Mr. Oliver's Music Class

Hello everyone, It is really good to be back. Now that we are into November, all classes will begin focussing on their work towards the Christmas Concert in December. All of the songs have been chosen and we will begin practicing soon. This week in grade 4, students have been putting the final touches on their summative presentations on instruments which will take place next week. I have attached the summative here for reference. Grade 4 summative In grade 5 students were introduced to their Christmas song and we have been over some music theory, notes and terms in preparation for playing in band next week. Grade 6s have also been putting the final touches on their music histroy summative, a presentation about a specific composer or band. They will present this next week or early the week after. I have also attached the summative here for reference. Grade 6 summative Hope everybody has a great weekend! Mr. Oliver

Hello everyone, We have had a great week in PYP music! Grade 4s continued practicing the ukulele and can now play all of the chords for 'Let It Be' by the Beatles. We also went into some depth about percussion instruments and other instruments from around the world. Next week grade 4s will begin working on their summative project, where they will pick an instrument and create a presentation in groups about it. Grade 5s have continued to practice with the band and also went into some more detail about music theory. Grade 5s should practice excercises 1-5, 7 and the first 2 bars of excercise 17 at home. Grade 6s have also been practicing as the band and should practice excercises 1-7. A link to the music is again attached below. Grade 6s also completed their study on the history of music and will begin their summative project next week; a group presentation about any composer they choose. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V5WwX6QMcO9z6XxPrnqINTxW4tQLUtY3 Have a great

Hello everyone. We have had a great week in grades 4,5 and 6. In grade 4 we had a special guest from grade 11 come in to teach us all about the violin. Victoria showed here violin, answered some questions, and treated us to a special solo performance. In grade 5 students continued to practice in the band. We have now practiced up to excerise no 7 in class and students should practice up to this excercise at home. A link to the notes again is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V5WwX6QMcO9z6XxPrnqINTxW4tQLUtY3 In grade 6 we have also continued to practice together as the band, up to excercise number 5. Grade 6 studetns have additionally learned about the Rennaisance, Baroque and Classical Eras of Western Classical Music. Have a great weekend everyone! Mr. Oliver

Hello all, Last week was an extremely busy week because of Fall Fundraiser. Some classes I didn't see much this week but we will resume normal classes next week, continuing with band for the grade 5 and 6s and the ukulele with grade 4s. The sheet music for practice for band is posted here. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! Mr. Oliver

We had another great week this week!: Grade 4 In grade 4 we continued our instrumentation unit and spent some time learning about different types of woodwind instruments. We also did some music theory and learned about treble clef notes. Grade 5 We practiced together as the band this week. Students can now play excercises 1,2 and 3 which they should practice at home.  Grade 6 We also continued practicing together as the band in grade 6 as well as starting a new unit about the history of Western music! Have a great weekend everyone! Mr. Oliver 

Hello everyone, Please find here the music for those students in band in grade 5 and 6 as well as a fingering chart. Mr. Oliver https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V5WwX6QMcO9z6XxPrnqINTxW4tQLUtY3

Hello everyone, We have completed our first full week of music in grades 4,5 and 6. Here is what we did: Grade 4 We continue to work on both playing the ukulele and learning about different instruments in class. Students learned about keyboard instruments and created a labeled poster about a choice of keyboard instrument. We reviewed the C major chord on the ukulele and also learned F major and started with the G major chord. Students discovered that these chords can be used in many songs and we started to sing and play 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' by The Tokens. Grade 5 In a big moment, the grade 5s played their instruments together for the first time! This week we have just concentrated on music theory and creating a sound on ourinstruments, but also practiced making sounds in both 4 beat and 3 beat patterns, which students should practice at home. Next week we will start work from our musical excercise book and I will post the music here on the blog as necessary. Gr

Hello everyone! We had a great first week in the PYP; This is what we did: Grade 4 The Grade 4s were reintroduced to the ukulele and were taught the proper technique for holding and strumming the ukulele as well as seeing examples of how different chords were played. Students played the C chord together and we hope to learn some more chords next week. Grade 5 Grade 5s were very excited this week as they received their band instruments. Some things to remember for grade 5 students: 1. Students should practice at least once a week 2. Students only need to make sure that they have their instrument at school on the days that we have music (Days 1,3 and 5) 3. When we begin practicing together I will post the music notes on this blog for students to look at at home. 4. When instruments are at school they should be stored in the music room, not in their own classroom or locker. They will be allowed to drop off and collect their instrument at the beginning and end of the day.

Welcome all. My name is Mr. Oliver, and I am thrilled to be back for my 4th year at St. Jude’s Academy as the Head of Arts, teaching grade 4,5,6,7 and 8. I have had a very busy summer full of fun events and I can’t wait to hear about all of the things you did this summer as well! It is going to be a great school year, and I am very excited for it to begin! Units and Collaboration : Music for Grade 4 this year will include continuing working on playing Ukulele with students learning a Band instrument in grade 5 and 6. We will be preparing for the Christmas Concert and Arts Night and hope to create an even more magical performance than we did last year! We will also be collaborating with classroom teachers to be able to connect the students learning throughout subjects. In grade 4 we will be working together on Arts Night preparations, will explore coding in music in grade 5, and I am looking forward to working again with the grade 6s on the arts componen