Mrs. Leone's Music

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Cool Musical Stuff

Click HERE for blank sheet music

These are great bands and musicians that are appropriate for KIDS!

Here's a page with great info about notation vocabulary!

The Importance of Music Education

ARTICLE: Why is Music Education Important?

Hear Public Service Announcements about Music Education from these famous people:

North Carolina Renaissance Faire...right here in Raleigh!

In addition to performing traditional choral music daily at the Queen's Luncheon in the Royale Glade, the Musicians Royale also travel around the streets of Kingston-upon-Hull, often settling in a shady spot to sing or performing for passersby who may be on their way to the Grand Tournament Arena for the Coursing of the Hounds or a Jousting Tournament.  They have a daily show on the ENchanted Oaks stage.  The Musicians Royale also provide musical accompaniment to the May Pole dance, which happens once or twice a day.  You may even spot them in the Reveler's Parade which features "puppets tall as trees"!

Each evening the Musicians Royale are "off-duty" and perform funny songs with their musical friends at the nightly Pub Sing in the Biergarten.

Season tickets make attending less expensive, and always be on the lookout for special discount days such as the Lowes Foods Backpack Buddy Day and Tartan Day! 
Gate volunteers (costume & trianing required) get free admittance.  More information is available at the official NCRF web site.

THE ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

The Structural Elements of Music - the Basic Building Blocks of Music

• Rhythm - The combinations of long and short, even and uneven sounds that convey a sense of movement. The movement of sound through time.  Concepts contributing to an understanding of rhythm are 
  • regular vs. irregular
  • strong vs. weak
  • long vs. short, 
  • equal vs. unequal
• Melody - A logical succession of musical pitches arranged in a rhythmic pattern.  An important part of melody is rhythm.  The notes vary in pitch and duration.  Form also applies to melody.  Melodies include repetition as well as contrast.  Pitch characteristics of melodies include:
  • Direction - up, down, stay the same
  • Range - wide or narrow spectrum of notes ranging from low to high
  • Position - Maybe use notes of high pitches or transposed to low pitches, but as long as the intervals between notes is consistent, the melody can be placed with the total pitch continuum.
  • Intervals - The distance between the pitches of the melody may be steps from one note to an adjacent note, or skips where pitches leap from one to another skipping a tone or tones.
• Harmony - The vertical blocks of different tones that sound simultaneously; a progression of chords.
  • Vertical structure - homophonic with chords connected to and supportive of the melody
  • Horizontal structure - polyphonic with chords created by simultaneously sound melodies.
• Form - The design of music, incorporating repetition, contrast, unity, and variety.  The organization of music, its shape or structure.

The Expressive Elements of Music  - Add variety and contrast to music

• Timbre - The distinctive quality of tone of a sound.
• Dynamics - The volume of sound; the loudness or softness of a musical passage.
• Tempo - The pace at which music moves, based on the speed of the underlying beat.

Examples of Instruments (Parents - please preview all lyrics!!!)

Guitar: (Check out Easy Songs that Sound Hard)

• "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls
• "Hold My Hand" by Hootie and the Blowfish
• "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz
• "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman
• "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
• "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan
• "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynrd
• "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
• "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple
• "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls
• "Satch Boogie" by Joe Satriani (also a great bass song)
• "Shy Boy" by Katie Melua (also a great bass song)

Piano:

• "Brick" by Ben Folds Five
• "My Immortal" by Evanescence
• "Clocks" by Coldplay
• "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton
• "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter
• "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis

Bass Guitar:

• "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison (parental advisory)
• "Addicted to That Rush" by Mr. Big
• "Crash into Me" by Dave Matthews Band
• "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, covered by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "Michelle" by the Beatles
• "NV43345" by Billy Sheehan (very difficult bass part on a 5-string bass!)
• "Satch Boogie" by Joe Satriani (also a great guitar song)
• "Shy Boy" by Katie Melua (also a great guitar song)
• "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Theme from Star Trek) by Alexander Courage, theremin version by Project:Pimento (with Gene Roddenberry's words)

Theremin:

• Project:Pimento
• Description and where to purchase one!

Flute:

Trumpet:

Violin:

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Tools

Metronome - Free to use, it even can play the note middle A (440 mHz) so you can tune your guitar, flute or recorder to "Concert pitch"

Online Tuners

• 8notes.com Tuner - ADVANCED tuner for guitar, mandolin, violin, viola, and cello; listen to the note being played and try to match your string's pitch by carefully adjusting the tuning pegs.

• Digital Tuner - Free download at the bottom of the page (ignore the "Click HERE" link at the top unless you are  a professional musician!), this program requires a microphone attached to your computer - choose "Standard Tuning"; for guitars only.

Chord Charts

• Guitar - includes fingerboard diagrams and sound; the numbers are finger numbers.

• Piano - includes keyboard diagrams and sound

Practice Timer

Keep your mind on your skills, not the clock!  When the alarm goes off, stop for the day no matter where you are.  You can always pick it up again tomorrow! :-)

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