Study Groups Help Students in the Classroom AND Online!

Watch the video below to see the third period sixth grade general music class working in their study groups. Find out how this effective component puts students in control of their learning.

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New Web Site, New Features

Our updated Music & Media Network features new content and new departments. For instance, our STUDY department includes web-based, interactive review games such as "Fling the Teacher" and "Hoop Shoot." It also includes links to flash card sets on Quizlet, an online application that allows students to choose how they study and how they take tests.

Another new feature on our Music & Media Network is the Voicethread Forum, an online application that allows students and parents to communicate through text, voice, or video comments. This new technology makes it easy for anyone to participate in one of our discussion.

Click here to visit our Music & Media Network. Feel free to play a game in the STUDY department or leave a comment in our Voicethread Forum.

Choir and Dance Team Film Music Video

The RMS Choir and Dance Team recorded a music video for the traditional Zambian song "Bonse Aba" on Friday, October 31st, in the RMS auditorium. The song was performed at the Oktoberfest Concert on October 23rd and will also be performed at the FedEx Forum on Friday, December 12th, when the RMS Choir and Dance Team perform on the court just before the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Chicago Bulls!

The choir recorded the audio track in the choir room, then created a CD of their recording on the computer. Next, the choir and dancers moved to the auditorium and performed along with the CD recording while the video was filmed. Finally, the audio track was mixed with the video tracks using video editing software. The result can be seen below.

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Seventh and Eighth Grade Students Hold Live Political Debate

Seventh and eighth grade students held a live debate on Friday afternoon, October 31st, in the RMS auditorium. Students spoke passionately and knowledgeably about the presidential candidates and the issues affecting all Americans - the economy, health care reform, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event was moderated by Mrs. Causey and organized by Dr. Boyle and Mr. Washington. In the end, seventh grade emerged victorious, scoring more points for the effectiveness of their arguments. Four of the debate students wrote and performed songs for a video project that incorporated elements of poetry, vocabulary words, and Spanish. Watch the video below!

RMS Hosts 2008 Middle School Strings All-City Concert

Watch the video of the 2008 Memphis City Schools Middle School Strings All-City Concert, held at Ridgeway Middle School on Thursday, October 16th, 2008

RMS Students Attend MSO Young People's Concert

On Tuesday, October 14th, RMS music students travelled to the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts to attend the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's Young People's Concert. RMS students, along with other MSC students, enjoyed performances of twentieth century pieces from composers such as Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, and Leonard Bernstein. MSO Assistant Conductor James Feddeck discussed each piece in terms of its historical context, explaining the twentieth century events that inspired each composer and what the music represented.

RMS World Drum Squad and Choir performing at the Memphis Farmers Market

The RMS World Drum Squad and Choir will be performing at the Memphis Farmers Market on Saturday morning, October 25th from 10:00 to 10:30 AM. October 25th will be the last day of the Market's 2008 season. Visit their web site for event information and directions.

Information regarding transportation and attire for this performance will be posted here and sent home next week - October 14th-17th. Visit the Music & Media Network Choir page for more information.

Oktoberfest Concert & Hot Dog Supper Fundraiser

Dear Parents, Family, and Friends,

You are cordially invited to the Oktoberfest Concert and Hot Dog Supper Fundraiser on Thursday evening, October 23rd, 6:00 to 7:00 PM. The event will be held in the RMS Cafeteria and feature:

• Performances by the RMS Choir and World Drum Squad
• Sixth Grade General Music Ensemble Performance
• Multimedia Presentations from General Music Students
• Dinner
• Door Prizes

Admission will be $4.00 per person at the door. Proceeds benefit the RMS Choir, World Drum Squad, and General Music program.

After school choir rehearsals will continue from now through October 23rd. Rehearsals will be held on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 2:30 to 3:30 each day. Students are encouraged to attend any and all of the after school rehearsals. Transportation home must be provided for students immediately following rehearsals.

Student volunteers are encouraged to stay after school on the day of the concert – Thursday, October 23rd – to help set up and decorate the cafeteria for the event.

Click Here to Download/Print Oktoberfest Concert flyer (this flyer was sent home with stduents on Thursday, October 9th)

Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I look forward to seeing all of you at the concert. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Ken Greene
greenekennethe@mcsk12.net
(901) 416-1588, ext. 21513

*Approved by Lisa Henry, RMS Principal*

Sixth Grade Syncopation - Day 2

Click the play button to hear sixth grade students performing the syncopated polyrhythm notated in the picture on the left. The first rhythm performed in the recording was line four, played on a floor tom, snare drum, rubber cans, and chairs. Line one enters next - this is the rhythm from our October 1st, "Day 1" entry. Line two enters next. followed by hand-clapped line three. The performance was impressively accurate! Improvisation will be added on Monday, October 6th, on drums and harmonica (if Theodore and Antario bring their harps). Click on the picture on the left to view a larger image. See if you can follow the notation as each new line of rhythm is performed.

Sixth Grade Syncopation - Day 1

Click the play button to hear sixth graders Antario Ross and Arthur Robinson introduce the first part of a polyrhythmic composition that includes syncopation and improvisation. Students are experiencing the strong connection between music and math as they read, analyze, divide, count, and perform rhythm patterns in different meters (4/4 and 4/2 so far). We continue to emphasize the connection to speech (language arts) as we learn new, more complex rhythms. The rhythm notation in the picture below (left) is the pattern performed by the students in the recording. Click on the pictures to view larger images. The next syncopated pattern will be introduced tomorrow, along with a section for improvised solos on percussion and harmonica!

Memphis Symphony Orchestra Percussionist Visits RMS Music Department

Memphis Symphony Orchestra principal timpanist and percussionist Frank Shaffer visited RMS music students on Wednesday, September 23rd, for two 45-minute presentations. Mr. Shaffer introduced and demonstrated different percussion instruments such as the snare drum, timpani, cymbals, and xylophones. He also discussed the many musical decisions he and other percussionists make during performances. RMS band, orchestra, and general music students participated in a percussion ensemble jam on a Latin samba groove. General music students are currently studying syncopated rhythms in reggae (Bob Marley) and jazz (Miles Davis and Billie Holiday), and will be introduced to Brazilian Jazz next week (Bossa Nova music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Giberto).

Mr. Shaffer demonstrated the connection between music and physics, explaining how friction is used to create a thumb roll on a tambourine. Vibration was also discussed in terms of sound production and sustain.

Frank Shaffer also discussed and performed percussion excerpts from the upcoming MSO Young People's Concert at the Cannon Center. Several RMS students will be attending the concert on October 14th and studying the selections they hear thanks to the partnership between the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Memphis City School. Watch the video clip below of Frank Shaffer's September 23rd visit.

World Drum Squad Performs at the 2008 Cooper Young Festival

Members of the RMS World Drum Squad performed with professional percussionist Maria Estes in front of the Memphis Drum Shop on Saturday, September 13th at the 2008 Cooper Young Festival. Maria Estes, founder and director of the SANKOFA Drum and Dance Ensemble, visited us in February of this year for a private drum clinic in the RMS auditorium.

Visit the World Drum Squad section of our Music & Media Network for pictures from the Cooper Young Festival, Maria Estes' visit, and other WDS performances. Check out the video below!

Fifth Period 6th Grade Class Composes 7-Part Rondo

Click the play button to hear the composition.

Inspired by the 6th period general music class, 5th period students composed their own rondo piece - a 7-part instrumental work (ABACADA). Students applied concepts and vocabulary learned over the first six weeks, including form, polyrhythm, improvisation, ostinato, and timbre.

Sixth grade students Erin Beal, Diamond Hodges, Keannyi Wilson composed and performed the 3-part keyboard piece for the A-section. Other students used percussion instruments and non-traditional instruments such as chairs to compose and improvise music for their sections.

A "music video" is being produced to support the piece and will be posted next week. Until then, enjoy this 7-part original group composition.

Sixth Grade Composes, Performs, Sings, Raps, Dances in Rondo Project

The 6th period, sixth grade general music students composed a 5-part rondo piece and video to illustrate the connection between music and visual art forms. Continuing with their study of musical form, students explored 5- and 7-part rondo. They composed and performed short polyrhythmic pieces to experience the forms, then began work on a larger musical work with a supporting video.

Sixth grade student Quanisha Dandridge contributed original lyrics sung on an improvised melody, while Maurice Banyon and DeShawn Westbrooks rapped their original rhymes. The music was composed by the students, built on a rhythmic ostinato, and performed on drums and percussion.

The composition originally started as a 5-part rondo with Quanisha's singing representing the "A section." On the final day of the project, Don-Angelo Woodard presented us with a verse he had composed for the piece. We decided to add Don-Angelo's verse as an extended introduction to the piece. The final form was a 5-part rondo with extended introduction (that was the class consensus, anyway). The video was developed by the students to support the music and the form. The form is mapped out below the video player.

• Introduction - Don-Angelo singing, dancing
• A-section - Quanisha singing, girls dancing
• B- section - Maurice rapping, solo dancers
• A-section - Quanisha singing, girls dancing
• C - section - DeShawn rapping, solo dancers
• A-section - Quanisha singing, girls dancing

Vocabulary Report

Click on the play button to hear 5th period, sixth grade General Music students review our vocabulary list from the first six weeks. A few examples are provided, illustrating connections to classroom activities.

• Tempo
• Beat
• Polyrhythm
• Rhythm
• Articulation
• Notate/Notation
• Dynamics
• Improvise
• Timbre
• Form
• Ostinato
• Adagio
• Syncopation