Hello Lowell Community. If we haven't met, I'm Anthony Spano and I've taught music here at Lowell for over 18 years. I hope to be preparing these newsletters on a regular basis to update you on what we've done, are doing, and will be doing in your child's music classes. Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments:

anthony.spano@watertown.k12.ma.us

Our December Musician of the Month is American musician, composer, and band leader Jon Batiste. Each week in music class, all students will check in with songs, videos, activities and fast facts. Click the link to see our presentation from class.

Our November Musician of the Month is American folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta. Each week in music class, all students will check in with songs, videos, activities and fast facts. Click the link to see our presentation from class.

Students in grades 2-5 have been studying the piano in class. The piano makes a great vehicle to teach basic musicianship, theory, and note reading.

Later this year, Kindergarten and grade 1 will start by simply exploring the keyboard experimenting with high and low, loud and soft, steps and skips between notes, and chromatic vs. diatonic patterns. Then, we'll be using a simpler finger-number notation system to play familiar melodies, first just using the black key groups, and ultimately, the white keys.

In grades 2 and 3, we spent several weeks learning "middle-C position" which centers both hands at middle C allowing us to begin reading and playing a variety of simple, single-note diatonic melodies. Over the next few weeks, we will be reading basic notation and practicing some of these simple songs. The packet we use in class is linked below.

In our older grades (4-5), we've been working through the same "Middle-C packet" as mentioned for grades 2 and 3 above. As the students have a bit more background reading and playing, they're given more open workshop time in class to work on songs in the packet of their choosing that match their ability level. This month, we've been holding informal "recitals" in each class where students can perform the song they've practiced either privately for me, or for the whole class.

Black key melodies - finger notation (Kindergarten and Grade 1)

Middle C packet - standard notation (Grades 2-5)

White Key melodies - finger notation

Scales and Triads

"Hallelujah" - by Leonard Cohen - chord changes

This month, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will be studying guitar. We first learn basic mechanics, guitar technique, and picking on the open strings. Later, we learn to create new sounds on the fret board. Finally, we study simple single note riffs and melodies using a guitar notation system called tablature.

Click here to view or download the song book we use in class.

Singing is central to our music curriculum at all age levels. As I tell the students, your voice is the "oldest instrument in the world" and we carry it around with us everywhere we go. Below are just a few of the songs we've been singing in class this month:

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley

La Bamba - Richie Valens

In the Hall of the Mountain King - from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite

Skin and Bones - traditional

Pumpkin Bones - Quaver music

If I Were a Tree - traditional

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

Stand by Me - Ben E. King

Doggie Doggie, Where's Your Bone - Folk game/song

Mr. Sun - Raffi

Blackbird - The Beatles

Yellow Submarine - The Beatles

Down by the Bay - traditional

Hello Song - sung to the Farmer in the Dell melody

Willaby Wallaby - Raffi

Our instrument program has been very successful thus far this year. We have excellent participation from many of our 4th and 5th grade students and we're hoping to have some creative performance opportunities later in the school year. If you have any questions regarding your child's instrument lessons, feel free to email their instrument teacher at any time:

Macullen Byham (strings)

Maxwell Thew (winds, percussion)

Anthony Spano (winds, percussion)

Lauren Girouard (winds, percussion)

Students in grades 4 and 5 can participate in our Lowell chorus. In chorus, we focus on diaphragmatic breathing, balance, diction/enunciation, and rudimentary harmony including part singing, round, and 2-part harmony.

If your child is participating and you haven't yet officially signed them up, you can do so here.

So far in rehearsals we've been doing simple warmups using the major scale and three songs which can be found here:

"Take on Me" by a-ha

"Tenho Todos os Sonhos" by Daisy Fragoso