Category: MTMS Blog Posts

If you didn’t catch the halftime show, here’s a replay: Video Ad (youtube.com)

If you did catch it live- I want to bring your attention to the Marching Band. Yes, that’s in our music lab theme and it’s really great that they gave us an amazing example of what a marching band can do (and actually the whole thing is pretty awesome).

So, that is Jackson State University Marching Band and they’re also called the Sonic Boom of the South. They spent ten days in Las Vegas to get ready for the halftime show, and I can’t say enough great things about them. Want to see more of their performances? Click here. They have 300 members, and you can see they work really hard.

Are you thinking about summer yet? We are! Information will keep coming, but we’re interested to know how you feel about the coming summer.

We view camps as a fun way to explore a theme, with students of any age, instrument, and experience level coming together. We are looking into options for full-day, full week, or weeklong half-day (afternoon) camps.

Please comment below! We want to know what you’d like to participate in and what fits into your schedule best. It’s a great time to let us know so we can plan the best summer camps and give you the options you need.

On Sunday, January 21, the annual MTMS Winter Benefit Concert will happen from 3-6pm at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 4456 Morse Rd, Gahanna. Your entry fee for the concert is to one non-perishable food item for GRIN (Gahanna Residents in Need).

This concert will be set in one-hour afternoon sessions. Our students will delight friends and family alike with their hard work and great music – you don’t want to miss this exhibition. MTMS is extremely proud of every student and the progress they make with their music. We will be cheering them on with you.

Every month, the music lab teachers select a theme for the Music Technology and Learning Lab. Students explore the theme in the Music History, Composition, and Listening Stations during their scheduled music lessons. 

The lab stations this month are focused on the Baroque Period of music. This era of music ran from 1600 to 1750. Many of our modern instruments hadn’t been invented yet, so we recommend a keyboard for the composition station for the recommended style “theme and variations.”

The theme at the time was often associated with the patron, and the patron would support the musician to create the music they wanted. So the theme was done, and then variations that sounded very like the theme would also be done.

The keyboard is a stand-in for the instruments normally used in the Baroque period: harpsichord, organ, clavichord. You’ll also find in the composition station the ornaments that were often used in the period – which are exciting, quick notes that are attached to a main note. These ornament notes were not scored like they are now, so it was up to interpretation how to play them at the time.

The listening station has a YouTube playlist, and if you want to listen, follow the link.

The music history station will give all the information you want to know about the Baroque Period. Two of the most important composers were Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel. It will also teach the students about characteristics, ornaments, and new music styles connected the period. Ask your student about these things!

Enjoy the January music lab stations. We can’t wait to see what you think of them, and the music the students create from them.