Page 2 - SN October - Grade 3

Music

MS. LJUDMILA JANICIJEVIC

Dear Parents,

Grade three students started the new school year with a transdisciplinary theme Who We Are.
Through the central idea that our interactions shape our identity, students reflected on influences that
altered their identity, including those inspired by or through music. While discussing to what groups
they belong and to whom they are connected, they furthermore enjoyed various creative interaction
music class provided.
Students also started playing in a band and creating ambient sounds to accompany different melodies.
Being privileged to have new students who play string instruments – David, cello and Anders, violin
– the group was able to enrich their setting with new timbres. Many tunes were rearranged when stu-
dents combined their creativity and knowledge. What was also quite significant and useful, were re-
flections after performing: students discussed what their arrangement was like before, compared it to
current ones, and talked about what could be altered, wither collectively or individually.
Third graders were focused and determined as they worked on the challenging task of reading notes
and playing them on mouth pianos, xylophones, and small percussion. In addition, while playing
mouth pianos and strings, students worked on finger technique and positioning. To extend their skills
even further, students used Astor Piazzola’s “Oblivion” as an inspiration to come up with their own
creative solutions, while creating accompaniment that would include appropriate melodic and rhyth-
mic patterns.
Next month, students will focus on phrasing, dynamic changes, and combining singing and playing
instruments.