Year 5 music: How can you move on a staircase?

Walking on the stairs is something that we do everyday - in school, on the bus, in a shopping mall, etc. We don't give it much a thought when we walk on the stairs, but if we add a little creativity to it, it can be lots of fun!

Other than walking and bouncing up and down, can can go down the stairs like people in the following video
does!!

Perhaps you can compare a piece of written music to the movement on the staircase. We can walk by steps, by skip, or make a leap, or stay at the same step - these motions can basically describe the distance relationship among all notes in a piece of music. Some people have brought the idea of the "walking piano staircase" further and invented the monster piano. Not only do you need good music skills to play (hop) on it, you also need to move quite elegantly like a dancer. I hope you love this performance as much as I do! =)

Super Mario Bros Theme Song: A capella

The Italian term a capella is means "in the manner of church" or "in the manner of chapel" - it refers to music designed to sing without any instrumental accompaniment.  Let's watch a version of this one-man-band performing the Super Mario Bros theme song a capella:

Year 5 music: Guitar and Ukulele



The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain



Ukuleles are commonly associated with music from Hawaii.  According to Queen Lili'uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means "the gift that came here," from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come).

So where did the ukulele come from?  it was taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde in the 19th century.

Ukuleles employ four strings and commonly come in four sizes, soprano, concert, tenor and baritone.

Since the ukulele is highly portable and inexpensive, it has become a popular instrument in different countries, such as Canada, Japan and the United States.  (Visist www.ukulelehunt.com if you want to know more about this cute instrument)

Adding to our Super Mario Bro theme collection - hear it on the ukulele.

How does the timbre of the piece differs when it's played on a guitar?

As for the guitar, it is hard to traced back to its orgin as string instrument that resembles the guitar has appeared as early as 5000 years ago in the Middle East, central Asia and India. There was not a single person who invented the guitar, it rather evolved over time from ancient guitar-like instruments into the modern guitar we have now. It was not until 1779 when the real first modern version of the guitar was "invented" by an Italian man by the name of Gaetano Vinaccia. The modern-day guitar usually has six strings; it is one of the primary instruments in blues, rock, pop and country music.

MARIO PAINT COMPOSER

MARIO PAINT COMPOSER is the program that I use to teach composition in Year 2. They can't get enough of it~~I can't wait to have them compose their own song when school starts again after the holidays~~

Mario Paint composer can be downloaded here:
http://www.winportal.com/mario-paint-composer


Please note that the musical function is quite limited, I'd say it's only suitable for children under 7.

For older kids, I recommend "Garage Band" (default program from iMac).