Cabaret Troupe CD

Hey Cab Troupe Girls,

Visit this page that I just uploaded.

Cab Troupe

If you right click > save as, then you can load them into iTunes or burn them onto a CD or just listen to them on your computer.

Try practicing the dance moves! Remember my silly dancing - you'll be MUCH better!

- Mr. Tubb

Those pesky instruments!

Middle Schoolers,

You should know how to recognize all of these instruments. This is a great website for understanding the differences! Use it! :)

http://www.sfskids.org/templates/instorchframe.asp?pageid=3

Well done on your walkathon efforts today - cannot wait to see who my new principal will be for the day!

- Mr. Tubb

Timeline with Composers

5th Grade, me again.
Found a slightly flashier and more graphically cool site to help you remember some composer names from these periods too!

http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composers_timeline.asp
(It's so flashy that I didn't even feel the need to write "Clicky Clicky"!)

Check it out!
- Mr. Tubb

History of Music

Hi 5th Grade,

Here is a really really good link for the history of music.

Clicky Clicky!

OK, so it's not an all singing/dancing flashy website full of pictures and videos, but it has some very interesting information that you should read!

- Mr. Tubb

Christmas Show

So the Christmas show has been decided. It's going to be a version of 'I Need a Little Christmas Vacation' with some additions and omissions.

It's mega exciting, fun and cool! Here's a synopsis from someone else's website!


It's the last day of school before winter vacation officially starts. Excitement fills the air with plans of tropical vacations, shopping at the mall, visits from relatives, NO homework for a while, favorite holiday meals and lots of presents! Everything is just right, including the beginning of a beautiful snowfall. SNOW!! Oh no! The snow keeps coming and vacation appears to be heading for disaster. Everyone may have to spend the holidays at school! Dinner cooked in the Science Lab? Shopping on the web? Perfect for all ages, this musical features 7 original songs arranged for piano and unison voices, clever dialog, choreography and a helpful production guide with staging tips, set ideas and costume suggestions.


It's gonna be a blast!

- Mr. Tubb

Time Signature Test

Don't forget Middle School (not 5th grade), this week is your Time Signature Testing Week. I have just written the test. It's not that scary, I made it nice and friendly, but you need to make sure you've revised!

- Mr. Tubb

Tongue Twisters!

Loveliest of 5th Grades:

Remember those fun tongue twisters? Try these to get your tongue used to 'Ta' and 'Tu'!

• Do thick tinkers think?
• I shot three shy thrushes.
• Tacky tractor trailer trucks.
• Ten tame tadpoles tucked tightly together in a thin tall tin.
• Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.
• That is the way you spell New York.
• The batter with the butter is the batter that is better!
• The big bad baby brought the bought black blanket back
• The boot black bought the black boot back.
• The Leith police dismisseth us.
• The myth of Miss Muffet.
• The ochre ogre ogled the poker.
• The queen in green screamed.
• The ruddy widow really wants ripe watermelon and red roses when winter arrives.
• The sawingest saw I ever saw saw
• The sea ceaseth, but it sufficeth us
• The seething sea ceaseth; thus the seething sea sufficeth us.
• The seething seas ceaseth and twiceth the seething seas sufficeth us.
• The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
• The soldier's shoulder surely hurts!
• The soldiers shouldered shooters on their shoulders.
• The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
• The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.
• Thelma sings the theme song.
• There goes one tough top cop!
• There those thousand thinkers were thinking where did those other three thieves go through.
• There those thousand thinkers were thinking how did the other three thieves go through.
• There was a little witch which switched from Chichester to Ipswich.
• There was a minimum of cinnamon in the aluminum pan.
• There's a sandwich on the sand which was sent by a sane witch.
• These thousand tricky tongue twisters trip thrillingly off the tongue
• They both, though, have thirty-three thick thimbles to thaw.
• They have left the thriftshop, and lost both their theatre tickets and the volume of valuable licenses and coupons for free theatrical frills and thrills.
• Thieves seize skis.
• Thin sticks, thick bricks
• Thirty-three thirsty, thundering thoroughbreds thumped Mr. Thurber .
• This is a zither.
• This is the sixth zebra snoozing thoroughly.
• Three free throws.
• Three short sword sheaths.
• Three twigs twined tightly.
• Tie twine to three tree twigs.
• Tim, the thin twin tinsmith
• Tim, the thin twin tinsmith.
• To have truck to truck two trucks of truck.
• Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks.
• Tommy Tucker tried to tie Tammy's Turtles tie.
• Tommy, Tommy, toiling in a tailor's shop.
• Tragedy strategy.
• Truly rural.
• Twelve standard stainless steel twin screw cruisers.
• Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.
• Twice we tripped toys.
• Two tiny tigers take two taxis to town.
• Two to two to Toulouse?
• Two toads, totally tired.
• Two tried and true tridents
• Two Truckee truckers truculently truckling
• Theopholus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, successfully sifted some thistles. 

Get practicing those 'ta's!

- Mr. Tubb

Thursday 20th Oct

Grade 7:

Standard of Excellence Book 1:

Page 8, exercise 20, 21, 23 and 25.

Practice these please.

- Mr. Tubb

Number Rhymes

Hi 2nd Grade,
Here are the rhymes that we came up with today:

Six:
Fix
Sticks
Mix
Bricks
Picks
Tricks

Seven:
Heaven
Devon
Eleven

Eight:
Late
Mate
State
Plate
Nate
Freight
Crate

Nine:
Line
Fine
Vine
Twine
Whine
Pine
Spine

Ten:
Ben :)
Wren
Hen
Pen
Glen

Just try to remember them!

- Mr. Tubb

Time Signatures

6th & 8th,

Really easy to understand link about Time Signatures.
If you are still a little bit confused about them check it out.
Make sure you read it really carefully!

Clicky Clicky!

- Mr. Tubb

Cleaning your Instruments

Hi Budding Instrumentalists,

Here are a few links to show you how to clean your instruments.

http://www.markflegg.com/instruction/how-to-clean-your-trumpet/
Pay attention to this line:
It’s very important that you NOT get the top part of the valve wet! This is the part with the felt pads on it. If those felt pads get wet, they can compress and cause your valves to become misaligned. The only part of the valve that needs to be cleaned is the bottom section with the ports (those are the holes that line up with the various slides on the trumpet).




Also, look at this video. You do not need to get a plastic tub like the one that they have in the video, a regular bath tub will be absolutely fine!

How to clean a trumpet

- Mr. Tubb

Mouthpieces

Hello Middle School!

Wasn't that Webinar really interesting - makes me think that I should be a Zoologist instead of being a music teacher!

Anyway, here is a link to the mouthpiece you should look at getting if you want to get your own. Note: this is not compulsory by any stretch of the imagination, just there were a few pupils asking. If you do buy your own mouthpiece, do not dispose of your old one, we will need it in the future! This mainly applies to the 5th grade who keep asking, but I thought I'd share it with the entire upper school.

For Cornet Players
For Alto Horn Players
For Trombonists 

(Let me find out about the Baritone mouthpieces, I think that the trombone will also fit; however don't buy anything until I am 100% certain!)

- Mr. Tubb

Know your rhythms

5th Grade,
You need to know your frequent rhythms a little better than you showed today!

Try practicing at home.
Print out these images on this post, cut them out and then place them on your table, or floor, or carpet, or whatever!

Ladybug:

Grasshopper:

Spider:

Bee:

Caterpillar:

Rest:

Try to get your parents involved. Can they respond to you calls? Can you respond to their calls.

Remember - you have to clap for EVERY SINGLE SYLLABLE, i.e. caterpillar gets 4 claps, and grasshopper gets 3 claps.

Try explaining this to your parents. It's a great tool to make sure that you know it yourself!

- Mr. Tubb

Keep Fit Calypso

Hey Kindergarteners and Parents,

Today we finished learning the first verse of the 'Keep Fit Calypso'.

Here is an MP3 that I found on the internet that demonstrates how it should be sung and the right words/lyrics.

It would be fantastic if you could practice at home ready for Thursday's lesson.

Here is the link. Happy Singing!

- Mr. Tubb

Penguin Warm Up

Girls,

Almost every single grade has the experience of becoming a penguin. The extra special ones have had the chance to be a zombie too, if you haven't had the chance yet, don't worry, there are still many weeks until Halloween!

If you want to warm up at home before you practice any of the songs, there is a great recording here so you can sing along with it at home. Get your parents to do it with you - they'll love it! Remember, we're not only warming our voices, but our bodies too, so make sure you do the actions with the song. You can also try doing each verse in a different voice: my favorites are a witch's voice and a big scary monster voice.

Click here to become a penguin!

- Mr. Tubb

Creatures of the Deep

3rd Grade,
You did really well today. It was lovely to hear you able to change your voices so effectively.

If you want to practice at home, here is a link to the lyrics for "Creatures of the Deep".

When you're practicing, remember: this is a sweet song so it should be sung not too loud (DYNAMICS), it's relatively slow (TEMPO) so don't sing it really quick and it's in the minor key (TONALITY) so it should sound sad!

I couldn't find a backing track to this one, sorry! But here are the lyrics: Clicky Clicky!

- Mr. Tubb

Cabaret Troupe Update

Hello Awesome Cabaret Troupe Girls,

So, after a ton of questions from the 6th grade today, I thought I'd just clear up a few things. (Mainly so I can say "Check the Blog" rather than wasting 10 minutes of valuable lesson time!!)

You auditioned last Thursday (10/13) to get into Cabaret Troupe and for the Christmas Show 2011 (A Pirate Christmas), however as I told you in that rehearsal/audition, there aren't that many singing solos - it's a large ensemble show.

I will endeavor to ensure that all of you get speaking lines however, so do not panic!

Some of you have also noticed that the majority of the characters are either elves or pirates. As soon as I've finished reading the entire scrips and writing down how many I need of each (including special ones such as 'Tiny Elves' and 'Blue Beard 6'...) I will cast for them. Please don't keep asking if you can be a particular character, I'll make sure it's a fair as possible.

See all 32 of you on Thursday - it'll be a blast. And remember, It's an Island Christmas - WOAH!


- Captain Tubb (Arrr)

Standard of Excellence

Hi 6th Grade,

Have you lost your book?
You can get it for just $6.95 at Amazon.com.
And, because I'm really nice...

Cornet/Trumpet Edition
Eb Alto Horn Edition
Trombone Edition
Baritone Edition

Not sure how much shipping is, but it's usually free if you spend over $25.

- Mr. Tubb

More help with Time Signatures

Me again,
Found this quite easy to understand/follow link.

Time Signatures

It is from a British site, so some of the words maybe slightly different, but the idea is the same.

Also, check out: Adding Barlines to a Time Signature as you will be doing an exercise like this in class over the next few weeks, so make sure you're ready!

- Mr. Tubb

8th Grade Assignment

8th Grade,
Your assignment is to complete this quiz:

Time Signatures, Counting and Rests

You should have all the necessary information stored away in your brains.
Please print off the competition certificate when you get over 75% and show it to me.

- Mr. Tubb

Wowzers.

Dearest Chapel Choir,
You may have been slightly small in numbers (and it was quite a last-minute performance) but you did great. I received compliments about your singing from so many different people, including many of your fathers. They especially loved the two part singing in 'Seek Ye First'.

So - a huge CONGRATULATIONS and WELL DONE from me!

See you all on Tuesday @ 2.45pm - 3.45pm.

- Mr. Tubb

Magic Travel Machine

Hi 4th Graders and Parents!

Want to sing your favorite song at home?
Well I googled the song and found these awesome resources - there's the words and a backing track to sing-along with!

Backing Track (it's an MP3 and should just play!)
The Lyrics - although you should (and do!) know them!
Have fun!

- Mr. Tubb

Peel Bananas!

Hi Pre-K Parents,

This is one of the songs that we learned today in Pre-K. It is a classic that the children loved to perform.

And we form Banana, form, form Bananas (bring left arm up from waist overhead).
And we form Banana, form, form Bananas (bring right arm up from waist meet and left hand overhead).
And we peel Banana, peel, peel Banana (bring left arm
down from overhead).
And we peel Banana, peel, peel Banana (bring right arm down from overhead).
And we GO BANANAS, GO, GO BANANAS (spin around and down and swing arms wildly)

And we form Potato, form, form Potatoes (bring left arm up from waist overhead).
And we form Potato, form, form Potatoes (bring right arm up from waist meet and left hand overhead – make your potato a bit more round than your banana).
And we peel Potato, peel, peel Potato (bring left arm
down from overhead).
And we peel Potato, peel, peel Potato (bring right arm down from overhead).
And we MASH POTATOES, MASH, MASH POTATOES (jump up and down in a twisting motion)

And we form the Corn, form, form the Corn (bring left arm up from waist overhead).
And we form the Corn, form, form the Corn (bring right arm up from waist meet and left hand overhead).
And we peel the Corn, peel, peel the Corn (bring left arm
down from overhead, in a up-and-down jerky motion).
And we peel the Corn, peel, peel Corn the (bring right arm down from overhead, in a up-and-down jerky motion).
And we POP THE CORN, POP, POP THE CORN (jump up and down)

And we form the Orange, form, form the Orange (bring left arm up from waist overhead).
And we form the Orange, form, form the Orange (bring right arm up from waist meet and left hand overhead).
And we peel the Orange, peel, peel the Orange (bring left arm down from overhead).
And we peel the Orange, peel, peel the Orange (bring right arm down from overhead).
And we SQUEEEEEEEZE (have singers squeeze each other)!

See the video here:

Have fun with your kids, sing along!

- Mr. Tubb

Musical Time Periods

Also! While we're on the topic of recapping today's lesson, check out this cool presentation about the Musical Periods. Make sure you know some of the key characteristics of the eras.

Musical time periods

- Mr. Tubb

Time Signatures

Hey 8th grade,

Here is a summary I found on the interwebs about Time Signatures.
Use it to fill out any gaps in the information you have from the lesson today.

Expect a test within 2 weeks!

Clicky Click!

- Mr. Tubb

I just bought pushpins to display your work...

Hi 5th Grade.

So today you learnt all about how to warm up and get ready to play your instrument. You were really good today - well done.

Your assignment for Next Wednesday (19th October) is to create a poster to show off what you have learnt. It can be on posterboard, printer paper or anything you can lay your hands on. Make it colorful, make it interesting, make it exciting and worthy of being on my wall.

If you need any help, come and find me in the music room at lunchtime or after school!

- Mr. Tubb

January Brass Band Spectacular!

Whilst I'm in a giving-out-the-date mood, the first 'outing' the brass band has is Thursday January 26th, 2012. All four grades will be playing, even the 5th grade who won't have been playing for that long.
Tickets will come out much nearer the time.

Important notice though - make sure that you practice every day, even if it's just for 5-10 minutes. Even if you don't take your instrument home, take your mouthpiece and buzz on it!

Watch this video to get an idea about mouthpiece buzzing!

- Mr. Tubb

Cabaret Troupe 2011 Christmas Performance

So I know you haven't even auditioned yet, but the date for this year's Christmas Performance of 'A Pirate Christmas' is going to be Thursday December 22nd, 2011. Mark this in your planners/diaries/brains, etc.

Letters about tickets will be coming out nearer to the time. Just save the date...!

- Mr. Tubb

Baritone and Trombone Fingerings/Slide Positions

Here are the fingerings for the Baritone, and the slide positions for the Trombone.
Please make sure you learn them. You will be tested on them in the not-to-distant future!

- Mr. Tubb

Trumpet and Alto Horn Fingerings

Trumpet and Alto Horn fingerings.
Remember these!

Chapel Choir next rehearsal

Hi girls,
The next chapel choir will be the Father/Daughter communion at 9am on Sunday 16th October 2011.
You need to be there at 8.45am dressed nicely!


- Mr. Tubb & Mrs. D'Auria

Cabaret Troupe Auditions Tomorrow

Ladies,
Cabaret Troupe 2011-2012 auditions are tomorrow. You need to come prepared to sing a song that shouldn't last more than 1 minute. However, I won't go all Simon Cowell on you, I may be British, but I'm not mean!


Cabaret Troupe will be every Thursday and our first act of business will be 'A Pirate Christmas'. You can find a link to it here: Clicky Clicky! Open the link, scroll to 'View Music' to see examples of the music and the MP3.


It's AAARRRRR going to be awesome!
See you tomorrow!


- Mr Tubb


(Cab Troupe is open to Grades 6 - 8)

Middle School Assignment - W/C Monday 10th October

I am fed up of tripping over instruments and not being able to start class on time because the instruments always go missing!


So, instead of getting annoyed, I am coming up with an assignment!


All of the middle school need to make a poster with your name and your grade on it. Make it colorful, make it personal, make it fun, make it good. Then you need to stick it on to you case.


Another suggestion is to get a luggage tag (see picture) and draw it on that instead.


Every single instrument should have a name tag or a colorful name poster on their case by the end of next week! Please, please, please do it!


Thanks
- Mr Tubb

New Blog - New Year

Welcome to the new Visitation Academy Music Department Blog Site.

New year, new teacher, new blog!

Here you will find lots of information, resources and tasks to complete to help you get even better at music!

Please, bookmark this page to make sure you don't lose it!

- Mr. Tubb