clear

Dance little candles, dance, dance, dance

Hanukkah is here

Dance little candles, dance, dance, dance

Hanukkah is here

Light the Candles (4-5 grades)

Light the little candles and sing a song for Hanukkah

Dreidels spinning gaily for Hanukkah is here

Turning, turning, hora dancers turn and turn

Burning, burning, see the bright Menorah burn

Hanukkah time is here, let’s all be happy

Hanukkah time is here, la la la la la

hora is a type of circle dance originating in the Balkans but also found in other countries. It became a national dance in Israel.

menorah is a nine-branched candelabrum used on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah

Beethoven's Fifth Animated Score

In many of my classes we'll be listening to the first minute of the first movement Beethoven's fifth Symphony in c minor. Some incredibly clever people took the first movement and animated it. You can also see a chart of what instruments the different colors represent. Enjoy!

Lyrics to Hay Un Amigo

The words on the youtube video are a little off in places, so make sure you go by these words as you're learning the song!

Hay un amigo en mi

hay un amigo en mi

Cuando salgas a volar

Hay un amigo en mi

Si un amigo en mi

Hay un amigo en mi

Hay mucho que puede ser

un poco mas listos

mas nunca habra quien puede ser

un amigo fiel que tu lo sabes

Los años pasaran

lo nuestro no morira

lo vas a ver mejor tener

un buen amigo en mi

hay un amigo en mi

un buen amigo en mi

hay un amigo en mi

You've Got a Friend - Hay un Amigo En Mi

Who saw Toy Story 3 this summer? Totally hilarious, not to mention a real tear jerker (at least for us sappy adults). I think we'd all have to agree that one of the funniest parts was when Buzz Lightyear was transformed into a Latin hunk who loved to tango! I was so excited at the end of the movie when I heard the familiar guitar stylings of the Spanish group The Gypsy Kings do their own rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me."

Here's a great youtube video that gives you the words to the Spanish version so you can see the words and sing along. Spanish is such a beautiful language and so much fun to sing! Not to mention the Gypsy Kings always provide an excellent groove!

Musical Mingles

The New York Philharmonic has an awesome website for kids. So far, my favorite part of the website is called "Musical Mingles." Somehow you end up composing music with bouncy balls, furniture and gravity. You'll just have to see it to understand! It's under the compose section of the website.

Go...create!

Kidzone

about the links...

From the titles of the links it's a little hard to figure out what some of them might be so I thought I would explain.

Classics for kids - EVERYTHING. Info, music, games, CD recommendations, all things classical.

Keeping Score - A product of the San Francisco Symphony that has lots of great info on some of the greatest classical composers. You can also watch some of their DVDs featuring Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) for free online.

Kisstunes - A portal to write and record your own music with an online keyboard.

Santa Rosa Symphony - Not only do we have a world class symphony in Sonoma County, but they also have several children's orchestras.

SF Symphony Kids - Lot of interactive games and activities. You could explore this website for hours!

Hope you enjoy and have some fun. If you find any cool music links let me know and they just might appear on this site!

Beatles Mania

Well, music wouldn't be quite complete without a little Beatles to sing along with and tap our feet to. Second and third graders are learning the song from the Yellow Submarine called "All Together Now." Fourth and fifth graders are learning "Ob-la-di-ob-la-da." I love singing nonsense words!

All Together Now

One, two, three, four, can I have a little more?

Five, six, seven eight nine ten I love you

A, B, C, D, can I bring my friend to tea?

E, F G H I J, I love you

Sail the ship, chop the tree

Skip the rope, look at me

All together now...

Black, white, green, red

Can I take my friend to bed?

Green, red, yellow orange and blue, I love you

Ob-la-di-ob-la-da

Desmond has his barrow in the market place

Molly is the singer in a band

Desmond says to Molly, "Girl I like your face"

And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!

Lala how the life goes on

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!

Lala how the life goes on

Desmond takes a trolley to the jewelry store

Buys and twenty carat golden ring

Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door

And as he gives it to her she begins to sing

In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home

With a couple of kids playing in the yard

Of Desmond and Molly Jones (ha ha ha ha)

Happy ever after in the market place

Desmond lets the children lend a hand

Molly stays at home and does her pretty face

And in the evening she's a singer in the band

Welcome!

Welcome to the very first post at So la mi! I am very excited about this project. I decided to start a blog for my students after attending a conference this summer called Keeping Score. For the past two years I have constantly asked myself, 

• How can I get information out to my students? 
• How can I share so many great resources with them? 
• How can I better teach music? 
• And most importantly, how can I do that without wasting a ton of paper?

A blog! Of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

So I hope you will enjoy and come back often. I'll be updating periodically with thoughts, links and help with our music. Enjoy!