Music department presents Keys to Creativity
The 5-12th grade band & vocal students held their concert Tuesday, April 27. The 6th grade music students performed a basketball choreography to start off the concert. They bounced away to the song "Let's Get it started." The 5th grade music students banged on buckets to the song "Ghost Busters." The 5th grade band students played two songs, "Morning" and "Mexican Clapping Song." Freshman Emma Schwenn and Sophomore Kylee Uhland sang "Happier" by Ed Sheeran with their guitar and ukulele. Emma sang a solo on her guitar to the song "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Kylee had a ukulele solo with the song "if this is the last time" by LANY. The 5-6th grade choir sang the songs they competed with at contest. They were able to get a I rating for their performance. The 6-8th grade band played "Mechanical Monsters" featuring the instruments they created including PVC Instrument, Trash Tap Set, and Stumpf Fiddle. The 9-12th grade band played the song "Energy!" The ending of the concert 6-12th grade band played "Hymn for a Child" featuring three soloists, Taden Gottshcalk, Kylee Uhland, and Sam Pinkerton.
Passion Projects by Mrs. Sarah Rudd
"Band class is traditionally where students learn to play instruments in an ensemble. Some students love it and others, not so much. As a band teacher, I want my students to learn how to play their instruments AND learn to make music for a lifetime. I watched a TEDed video with Victor Wooten that reminded me that students should have a chance to “babble” in the language of music. This is where passion projects enter the picture.
Students are amazing and they have come up with all kinds of incredible ideas they wanted to pursue. Some built their own instruments. Some built lights that respond to sound. Others created music with everyday items and recorded many layers to create a final piece. They planned each step like, identifying their project, assembling a parts and price list, writing step-by-step directions, gathering necessary materials, and assembly. Students were excited to explore another side of music. For those who built an instrument, they explored playing their instruments to demonstrate learning. Another aspect of these projects was the cross-curricular involvement. Students calculated their material needs. They made decisions about scale and function. They made design decisions for their projects. They were asking questions like, “Is there a formula to calculate the diameter and length of a tube to produce a specific tone?” “How do different types of music affect the speed of a runner?” Music is language, history, science, and math all wrapped up in the beauty of sound.
I am excited to see them go after things that were interesting to them. This was an early step in making music for a lifetime. For the near future, I hope students begin asking more questions about making music. I hope they explore sound. This might mean you hear lots of tapping, clanging, banging, and BOOM! In the distant future, I hope students continue to make music into adulthood. It is likely that students will not pick up a flute much after high school, but the skills learned in band will go with them forever. Students have permission to dream and explore with these projects and my hope is this is only the beginning!"