Week 6 5/4 – 5/8
5th Grade
May the 4th be with you! I hope by now you’ve at least heard of Star Wars. Even if you haven’t seen any of the movies, you probably know who Darth Vader is and have heard his song. Click here for Darth Vader’s music. All of the Star Wars Music was written by a man named John Williams. He is one of the most famous movie music composers of all time! He was born in 1932. That means he is 88 years old and still composing music for movies!
You have probably heard some of his other music and didn’t even know it. All of the music below was written by John Williams. I bet you’ve at least heard of some of them. Click on some and listen or dance to the music. You might even be able to watch some of the movies with your parents.
Click here to listen to the Jaws theme song.
Click here to listen to the Superman theme song.
Click here to listen to the Indian Jones theme song.
Click here to listen to the E.T. theme song.
Click here to listen to the Jurassic Park theme song.
Click here to listen to the Harry Potter theme song.
Week 5 4/27 – 5/1
5th Grade
This week for our bucket drumming, I have a song that already has rhythms for you to play and another that doesn’t. Play along to the rhythms for Uptown Funk. Shout-out to Carson who helped find this bucket drumming song! Click here for the link.
The next song does not have a bucket drumming part written out. It uses a lot of stick clicks in the song already. Join in the stick clicks at the beginning and then try to add in your own bucket drumming parts with lower sounds. Make sure your rhythms goes along with the beat and style of the song and sounds good. Click here for the link to the song Iko Iko.
Iko Iko was also on “Just Dance 2”. You can also try out the dance moves to the song by watching the video. Click here for the link to the video.
Week 4 4/20 – 4/24
5th Grade
I hope everyone was able to find some kind of bucket drum and sticks last week. I have a couple new videos for you to play along with. The first one is a slower song but it adds a new stick pattern. For both the videos this week you will have to play the top and sides of your drum. The marking for a side drum hit is a note on the second space. Do the slower song first to get the hang of it. The second video is a bit faster and more upbeat, but the rhythms may be a bit trickier. Feel free to pause the video to try the rhythms slower until it becomes more comfortable. Then try it within the song.
Week 3 4/14 – 4/17
5th Grade
Something I was really hoping to do with you guys this spring was bucket drumming. I found some fun videos that show some easy bucket drumming patterns. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll start off with some easy videos and eventually the patterns will get harder as you get better.
First find something to use as a drum and something to use as drumsticks. A 5 Gallon bucket will work the best because you can just tip it over and sit on a chair. You could also use a smaller buck, ice cream pail, kettle, or anything else bucket-like. For drumsticks, actual drumsticks are best, but you could also use wooden dowels, backs of wooden spoons, pencils, pens, or sticks from your yard.
It’s okay if this week’s songs are easy for you. Experiment with different sounding buckets and sticks you can use to get the best sound. It’s also okay if this week’s patterns are difficult for you. If you aren’t used to using both hands coordinating at the same time, it can be a very new thing for your arms to get used to doing. Either way have fun, and see if you can get your family to join in on other household “instruments”.
Just so you understand what the signs on the music means, I created a bit of a “cheat sheet” for you.
R=right hand
L=left hand
B=both hands
Quarter note on the bottom space=center of drum
X note on the 3rd space=edge of drum
X note on the 4th space=click sticks together
2 notes on top of each other=play at the same time
Week 2 4/6 – 4/10
5th Grade
Review the dance moves from last week’s video. Click here. This new link takes you to a whole bunch of different Irish Jigs and Reels (songs). Click here. Pick your favorite and try the dance moves to that song to make sure the tempo isn’t too fast or too slow. Reorganize the dance moves to better fit your song. You can even add in some “Irish style” dance moves of your own. Perform the new version of the dance with your chosen song.
*Hint – You can tell in the video where a new song starts because the title at the bottom changes and so does the picture behind it.
Week 1 3/30 – 4/4
