WEEK SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS

As we return to school from Sukkot, the Middle School is working towards learning new songs, techniques and preparing for their concerts!

Rock 101 has begun working on the song, Seven Nation Army, by The White Stripes!  This is a song that I use with every Rock 101 class.  From a cultural perspective, this song is very popular in sporting events.  From World Cup Soccer, to baseball, this song tells a story about an army going to war.  In my opinion, it resembles a college "fight song" like "On Wisconsin."

From a teaching perspective, it is a great example of teaching musical form.  Instrumentation on the recorded version is guitar and drums.  We are expanding the instrumentation to include:

Bass Guitar

Xylophone

Marimba

Piano

Seven Nation Army has a "catchy" musical theme.  Below, is the "official" video.  Take a moment to listen:

This song has a very simple guitar riff.  It is repeated throughout.  The drums represent the "army" marching.  It begins with the guitar riff, then adds drums, followed by the story.  As it progresses, it slowly builds and transforms into a loud and powerful movement of music!  Just when it peaks, the sound disappears without warning and the guitar riff begins its quiet voice once again, followed by the second verse.

In FUSION One: Today, we watched and listened to John Henry Bonham perform the song, 

Moby Dick with his band mates from Led Zeppelin at The Royal Albert Hall in 1970.  Today marked the anniversary of his death in 1980.  His untimely death was the band's demise as well.

John Bonham was (and still is) one of the most influential rock drummers of his time.  In Moby Dick, John showcases his musicianship with a drum solo filled with a wide ranch of dynamics, to incredible power and technique.  He shows the audience how "musical" a drum solo can sound.  At one point, he puts done his drumsticks, making his drum set sound like conga drums.  This solo goes on for approximately 10 minutes!  

I have divided the class into four performing groups.  Each band will learn how to play the song, and each of the four drummers will have the opportunity to improvise and play a 1-2 minutes solo.  Each group will create a band name.  Groups will be graded on individual/group effort.

Here is the video:

In FUSION Two: We continue to work on Rosanna and Hold The Line, by Toto.  Two iconic songs from the same band, both songs have different beats.  Two of the most challenging songs that any 8th Grade prior has worked on, this Grade has stepped up to give both songs a sound that anybody from Toto would applaud!  

Fusion Two is also working on I Saw Her Standing There, by The Beatles.  A very upbeat song with an incredible, driving bass line.  The purpose of the entire class learning this song is simple: to be able to switch and mix musicians with the goal of being able to execute this song no matter which student is performing.

Videos to both songs can be found in the last post!  For now, our students continue to make progress as individuals, but more importantly as a Kehilah!