EMF Explorers Session 2: Thursday

This morning campers got a special treat when a wind quintet came to visit us in our classroom!  They showed us the different kinds of reeds, played examples of the various sounds their instruments make, and then performed a short piece.  During this demonstration and throughout the morning campers demonstrated their knowledge of the four instrument families through songs and games.

We also had the opportunity to play recorders, drums, and rhythm sticks, and campers worked on finishing their cabasas.  We also learned a bit about the responsibilities of the conductor, and practiced conducting a pretend orchestra while listening to pieces from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.  It has been a busy but fun morning!

Tomorrow we will be meeting at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  If you have not been there before, the directions can be found in your parent information letter, as well as at the address below.

1327 Beaman Place
Greensboro, NC 27408

Please arrive at the regular 9 am time.  The Music Academy will be offering very special musical activities along with some hands-on experience of a few different instruments.  We also invite all parents and families to join us for our end-of-camp sing-along at 11:30 am where we will demonstrate some of the new things we learned this week.

EMF explorers Session 2: Wednesday

Today was a big day for our Explorers!

Campers continued their work learning about different instruments and families, songs, and musical games.  We reviewed all we learned yesterday about Johann Sebastian Bach, and heard a new story today about Joseph Haydn.  We listened to his "Farewell Symphony" (another book by Anna Harwell Celenza) and expressed the sound of the music through drawing and coloring.

In addition to all this, campers also visited the percussion section of the orchestra, began building their own cabasas with beads and water bottles, and worked with Miss Kristen on learning about how to play the recorder.  All in all it was a great morning. See you tomorrow!

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 2: Tuesday

Today we learned about some of the music of J. S. Bach. (We referred to him as "Mr. Bach", but we also practiced saying all three of his names: Johann Sebastian Bach.)  We read the story of Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Harwell Celenza, and then listened to some excerpts of the real piece.  Campers heard the slow, lyrical theme, the faster dance sections, canons that went round and round, and super-difficult passages where the fingers fly!

Later our EMF explorer kids visited the brass section of the orchestra. We heard demonstrations of trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, French horn, and tuba.  Campers heard the different kinds of sounds the instruments can make, as well as diverse music ranging from Star Wars themes to Wagner operas.

After rehearsal time we sang songs and branched out into learning about ensemble playing. Each camper played a different instrument from the percussion family, and we practiced play a few different rhythms at the same time. They handled the challenge well!  We've had a great first few days, and we look forward to seeing everyone in the morning.

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 2: Monday

Our second week of EMFexplorers has gotten off to a great start.  Miss Mary, Miss Kristen, and I all appreciated the enthusiasm and energy of each of the campers this morning.  We sang songs, played rhythm sticks, drums, tambourine, triangle, woodblock, cowbell, and maracas, learned about the different families of the orchestra, and played a game to identify instruments.  Members of the strings section of the orchestra graciously shared their time and introduced us to the violin, viola, cello, and bass, and even played us an orchestral excerpt by Tchaikovsky!  We branched out into some other art forms by moving and drawing to different kinds of sounds, and tomorrow we will expand on that while learning about different style periods in music history.

We look forward to seeing you all in the morning,

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 1: Friday

Had a great morning at The Music Academy!  Campers each had a chance to learn and play the piano and violin, and each learned about the guitar and different musical styles.  We've had a great week, and we hope to see you next year!

-Miss Susannah

EMF explorers Session 1: Thursday

We had another great morning at EMF explorers.  The campers are really getting to know a lot about the different instrument families!  Today we visited the woodwinds, and got to see and hear the piccolo, flute, bass flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.  We sang old songs and learned a few new ones, played our percussion instruments, and put on our very on EMF explorers camp parade playing rhythm sticks while walking on the sidewalk of Guilford's campus.

Tomorrow we will be meeting at The Music Academy of North Carolina.  If you have not been there before, the directions can be found in your parent information letter, as well as at the address below.

http://www.musicacademync.org/contact-2/location

Please arrive at the regular 9 am time.  We also invite all parents and families to join us for our end-of-camp sing-along where we will demonstrate some of the new things we learned this week.  

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EMFexplorers Session 1: Wednesday

Today was Strings Day at EMFexplorers!  This morning we visited the orchestra, and the conductor introduced us to the smallest of the strings family, the violin.  After that we heard the (slightly larger) viola.  Then the cello (we learned this was a nickname for it's full name "violoncello") and double bass.  We thought that was all, but then it turned out there was a harpist there to show us her instrument. The harp was very popular with the campers.

Outside of rehearsal campers were able to learn some new songs, decorate their panpipes, and play a game to identify different instruments from a recording of the music from "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev.  (Parents: this piece is featured in the EMF children's concert at 2:30 this Saturday.)  We also began learning about the names and symbols for the loud and soft sounds in music, or dynamics. We'll continue learning about these tomorrow.

See you in the morning!

EMF explorers Session 1: Tuesday

This morning at EMFexplorers we were invited to visit the brass family of the orchestra!  We met the French horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, and tuba.  The children spent quite a bit of this morning learning about the four families of instruments in the orchestra: percussion, brass, woodwind, and strings.  We also read a book about Camille Saint-Saens and his "Carnival of the Animals" and listened to some excerpts from this work that showcase various instruments.

After visiting the orchestra each camper made their own woodwind instrument: a set of panpipes, and then we played the new instruments along with some songs to illustrate high and low sounds. Finally, campers were introduced to several percussion instruments in our classroom, and each had the opportunity to play a woodblock, maracas, hand drums, and sand blocks.  Campers will get to explore these instruments further later in the week, and we will continue learning new songs to sing for the families on Friday.  See you all tomorrow!

-Miss Susannah
Susannah Steele

EMFexplorers Session 1: Week 1

We had an active morning at EMF explorers today!  We learned some new songs during Circle Time, played rhythm sticks, and read the book "Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin" by Lloyd Moss.  We talked a bit about the different families of instruments, and went to visit the percussion section of the orchestra.  The conductor and percussionists showed us the bass drum, timpani, snare drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, guiro, and tam tam.  We learned that larger instruments make lower sounds and smaller instruments make higher sounds, and we had a chance to experiment with these high and low sounds using glasses of water. 

We've got another fun day planned for tomorrow. Get plenty of rest and Miss Stephanie, Miss Caroline, and I look forward to seeing you all in the morning!

-Miss Susannah
Susannah Steele