Welcome to 2011-2012 Music Class!  We are going to have a wonderful year!  My name is Christi Schettler, and have been teaching Elementary Music for 8 years.  It is so exciting to have been teaching at Corbell for 6 years and to see our tiny kindergarteners that opened Corbell now graduating to the 5th grade class.  I have two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of North Texas in Music Education, General and Instrumental Studies and Bassoon Performance with a minor in Music Theory.  My husband, Curtis, is a Head Band Director in Plano ISD.  We have two beautiful boys, Cole and Carson, and a Boston Terrier named Cookie.

This year we will be singing, playing instruments, moving, and dancing to many American folk and multicultural songs. Each grade level curriculum is accumulative and based upon the previous year’s knowledge. In kindergarten, we will be moving to and learning about the steady beat by experimenting with speaking/singing, fast/slow, high/low pitches, and loud/soft. From these comparatives, we will learn about beat vs. rhythm in classical music.

Kindergarten will be performing "Old Mr. Wehmeyer had a Farm" on Tuesday, March 20^th following the 6:30 pm PTA meeting. We will conclude the year with a composer study on Camille Sain-Saens and "The Carnival of the Animals".

In first grade, we will take the beat vs. rhythm and learn about one and two sounds on a beat. These different sounds on a beat become quarter notes and eighth notes. After they have mastered the rhythm of quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rest, we will learn about pitch by identifying a minor third, skip, as so and mi. At the end of the year, we will identify a step, minor second up, as la. First grade will be performing "How Does Your Garden Groove" on April 17^th following the 6:30 pm PTA meeting. We will conclude the year with a composer study on Sergei Prokofiev and "Peter and The Wolf".

Second grade will review all 1st grade concepts and begin their rhythmic skills with identifying a half note as one long sound over two beats. The students will expand their steps and skips of mi so la to the full pentatone do re mi so la. Students will also expand their knowledge of harmony by performing on the Orff instruments. During the spring we will do a thorough study of all the instrument of the orchestra.

Third grade will review all 2nd grade concepts and expand the pentatone on the staff and identifying absolute pitches on the staff. The rhythmic studies include four sounds on a beat as sixteenth notes. The entire third grade will discuss opera and the orchestra, and will be attending a live performance of "The Bremen Town Musicians” performed by the Fort Worth Children's Opera on Wednesday, October 26th. Third grade will also be performing “This Is America” on Tuesday, November 8^th following the 6:30 pm PTA meeting.

Fourth grade will expand on all the previous knowledge by continuing to develop their singing voices, performing on the African drums, and beginning studies on the recorder.  During the fall semester, the students will learn to improvise and a traditional piece on the African drums, and will prepare a singing performance in December.  During the spring, the students will apply known songs, movement, and Orff instruments to the recorder pieces.  They will improve their music literacy by playing and singing from the staff.   The fourth grade will have an instrumental performance as well as a choral performance this year.  The fourth grade will be singing at Merry Main Street on Saturday, December 3^rd in the evening, and will be performing a holiday concert for the school on Friday, December 9^th during the 2:05 Celebrate Corbell Assembly.  After returning from winter break, the 4^th grade will be performing an African Drum Concert for Corbell Multicultural Night on Tuesday, January 17^th following the 6:30 pm PTA meeting.  We will conclude the year with a composer study on Ludwig Van Beethoven. 

Fifth grade will expand on all the previous knowledge by continuing to master their singing voice and continue studies on the recorder with Recorder Karate.  The fifth grade will have two choral performances as well as an instrumental performance this year.  The fifth grade will perform at the Cobb Choir Cluster Concert on Tuesday, October 19^th  at Cobb Middle School (5:45 CALL; 7:00 CONCERT).  Throughout the year, the students will earn recorder belts by studying nine different songs on the recorder.  Each song will be taught through music notation, memorized, and performed in trios in front of their class.  The fifth grade students will conclude the year singing at the 6^th Annual Spring Song Fest on Thursday, May 10th at the Celebration of Learning on Friday, June 1^st with a recorder ensemble concert.  This year, the students will also be studying the history of the Star Spangled Banner, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, and discussing different characteristics of the instruments of the orchestra. The 5th grade will attend a concert to see the Plano Symphony Orchestra perform "The Magic of Meter" in March.

It’s going to be a wonderful year!!!