Mrs. Scannell's Music Room

Check out my Halloween light show!

This light show was made using a special kind of lights called Pixel Lights. Each light has a tiny computer chip that allows it to be programmed to be whatever color you want it to be, and to go on and off exactly when you program it. This lets you sequence a song so the lights can perfectly match the music.

Mr. Scannell and I spent the last couple of months building and programming our light show. We used a program called “XLights” to program all the music. I used both my musical skills and my technology skills to create this show. I hope you enjoy it!

Friday, May 20th will be the date for our Spring Concert at William Ford. There will be two performances.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade perform at 1:45 pm

4th and 5th Grade perform at 2:30 pm

Parents and family members are welcome to attend, though seating may be limited. Please come celebrate your child’s musical progress at this event!

Musicians from the Michigan Opera Theater came to visit William Ford on Monday, April 11. They performed a short opera called “Three Billy Goats Gruff” that was about bullying. I was able to attend the performance with Mrs. Sobh’s kindergarten class. It was a treat to hear such fine musicians performing for our students.

Watch these videos to learn how to draw some of the music symbols you see in class:

How to Draw A Treble Clef

How to Draw Music Notes:

How to Draw a Instruments:

Watch this helpful video to learn more about how musicians read music:

Check out this music machine that uses over 2000 marbles to create music! It reminds me of a real life version of the movie Animusic!

He also has some interesting videos posted on how he created his machine over the course of 15 months. These videos are quite technical, but he thoroughly explains how he created each element that produces the sounds on his machine. That sure is dedication to his craft!

To celebrate March is Music In Our Schools Month, Google has created a really cool website with a variety of music activities. I encourage our students to go and experiment with sound!

Click the picture above or the link below to get started:

Google Music Lab

Mrs. Scannell’s 4th grade students will have the opportunity to test for their Recorder Belts during music class each week. Click the link below to view all the songs. Students will be tested unaccompanied (no background music), usually with one or two other students who are also ready to test on the song.

Recorder Method Testing Songs

Earning Your Belt:

In order to earn your belt, you must earn a Level 3 (Meets Expectations) or Level 4 (Masters Expectations) on your performance of the piece. Below are guidelines for each level of performance.

Recorder Karate Scoring Rubric

December 17th is Beethoven’s 245th birthday. To celebrate, Google created a interactive musical puzzle for you to solve. See if you can solve all the parts in the puzzle!

A Game About Beethoven