4th Grade Music

After anxiously awaiting the arrival of their Recorders, the 4th grade students received their recorders and began their study  of the instrument in January!!! They were extremely excited.

We have been using a method called Recorder Karate as well as various supplemental materials to learn how to play. 

Every week, we warm-up by playing exercises on the recorder using the notes they have learned so far (B, A, and G). 

For those who are unfamiliar with Recorder Karate, here is a brief explanation of the system. Similar to the martial art of Karate, there is a different color belt for every level of knowledge. In Recorder Karate, every song represents a different color belt (piece of yarn). Songs get harder as you move through the system. 

Students play for me weekly, whichever belt song they are on. If they play the song correctly, they move on to the next level and I tie piece of yarn to the end of their recorder with the corresponding color to that level of the song. 

The color of the belt songs and the songs themselves are below: 

Hot Cross Buns- White belt

Merrily We Roll Along

Gently Sleep

Lucy Locket

Old MacDonald

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

When the Saints Go Marching In

Amazing Grace

Ode To Joy-Black Belt

Please be sure to come to the Jk-4 Concert on April 30th for a preview of the songs the students have learned so far from their study of the Recorder.