Welcome Back to Music!

We are off to a great start in Elementary Music!  We are starting out the year with steady beat movements, name games, and instruments.  The 4^th graders this past week helped me make practical applications from my summer course in World Drumming.  Back in June, I was able to take a week-long training session for music teachers in drumming, mostly in the West African tradition.  One of our instructors was actually originally from Ghana.  It was a great experience for me to learn music in a completely non-Western modality.  West African drumming instructors use a lot of listening and watching, as opposed to talking or reading musical notation.  I was challenged to become a better musician, and I know our students will appreciate the challenge associated with drumming.  We were having so much fun with our call and response name game last week, that I did not take pictures of the 4^th grade classes in action.  However, here is a picture of our class set of tubano drums.  Having these drums for the students gives them a literal hands-on, multicultural musical experience.  Even in elementary music, we are learning about how big God’s world is and how many people groups there are that He cares about! You’re welcome to come drum with us anytime. 

 

We use three sizes of drums as a group: low, medium, and high.  Each "voice" has a unique sound.