Past projects 2
Pianos are a Music Teacher's Best Friend
Funded Mar 14, 2018First of all, thank you so much for your generous donations! My students were absolutely ecstatic when they saw the new pianos! I could barely get the power supply plugged in before they started to play. They have been playing everything from Led Zeppelin to Mozart!
Recently, my Introduction to Music Theory students have been making good use of the pianos by creating their own melodic dictation. They have also been composing their own melodies using various scales we have learned in class.
Additionally, my Choir students have found the pianos very helpful when practicing their parts with each other. The pianos have made a world of difference in every aspect of my classroom.
Going forward, I am going dedicate one half of my room to be the "piano zone" where all of the pianos we have will live. This area will be dedicated to my Introduction to Piano classes as well as my Music Theory, Contemporary Music, and Songwriting classes.
Thank you for making my classroom the best it can be. I am beyond grateful!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Hench
Daroff Charter School Music Classroom Supplies
Funded Nov 10, 2015The instruments you have helped provide for my students have completely changed the way we are learning music. We have used the instruments to play everything from the Beatles to John Williams. My favorite moment so far has been our rendition of the "Imperial March" from the Star Wars movies. The expressions on the students faces when playing a tune from one of their favorite movies was more than gratifying. I am overwhelmed by the plethora of ideas and applications of instruments. I will be able to use them with Daroff students for many many years to come.
The boomwhackers have been the most exciting instrument for the students! The level of engagement doubles whenever I decide to implement them in my lesson plans. They have quickly become the favorite percussion item in the classroom. The mallets have provided an entire realm of music making with the xylophones that were not existent earlier in the year. For the older kids, the recorders have been a game changer when it comes to motivation in the classroom. We have started a new activity called "Recorder Karate." The activity allows students to earn "belts" as they complete each song in the ranking system. The combination of the new instruments with "recorder karate" has been a great way to challenge them each day with a new song. They always come to eager to succeed.
One part of my curriculum includes music history. I use Thursday as my day to look at musicians of the past and call it "Throwback Thursday." Leading up to the "Throwback Thursday", we had been studying "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles and learning how to play it on the recorder. At first, I was worried that the students would not enjoy the song because of its age, but I could barely keep them in their seats as the began to play the song while I accompanied on the drum set. It was a wonderful experience to see older students so excited about a band that I grew up with.
I would like to thank everyone once again for their donations to my school. You have made impact on my first year as a teacher and an even bigger impact on the students in my classroom. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Hench