Mark West Education Foundation

TK-3rd Music Lessons with Mrs. Kaufman: Meet the Percussion Family (7:52): https://youtu.be/LaXgEHBYT3c... *Meet other common instruments in the percussion family, including pitched, non-pitched, and even body percussion! Which instruments would you like to learn to play? Learn how drums make sound with House of Sound - Percussion (8:42): https://youtu.be/LbedzMj8B4U *Learn how drums make sound in this video. You can also get some ideas to create your own drums and other percussion instruments. If you try making any, feel free to share pictures or videos of them with me or your teacher! As One (4:33): https://youtu.be/99N5ceqyirY *An amazing performance that uses a variety of percussion instruments, including drums, cymbals, and a marimba played by two people. Playing this piece requires a lot of synchronization between the two players so that their separate parts fit together really smoothly. Does it sound like two people playing? Or just one, like the title suggests? Drumset with Nandi Bushell (0:58): https://youtu.be/4Zm60z13veE (Warning - Turn down your volume before clicking! It’s a bit loud.) *Learning about the drums wouldn’t be complete without the drum set (aka drum kit). Nandi Bushell is a very talented young drummer (and guitarist/bassist!) who has become a popular Youtube star. Enjoy her version of Led Zeppelin’s Good Times Bad Times. How much do you think she practices each day?

This weeks music lessons! Mrs. Kaufman’s Music Lesson (6:47): https://youtu.be/D8uXCtB-6DE... *Learn about a keyboard percussion instrument, practice singing solfege, and learn a song to be sung with a keyboard ostinato. Flight of the Bumble Bee on Xylophone (1:26): https://youtu.be/nd9xha3vk58 *The xylophone is similar to the glockenspiel but rather than metal keys, it uses wooden keys! This difference in material gives the instrument a very different timbre or sound quality. How would you describe the different sounds of the xylophone vs. the glockenspiel? Dance Monkey on Marimba (2:36): https://youtu.be/09TqAPwOBFs *The marimba has wooden keys like a xylophone, but the marimba creates more mellow sounds than the xylophone by having longer resonator tubes under each key and by using mallets with yarn wrapped around the mallet head. Kids playing percussion on Led Zeppelin songs (especially keyboards) (6:13): https://youtu.be/JYuOZnAqQCY *Watch this talented group of kids playing marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, electronic keyboards, drums, and cymbals. The vibraphones have the golden-colored metal keys near the front of the screen. Vibraphones are great at playing long notes because they have long resonator tubes and pedals that will keep the keys vibrating after you strike them. They also use soft mallet heads, like the marimbas, and they can play much lower notes than glockenspiels. Marching Band Marimba Cam (and Bells!) (8:50): https://youtu.be/yHVYr5MizkI *This is a long video, so no need to watch the whole thing if you don’t want to. It gives you a great view of the pit percussion of a marching band. (Mrs. Kaufman used to play the glockenspiel and other percussion in the pit in her high school marching band!) Watch the first couple minutes and you will hear how the glockenspiel can be heard above the rest of the band. (It doesn’t hurt that it’s right next to the microphone too.) Make your own paper xylophone! (3:32): https://youtu.be/KxQOJja9XVM *While a paper xylophone might not make the most resonant sound, it does work! Mrs. Kaufman made one with her daughter, Jane (who insisted we add wheels to it), and it turned out really well! Of course, we just had to add a purple key (Jane’s favorite color). Try it out yourself! Feel free to send me pictures or videos of your creations at [email protected].

Mrs. Kaufman has been popping up at recesses throughout the district for the past two weeks, bringing live music to the students as they play! Today, she visited San Miguel Elementary. We are very fortunate to be able to provide students with such a passionate and talented music teacher like Mrs. Kaufman! Mark West USD #mwef #mwusd #community #unity #together #livemusic #musicteacher #thearts #happiness #joy #santarosa #larkfield #markwest #sonomacounty #soco #sonomacountyschools #scoe

The Santa Rosa Symphony is performing on TV! NPR sister company NorCal - Public Media will rebroadcast SRS@Home concerts in Sonoma County and the South Bay. Click on the post to find out how to view the performances!... Santa Rosa Symphony Mark West Education Foundation #mwef #srsymphony #local #santarosa #listenlocal #watchlocal #live #supportlocal

From Music Teacher, Mrs. Kaufman: Here is a playlist of songs with which your students can play along with their homemade shakers! The idea is to have students actively play along with their instruments as they listen and groove to the music. Some songs may appeal more to students than others, and students should not feel that they have to listen to each one in its entirety. I merely wanted to offer a wide variety of music for students to play along their shakers with. Enjoy!... Play Along videos: Shake! Song (2:16): https://youtu.be/pPrwQ9L42cs *Follow the directions in the lyrics to shake your shaker along with the song. Shake My Sillies Out (1:05): https://youtu.be/sa61D0CDuoI *A classic by Raffi! Follow the directions in the lyrics for this one too. Linus and Lucy (3:04): https://youtu.be/x6zypc_LhnM *Another classic from A Charlie Brown Christmas! Listen closely and you can hear the continuous shaker sound in the background. The shaker is using accents to create a unique rhythm. Try to imitate the pattern as you play along! Popurri Navidena (4:44): https://youtu.be/tFR_W80dfik *As with Linus and Lucy, if you listen closely, you can hear the continuous shaker sound in the background. This shaker is also using accents to create unique rhythms. Notice how it differs from Linus and Lucy and how it is similar. Try to imitate the pattern! 'Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu' K Frimpong (Music from Ghana) (3:17): https://youtu.be/VFUdvAlmrds *The shaker instrument in this video is called the axatse (pronounced ah-HOT-say), and it is a common shaker instrument in music from the African country of Ghana. Rather than shaking the axatse, notice how the performer is creating a unique rhythm by tapping the seeds that are woven together around the gourd. What happens when you tap your shaker instrument? Can you create different rhythms that way? Feliz Navidad (3:09): https://youtu.be/RTtc2pM1boE *The shaker in this song is a tambourine! The tambourine can be shaken rhythmically, shaken vigorously, or tapped to create different sounds and accents. Feel free to sing along with the lyrics as you create rhythms on your shaker. Percu-Shaker (2:55): https://youtu.be/fAYA1bAjipY *This last piece of music is a real treat to watch once they start playing (music begins at 0:29 seconds after an introduction in Spanish). Notice how intently the musicians are listening to each other in order to play together. How do the musicians get different types of sounds from their shakers? Can you create some of the rhythms they play with your shaker? Have fun! Mark West Education Foundation Mark West USD #music #instruments #mwef #mwusd #play #learn #makemusic

Watch this awesome TED-Ed video that explains what is happening with musicians' brains when they play music. https://youtu.be/R0JKCYZ8hng

Music Lessons with Mrs. Kaufman! This weeks lesson is: The Music of Brazil (7:18): https://video.link/w/GEFzb

Congratulations again to our Spooks & Spirits Raffle winners: Terry Miller Christine Cucina Felicia Ehni Brad Duffy... Emily Dickey If you haven’t claimed your prize, please email us at [email protected] for pick up instructions! #mwef #mwusd #winners #congratulations #thankyou #community

The Mark West USD Chorus and Strings groups performed virtually for the Community Tree Lighting event put on by Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center and Molsberry Market. Even though we were not able to celebrate in person this year, we are thankful that we can still share the joy of music with the community; Mrs. Kaufman and the performers did a fantastic job! Mark West Education Foundation Mark West USD #mwef #mwusd #chorus #strings #performance #virtualperformance #holiday #happyholidays #christmas #treelighting #santarosa #larkfield #markwest #sonomacounty #soco #community #santa

Announcing our 5 WINNERS! Terry Miller Christine Cucina Felicia Ehni... Brad Duffy Emily Dickey Please email us at [email protected] for pick up instructions! Thank you everyone for all your support!

Thank you everyone for all your support! Click on the next video to see who won!