All That Jazz!
Welcome Parents and Children to All That Jazz. Jazz is a fun and unique style of music. It is uniquely American mostly because it combines a lot of elements from other places to make it’s snazzy sounds. Before Jazz there was Ragtime which incorporated rhythms from the Caribbean with the French influence of New Orleans and spread to much of America. Rag time combined with Negro spirituals and well Blues, Jazz, Swing, and Big Band were born. In our Jazz class we’ll hear some of the spirituals, big band and swing numbers like It’ Ain’t Got that Swing, and more! We’ll listen to the greats like Louie Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Why is Jazz a great music genre for my child?
First, Jazz just makes your body want to move. Movement and music are the keys to tuning in your child’s brain to learning language skills.
- Jazz also has a great beat for us to follow and we can practice keeping the steady beat in a variety of ways. Steady beat is crucial for learning how to read a book as well as read music in the future., as the eyes must follow steadily along the page and the brain and the speaking must follow in the same tempo.
- Jazz also gives us, lastly, a great opportunity to practice language skills like vowels, blends, and nonsense words. Ella Fitzgerald was the queen of scat! Scat is simply singing nonsense words and syllables as if to imitate a clarinet or saxophone. So we’ll use this unique musical element to practice our letter sounds and blends.
Sign Language and Steady Beat
Playlist
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Learning to communicate can be so frustrating for your child. Knowing signs gives your child a way to communicate when speaking is hard. Sign language helps your child feel confident in communicating with you!
Louie Armstrong’s Famous “What a Wonderful World” is such a great song to remember that the world is filled with unique nature, colors, and people to love and respect.
Sign language is one of the unique languages of the world. Sign language is great for hearing children because it gives them a way to “read” what you are saying. It’s actually pre-reading skills as a sound and a symbol (the sign) are associated together.
Here are some activities for sign language and steady beat for all ages using the playlist to the left.
- Parents of littles can watch the “What a Wonderful World” sign language video. Pick out a few of your favorite signs then, sign them while listening to Louie sing. Use these signs in everyday life. Ask your child: “What do you want to explore int he WORLD, today? (words for signing are in capital letters). Or you could ask: “Does BABY need a diaper change?” “Would you liek to smell the ROSES?” Asking questions and giving your child the sign will help them communicate. Make sure to pause and wait for their answer, they might just sign it back!
- Preschoolers and Big Kids can watch the sign language video with mom and dad and try to do each sign of the song. Use the signs you know when it’s hard to speak, it will help you communicate.
- Babies and toddlers need to move! Listen to “When the saints Go Marching In” and march to the beat all over the room. . Make sure to carry your baby in different ways: forward, on your shoulders, to the side, etc. so baby can feel the movement and his or her brain can balance properly.
- Big Kids will love marching too, but how many ways can you march? Forward, backward, while clappiing, while playing a kazzoo?
Music and Mood
Playlist
![Duke Ellington - Mood Indigo [Restored]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RFUSD23ZXEw/maxresdefault.jpg)
What is your child’s mood today? It can vary from moment to moment. One moment they are happy, the next they have fallen and are very sad! It’s a tough job keeping up with your child’s mood, let alone your own!
Music and mood go together. The mood of the music is how the music makes you feel and refers to the original purpose of the music, too. We all feel music in different ways, but for purposes of appreciating music, we want to understand it’s original purpose, too.
Here are some suggestions for exploring music and mood with your child:
1. For young babies simply play “Mood Indigo” to the left and enjoy rocking or massage. You may try playing it during a diaper change. See if it will calm your child down. When your baby is happy try dancing to “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got that Swing.”
2. Ever tried a blanket ride? Your toddler would love to get on a blanket and be pulled around the house to any of these pieces to the left. If it’s a fast song, go on a fast ride, if it’s slow, go on a slow ride. Try to match your child’s mood. Or play the music that will guide your child to a more appropriate mood!
3. Big kids enjoy coloring. Play a piece and ask your child to color how the music makes them feel. Any drawing is acceptable, but how does your child explain his or her drawing in relation to the music? That’s the question you want to answer for yourself as you discuss your child’s drawing.