Better late than never!  I apologize for not getting the composer's work up here sooner!  This month's composer of the month is Scott Joplin.  Scott Joplin was born in America sometime around 1870, most likely in Northeast Texas.  Nobody is exactly sure of the date or place.

Scott Joplin taught himself how to play piano while his mother cleaned houses--one of the houses she cleaned had a piano and he was allowed to play it.  As Joplin grew older, he began travelling, and even played a cornet (an instrument similar to a trumpet) in a band at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.  

Scott Joplin moved to St. Louis, which was rich with ragtime music at that time.  He eventually moved to New York City.  Joplin wrote some songs and stage works, but he is best known for his piano rags--one of which ended up in a movie!  In 1976, many years after his death, Joplin was awards a Pulitzer Prize for his opera, Treemonisha.

One of the most exciting this about this composer is I learned a lot, too.  All of the information above I learned from reading on the Classics for Kids website.  Head on over and hear some of his music, read more about him and you can even take a quiz about what you've learned.  The listening example includes many different composers this month, all of whose music (the piece featured) ended up in a movie!

Below is a link to a performance of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer."  I bet that you will think it sounds familiar. I remember having to learn this for flute lessons when I was in elementary school--it was difficult!!!  Enjoy!

This month's composer is Franz Joseph Haydn.  We talk about Haydn in Kindergarten when we are learning about Loud and Soft.  Haydn wrote a spectacular piece highlighting these dynamics (the musical term for volume).  It is called his "Surprise Symphony."  The Whitehall students learn more about him during their recorder studies.  Haydn was quite the prankster, and got himself into trouble at times because he pushed his luck just a little too far! Below is a YouTube video of a performance of Haydn's Surprise Symphony...conducted by none other than Leonard Bernstein!  How about that!  Bernstein is everywhere!  If you have the opportunity, please watch or listen to the clip below, and head on over to the Classics for Kids website to learn more about Haydn and the other composers of the month.

This month's composer is Leonard Bernstein.  What is unique to Bernstein among our composer studies is that he was an American composer born in Massachusetts!  Many of the composers we study in class are quit a bit older, and most are European.  Bernstein does find his way into our recorder packet studies, so if he is your composer, I would check out the link for more information about him as well as to hear more of his music.   He was the first American conductor of a major American Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic.  

Most people have heard Bernstein's music, even if you don't realize it!  He wrote West Side Story which is a very well known musical.  He also wrote The Young People's Guide to the Orchestra which we've heard on multiple 2nd grade Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra trips. Bernstein thought that educating young people about music was a very important part of his career, so it is only fitting that he is one of our composer studies!  Please take some time to listen on the Classics for Kids site, and I have linked a video to Bernstein conducting some of his own work below.

The new composer of the month is Edvard Grieg.  MANY of the classes are familiar with one of his works, In the Hall of the Mountain King.  With the younger students, we use this piece to discuss basic musical terms such as loud/soft and fast/slow.  For the second graders, we use this piece to begin our composition work.  For some of my older students, we use this piece to discuss various styles of music.  In the Hall of the Mountain King, while a classical piece, has been covered by many other musicians, including Duke Ellington, The Who, and even a modern day jam band called Umphrey's McGee.  It has been in countless movies,TV shows and even commercials. If you choose to check out this composer on Classics for Kids, you won't hear this particular piece during the composer explanation unless you listen to the entire 5 minute lesson.  If you have the time, learn a little more about him and his work.  Below you will see links to a few versions of this very famous music.

September's composer of the month on the CLASSICS FOR KIDS link on the APPS page of this website is ZOLTAN KODALY, a Hungarian composer and music educator.  Kodaly believed that only quality music was good enough for children, and that EVERYONE deserves to learn about music to become the best musician he or she can be!  Because of these beliefs, Kodaly started a movement for better music education which began in Hungary but has since traveled throughout the world.  His influence has inspired many a music teacher, including yours truly!  While in college I was fortunate enough to study at The Kodaly Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary and then went on to study his methodology at length once I started teaching. Our music classes are largely centered around his teaching philosophies and my thoughts align with his that we "should teach music so that it is a joy to our students."  I hope you have a minute to read about Kodaly and listen to the selection created by the website, Classics for Kids.

As our second rotation comes to a close, I wanted to share a bit about what we've been doing. Of course, all classes have been singing, with some playing instruments and others playing music games with their songs.  The end of this week, however, brings us to September 11.  In our music room, this means a special emphasis on Patriotic Songs.  Every class (regardless of the time of year) starts out with the singing of a particular Patriotic Song, but this week we have spent some class time paying extra attention to music that focuses on America. The kids were truly a tribute to the definition of respect.  I was so proud of their conversations surrounding the topics of these songs (some of the words are difficult!) and of course of their singing of them.  Many students remembered who wrote the Star Spangled Banner and how it came to be, and several of them credited their parents with telling them all about it!  Their singing was only second in enthusiasm to their excitement about sharing trips to Washington, DC or New York City and the monuments they had seen there.  I hope that you are as proud of them as I was throughout our days reviewing these songs.  Maybe your child will sing one for you, or if not, listen closely the next time you are at a game and the National Anthem starts! 

The songs that we sang in class are This Land is Your Land, America, You're a Grand Old Flag, America the Beautiful and the Star Spangled Banner.  No small feat for such young voices, and again, what a spectacular job they did!  

Welcome to Mrs. Kraus’ Music Class website!  Throughout the year, I will update the page so that families can see what is happening during music class.  We will cover quite a bit during our classes, although sometimes it will just seem like we are having fun!  All of our lessons strive to meet the rigor set forth in the National Standards for Music Education, allowing students to succeed in class while still pushing for musical growth.  Our elementary music students learn to read basic rhythms, standard music notation, perform simple to more complex melodies on the recorder, and experiment with self-created melodies.  Students are encouraged to think outside the box while striving to reach their full potential as musicians.