This week we had a snapshot lesson – a lesson in the middle of the unit to assess how well we can apply the skills we have worked on so far to another piece of music. We began by looking at the length of phrases within the song and worked on finding a beat using body percussion (tapping knees and shoulders). We then looked at each of the words, practised saying the words first before adding the melody and thinking about the pitch of each note. Once we confident in this, we then moved on to combining all the elements and began to sing in unison trying to get the correct notes. As a challenge, we then turned the song into a call-and-response song (just like the song we are looking at during this unit – I’ve Been to Harlem). We split into 2 groups and practised where group 1 started singing the song before group 2 started singing. It worked extremely well and sounded lovely once we had mastered it!

During recorders, we were introduced to the note A. We looked at where we need to place our fingers before practising call-and-response style activities with Miss McGlone, playing different rhythms of the note A. We then took our new knowledge and played a piece called ‘Amazing Aeroplane’. Some people were even brave enough to place the piece on their own in front of the rest of their crew, with praise and wonders being given after their performance! ✨

In Year 3/4 this morning we have been using the notes F, G, A, D and C on our glockenspiels to create our own melody for ‘I’ve Been To Harlem’. We used the notes in lots of different ways and each pair created a completely different melody that we noted on our whiteboards so that we could remember the sequence. We then had some brave volunteers who performed to the rest of their crew! ✨