Opera North week - Kate

a really enjoyable week 1 for me! I've obviously tried to pick up on the work that's been going on with Caroline, ~Tracey and Terry. Each group has spent some time on general music skills - singing, rhythm and some instrumental work. They've also all written something 'song-like' - some more traditional than others. Most are recorded, but a couple didn't come out - hence the odd gap in lyrics! I also need to cross check the words with the recordings - but will have everything double checked for Friday's meeting.

Sally's Y3: we used the words describing the creatures and the way they moved to create a (fairly comic!) song:

There is a runripper, runripper
Wiggle squiggler, wiggle squiggler
Spinstopper, spinstopper
Zebotohopper, zebotohopper
Crocodog, crocodog
lepohog, lepohog
? (can't remember this one!)
Blue bendy jiggler

The hippocrocopig wears a multi-coloured wig
The yellow butterbeet eats leopotar meat
The tarantasnake bakes strawberry cake
From the dark cold mud in the Tulgey wood

(plus a second verse with more creatures)

Jennifer's Y3/4: wrote a mysterious song about walking through the Tulgey wood, focussing on the trees, ground etc.

Jumping over logs and leaves,
Toffee wrappers blowing
Thorns scratching
Blossoms swaving
Ivy tendrils curling

Smoke drifting, smoke drifting
Spiders' webs clinging,
Shining in the moonlight
Birds singing/flying?
Tweaking a warning in the darkness.

Rachael's Y4/5
Started with ideas of the beach for Caroline's journey. They made a word piece which was then accompanied by playing the inside of the piano, and also the beginnings of a more traditional song.

Ripples, ripples,
Spreading spreading spreading
Birds....
The sea tells us 'shhh'

Footsteps on squelchy sand,
feet sinking,
water filling,
Hot dry sand, soft as a pillow

Philip's Y5/6
Written one song, a mock serious lament from the jabberwocky's friends during which the gruesomeness of the kids' imaginations really came to the fore! And a rhythmic journey over the beach with some short sung phrases.

The Jabberwocky has gone
We all really miss him

He was kind and fun
Making toys for the children from bones

We remember his garden full of man-eating plants
We remember his river of mutation (my favourite line)
We remember his fire fountain, sizzling and blazing
We remember his pond like a graveyard of bones


Sly slippy sand, creamy like caramel

The stinging sea sparkles in the sunlight, makes us gasp!

***

Judith's Y6
Concentrated on 'research conference' about whether the jabberwocky should be killed. Firstly, they wrote instrumental pieces that would accompany a documentary about the jabberwocky, including theme music, lament for dead Fred (eaten by the Jabberwocky), scientists experimenting on a Jabberwocky egg in the lab, tracking it to its lair, eating music, scary music etc.

They went on to create two political songs, one for each side of the 'to kill or not to kill' argument. This was great fun!

He's a murderer, he's a menace, he's a killer, destroying the human race etc.

He has got the right to live, revenge is not the answer etc.

I'll bring a CD with as much as poss. for Friday, and some notation for any who want some.