Who are Pentatonix? They are an a cappella group with most of the singers growing up close to us - Arlington, TX. There are five singers (thus the 'penta' in their name) who all contribute wide vocal ranges and amazing vocal performances.
We've been studying vocal ranges in Fourth and Fifth Grade - focusing on the five main voices: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone and Bass. We've compared the sounds of each voice. In listening to a few examples of the Pentatonix videos, students were able to clearly hear each vocal part and name which voice was featured.
Students are learning the song 'Carol of the Bells' on the Orff instruments (xylophones) so it was only fitting to listen to Penatonix version of the song. We also listened to the song "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" written by Tchaikovsky and compared the original version to the newer version.
Here are the links to the video clips that we watched in class:
Carol of the Bells
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
For more information on the group, see their official website here.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
Mr. Shafferman's Class
I am at an event today and missing your class! I expect that you're making great choices for Mrs. Herring and doing your best. Please read this blog post and then answer questions on your worksheets. Click on the highlighted words to find their meaning.
PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Peter Tchaikovsky was one of the most famous Russian composers. He wrote six symphonies, music for ballets, piano pieces and many concertos. Tchaikovsky's music is easy to listen to and you probably will recognize some of it. Click below to see some performances of his music:
Nutcracker - Trepak Dance
Nutcracker - Waltz of the Flowers performed by the Vancouver Symphony
Nutcracker - Nutcracker March
Swan Lake - Entrance
Sleeping Beauty Waltz - Gimnazija Kranj Symphony
Tchaikovsky's Childhood
Tchaikovsky was born in a small town in Russia called Votkinsk. Tchaikovsky's father was a mining engineer and his mother was French. Both of his parents had some musical training. Tchaikovsky had four brothers and two sisters. When he was four years old, his parents hired a French governess (private teacher) named Fanny Durbach, to look after Tchaikovsky and his older brother. Young Peter was a very quick learner. By the age of six, he had learned to speak French and German.
Tchaikovsky started taking piano lessons when he was five. He was a quick learner with music too. In just a few years, he could read music as well as his teacher.
Despite his gift for music, his parents did not want him to make a career in music. When he was 10, his parents sent him to attend a school in Saint Petersburg about 800 miles away from his home and family. Tchaikovsky was unhappy at the school and missed his family very much.
A few years later, when Tchaikovsky was 14, his mother died from cholera (a bacteria disease from contaminated water). This was a sad time for Tchaikovsky. He later said that his mother's death was the event that shaped his life. In his sadness, Tchaikovsky turned to music for comfort. He improvised music at the piano and began writing down some early compositions (music).
Tchaikovsky completed school at age 19 and took a job as a government clerk. This job did not make him happy, so he decided to return to studying and composing music. He took classes at the St. Petersburg Conversatory with Anton Rubenstein, who was famous pianist, conductor and composer. When Tchaikovsky finished his studies at the conservatory, he was awarded a silver medal, which was a special prize given to outstanding students.
MUSICAL CAREER
Tchaikovsky was offered a teaching job at the new Moscow Conservatory so he moved to Moscow where he taught and also continued to compose. His early pieces, however, were not liked by audiences.
Tchaikovsky's life changed when a wealthy widow named Nadezhda von Meck asked him to compose a work for violin and piano. She liked his composition so much that over the next 13 years, she gave him money so that he could focus on composing. In all that time, they never met, but they exchanged more than 1,000 letters! They became very close friends in these letters, and Tchaikovsky dedicated many of his pieces to her.
With this support, Tchaikovsky continued to compose music and soon the public grew to love his pieces, both in Russia and across the world. In 1891, near the end of his life, Tchaikovsky conducted performances of his works at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was very pleased to discover that American audiences loved his music.
THE NUTCRACKER
Every December there are performances of The Nutcracker, a ballet composed by Tchaikovsky that is loved by children and adults. The ballet is based on a story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which was written by the German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Although the details of the tale change slightly in different performances, the basic story is always the same.
TCHAIKOVSKY AND THE NUTCRACKER
When people in Russia heard Hoffmann's exciting story, they decided that it would make a wonderful ballet. They asked Tchaikovsky to write the music for the ballet. Several years earlier, Tchaikovsky composed the music for two other ballets: Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.
To bring the story of The Nutcracker to life in the ballet, Tchaikovsky had to write music that would portray the exciting events of the story and also be appropriate for ballet dancing. Tchaikovsky also published an orchestral suite with some of the pieces from The Nutcracker. Orchestras often perform this suite without any ballet performance, because the music is so wonderful.
If you are unable to attend a performance of The Nutcracker, which usually features elaborate sets and creative costumes, you can easily watch a video recording of a performance, either checked out from the library or on the internet.
THE STORY
At a family party on Christmas Eve, a girl named Clara is given a wooden nutcracker doll, while her brother Fritz receives a set of toy soldiers. Late that night, when everyone in the house is sleeping, Clara sneaks downstairs and discovers that the nutcracker doll and the soldiers have grown in size and come to life. The nutcracker and the soldiers are fighting a group of giant mice around the Christmas tree, which also has magically grown bigger. Clara sees that the Nutcracker is losing a battle against the largest mouse, the Mouse King. She throws her slipper at the giant mouse, and the Nutcracker defeats him.
After the fighting is done, the Nutcracker turns into a handsome prince, and he takes Clara on magical adventure. Together they travel to the Land of the Sweets, which is ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Clara and the prince then watch as dancers from Spain, China, and Russia perform. After the dance, "Waltz of the Flowers," is done, Clara wakes up back in her own bed on Christmas morning. She wonders whether it was all just a dream.
PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Peter Tchaikovsky was one of the most famous Russian composers. He wrote six symphonies, music for ballets, piano pieces and many concertos. Tchaikovsky's music is easy to listen to and you probably will recognize some of it. Click below to see some performances of his music:
Nutcracker - Trepak Dance
Nutcracker - Waltz of the Flowers performed by the Vancouver Symphony
Nutcracker - Nutcracker March
Swan Lake - Entrance
Sleeping Beauty Waltz - Gimnazija Kranj Symphony
Tchaikovsky's Childhood
Tchaikovsky was born in a small town in Russia called Votkinsk. Tchaikovsky's father was a mining engineer and his mother was French. Both of his parents had some musical training. Tchaikovsky had four brothers and two sisters. When he was four years old, his parents hired a French governess (private teacher) named Fanny Durbach, to look after Tchaikovsky and his older brother. Young Peter was a very quick learner. By the age of six, he had learned to speak French and German.
Tchaikovsky started taking piano lessons when he was five. He was a quick learner with music too. In just a few years, he could read music as well as his teacher.
Despite his gift for music, his parents did not want him to make a career in music. When he was 10, his parents sent him to attend a school in Saint Petersburg about 800 miles away from his home and family. Tchaikovsky was unhappy at the school and missed his family very much.
A few years later, when Tchaikovsky was 14, his mother died from cholera (a bacteria disease from contaminated water). This was a sad time for Tchaikovsky. He later said that his mother's death was the event that shaped his life. In his sadness, Tchaikovsky turned to music for comfort. He improvised music at the piano and began writing down some early compositions (music).
Tchaikovsky completed school at age 19 and took a job as a government clerk. This job did not make him happy, so he decided to return to studying and composing music. He took classes at the St. Petersburg Conversatory with Anton Rubenstein, who was famous pianist, conductor and composer. When Tchaikovsky finished his studies at the conservatory, he was awarded a silver medal, which was a special prize given to outstanding students.
MUSICAL CAREER
Tchaikovsky was offered a teaching job at the new Moscow Conservatory so he moved to Moscow where he taught and also continued to compose. His early pieces, however, were not liked by audiences.
Tchaikovsky's life changed when a wealthy widow named Nadezhda von Meck asked him to compose a work for violin and piano. She liked his composition so much that over the next 13 years, she gave him money so that he could focus on composing. In all that time, they never met, but they exchanged more than 1,000 letters! They became very close friends in these letters, and Tchaikovsky dedicated many of his pieces to her.
With this support, Tchaikovsky continued to compose music and soon the public grew to love his pieces, both in Russia and across the world. In 1891, near the end of his life, Tchaikovsky conducted performances of his works at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was very pleased to discover that American audiences loved his music.
THE NUTCRACKER
Every December there are performances of The Nutcracker, a ballet composed by Tchaikovsky that is loved by children and adults. The ballet is based on a story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which was written by the German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Although the details of the tale change slightly in different performances, the basic story is always the same.
TCHAIKOVSKY AND THE NUTCRACKER
When people in Russia heard Hoffmann's exciting story, they decided that it would make a wonderful ballet. They asked Tchaikovsky to write the music for the ballet. Several years earlier, Tchaikovsky composed the music for two other ballets: Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.
To bring the story of The Nutcracker to life in the ballet, Tchaikovsky had to write music that would portray the exciting events of the story and also be appropriate for ballet dancing. Tchaikovsky also published an orchestral suite with some of the pieces from The Nutcracker. Orchestras often perform this suite without any ballet performance, because the music is so wonderful.
If you are unable to attend a performance of The Nutcracker, which usually features elaborate sets and creative costumes, you can easily watch a video recording of a performance, either checked out from the library or on the internet.
THE STORY
At a family party on Christmas Eve, a girl named Clara is given a wooden nutcracker doll, while her brother Fritz receives a set of toy soldiers. Late that night, when everyone in the house is sleeping, Clara sneaks downstairs and discovers that the nutcracker doll and the soldiers have grown in size and come to life. The nutcracker and the soldiers are fighting a group of giant mice around the Christmas tree, which also has magically grown bigger. Clara sees that the Nutcracker is losing a battle against the largest mouse, the Mouse King. She throws her slipper at the giant mouse, and the Nutcracker defeats him.
After the fighting is done, the Nutcracker turns into a handsome prince, and he takes Clara on magical adventure. Together they travel to the Land of the Sweets, which is ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Clara and the prince then watch as dancers from Spain, China, and Russia perform. After the dance, "Waltz of the Flowers," is done, Clara wakes up back in her own bed on Christmas morning. She wonders whether it was all just a dream.
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