Kindergarten "Musical Elements"

How can a piece of music called “Fireworks” relate to the notion that “musical elements are used to pull and push musical themes”? Kindergarten Music class has been very active in this unit exploring sounds that suggest pulling and pushing. They shared ideas of motion or stillness, long breath or short breath, instrument sound lengths, and  fast or slow speeds. The sound concepts discovered in “Fireworks”  wonderfully illustrate how different sounds can have different meanings . Whether responding by creating music with non- pitched percussion instruments, following a sound scape "Fireworks score" or moving to "Partita No. 3 in E Major for Solo Violin" in a circle and partner dance, students connected to the musical directions: more or less movements, pull the sound and push the sound when playing the instrument. Such activities link to the benchmarks of creating pieces of music using instruments, describe characteristics of music and the various uses, and how to follow a simple graphic score. The focus of the next Unit connects nicely with these activities as students will inquire into “Playing my part in music has responsibilities”. We will be exploring how we can use our musical background knowledge to create accompaniments and feel the beat as we sing.