First Rock Band Pratice - This Thursday after school

Hi Folks,
     We're all set to have our first practice with the Full Band this Thursday, Octboer 20th, from 3pm-4pm. If you haven't arranged a drive for your child, please send me a message or call the school and I'm sure we can arrange something.

dlkrauskopf@edu.pe.ca

Thanks,
Mr. K

Remembrance Day Song: Imagine - John Lennon

Here is our song for remembrance day. Please check below the video for new lyrics.

Karaoke version:

"Imagine"

Imagine there's no fighting

It's easy if you try

No trouble below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today... Aha-ah...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no hunger, too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Rock Band 2016-2017

The Band:

Welcome to Rock Band at Bloomfield Elementary. For the upcoming school year you will have many new responsibilities, make some new friends, have lots of fun, learn many new skills and most of all MAKE MUSIC!

Band practices will start on a weekly basis during big recess on Wednesday and possibly Monday. Any other day of the week you are welcome to come in during big recess to practice or for some extra help on your instrument. If I am busy, I will tell you but you can still come in to practice on your own.  If there is not enough time to rehearse, students may be required to stay after school until 4pm to practice once a week. Depending on the amount of interested students, there may be two rock bands, a junior band and a senior band.

The Instruments:

If you have little to no skill on your chosen instrument, don’t worry. I am willing to teach you the basic skills you will need to be successful in a rock band setting. However, you will be required to do a lot of work at home on your instrument. Here is a list of equipment you may need at home:

Guitarists: A guitar (acoustic or electric), a tuner, at least one pick, an amp and instrument cable (if using electric guitar)

Bassists: A bass, a tuner, an amp, an instrument cable, a pick (optional)

Keyboardists: A keyboard or piano at home

Drummers: Drums at home or a practice pad, drumsticks, a metronome. The Rock Band video game equipment for drums is actually very close to the real thing. If you have a set or can get one, it is a good way to practice.

Vocalists: Your voice, a microphone if possible to practice singing into

We may accept other instruments such as violin or banjo if students can play them already.

Your Job:

You will be required to practice at home on your selected instrument. I will be checking this on a regular basis so make sure you practice at least 4 days a week for at least 20 minutes each time. I can and will provide the materials that you will need to learn (sheets). You may play more than one instrument in rock band if you are doing well on your main instrument.

I can provide some basic teaching for all the instruments but it is your responsibility to improve on your instrument. Some ways you can improve include:

-Using a website

-Youtube video lessons

-Finding a private teacher: Most guitar teachers can teach bass as well.

*Remember, you must come to most rehearsals. If you miss two in a row you will have to have a meeting with me to discuss your continuation in the band. I also require your best effort during regular music classes to continue in the band (singing, playing, participating in all activities).

*This year, if you decide to sing in Rock Band, you must also join all choirs during the school year. The Rock Band rehearsal time can be very busy and singing with the choir will give you a chance to learn any special singing skills that might be missed during Rock Band time.

There is a Rock Band blog where you can access youtube videos, files, sheet music, and check for upcoming dates.

Visit:

Equipment purchases:

If you do not have any equipment at home, you can purchase it. I recommend Long and McQuade in Summerside, kijiji.ca or usedPEI. Before you buy any instruments, please come see me and show me what you are looking at. I can usually tell if it is a reasonable price or quality equipment just by seeing it.

Websites with Lessons:

www.justinguitar.com -

Basic guitar lessons

http://drumbum.com/lessons/drum-lessons/free-drum-lessons/beginning-drums.html -

Many drum lessons

http://www.studybass.com/study-guide/studybass-fundamentals-one/basic-bass-technique/ -

“Bass”ic bass lessons

*For vocals and keyboards, please come see me for more info

Grade 5 and 6 Rock and Roll History Unit - Resources

Here is a list of acceptable resources for your rock history project. No one is allowed to copy and paste any information directly from a website. Any written work must be in your own words. If it is not, you will not receive a mark for your project and may have to do it again. A list of websites and books used must be provided with your final project.

Please use the computers appropriately. If you are caught watching any inappropriate videos you will lose the computer lab time for this project.

Vimeo - History of Rock: This is a great 15 minute video that gives you the history of rock in the form of a facebook feed. You can also use Vimeo to search for other videos and songs since youtube doesn't work on the school computers. Any inappropriate use of Vimeo will result in the loss of computer lab time for this project.

https://vimeo.com/158160346

Schmoop.com - History of Rock and Roll: Great overview website of rock history.

http://www.shmoop.com/history-of-rock/

RockMusicTimeline.com - If you are having trouble finding a band or song to work on or want to check if your band was around in the 1950's or 1960's you can use this website. Just click on the time period you want on the top of the page.

http://www.rockmusictimeline.com/

Wikipedia - The Origins of Rock and Roll: Long article but very useful as a place to start. Be very careful that you do not copy information directly from the website.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_rock_and_roll

For Fun:

Incredibox: Follow the directions and have fun.

http://www.incredibox.com/v3/

Chrome Music Lab: Try out as many activities as you like.

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments

Grad Song: American Authors - Best Day of My Life

Okay folks, we've finished our big shows for the Rock Band but we still have one song to work on. Here are the lyric and karaoke versions of Best Day of My Life for the singers to practice. I will have charts for all of the other players ready for you at the end of this week and Ms. Hardy will walk you through how to play them. After school practices are finished for the Rock Band but you will be practicing on either Monday or Wednesday at Big Recess.

The Locked Doors at Rock-A-Palooza

Congrats to our school rock band on their great performance on Saturday. You can listen to their two songs here:

Let it Be - The Beatles
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BytWJyxVjJvgbjhKNlc2YnltWlU

You Really Got Me - The Kinks
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BytWJyxVjJvgLUxDbEhLdl9wUkE

Rock-a-Palooza - School Rock Band Concert in Charlottetown

Our big moment is swiftly approaching. On April 23rd the school rock band, "The Locked Doors", will be attending and participating in their first ever rock concert at Murphy Community Centre on Richmond St. in Charlottetown. 14 school rock bands from across the island will be in attendance! 

We will have a sound check in the early afternoon, likely around 1:00 pm, and all students are expected to attend this as it will give them a chance to test out the stage without a big crowd watching them. As of now, the band is scheduled to play in the early evening, around 7:00 pm. 

We are in need of parents with children in the rock band to share some driving as it's on a Saturday, outside of regular school hours. Tignish Elementary have a band and will be attending as well. If you know anyone in that band, we may be able to coordinate some more driving. I'd love to have a list of available drivers by no later than April 15th.

I am also hoping to have our band play for Tignish Elementary's band some time before the concert as a warm-up. Details about this to follow.

Any further questions can be directed to me by calling the school or emailing me at dlkrauskopf@edu.pe.ca.

Link to Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/921479284617736/

Thanks, 
Mr. K