The heat has suddenly arrived in Melbourne, the capital of unpredictable weather! From down jackets one week to shorts the next, I still have not gotten used to it after 7 years.
Each term we have a different instrument theme – in Term 1 it was string instruments, Term 2 was percussion, Term 3 was voice and now in Term 4 it is time for my favourite, wind instruments! Just as with the voice, breathing is very important when playing instruments. In Term 4 we are starting the class with breathing, in and out, feeling and understanding the movements of the body.
This week we explored what sound is, something that moves through the air yet we cannot see it. We made handmade party poppers so that we could “see” the sound, and we were all surprised at how loud they were! Soon we got used to it and using the poppers we played along with Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony.
Composer of the week: Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934), “Salut d’amour”, op.12