Mr. Nelson's Official Polk School & Judson School Music Website

Welcome all students to the 2011-2012 school year

Have a dream?  A musical talent?  Tell me about it!  Send me a message here on my official guestbook.

_____________________________________

Upcoming dates to remember:

 Friday, May 18th - Polk School Musical “The Aristocats” Polk Cafetorium - 2 shows! 5:00pm and 7:00pm performances.

 Wednesday, May 23rd - Judson School Talent Show Two performances at 1:30pm and 6:00pm

 Wednesday, May 30th - Judson School Spring Concert 5th Grade Band, 4th Grade Chorus and String Ensemble 6:00pm

 Wednesday, June 6th - Polk School Spring Concert 5th Grade Band, 4th Grade Chorus and String Ensemble 6:00pm

 Monday, June 11th - Polk School Talent Show One performance only at 9:30am

 Friday, June 15th - Michael & Marisa perform a LIVE CONCERT at Judson School and Polk School 10am and 2pm

 Wednesday, June 27th - Spaghetti Cake performs a FREE CONCERT at Veteran's Park, Watertown CT 7:00pm-8:30pm

 Saturday, August 18th - High Adventure performs live at ComiCONN at the Trumbull Marriot, Trumbull CT

______________________________________________________

 Listen to the winners of the Great American Hook-Off 2012

________________________________________________

 WINNERS of "Are You Smarter Than A Musical Kindergardener" 2012

Polk School: Maria (4th) - Judson School: Eliana (3rd) Hannah, Ryan, and John (4th)

________________________________________________

 WINNER of the "WATER-BOWL" 2012

Polk School: 160 (tie) - Judsdon School: 160 (tie)

_____________________________________________________________________

Polk & Judson Students Love Music!

______________________________________

The 5 Rules of Good Singing - Remember to practice them!

1.) Body Straight - & body relaxed

2.) Deep Breath - from the belly

3.) Open Mouth - like Dennis

4.) High Voice - head voice

5.) Listen! - and blend in

The 5 singing vowels: "ee", "eh", ah", "oh", "oo"

Places to practice good singing:  In the car, in your bedroom, in the shower, at church, at sporting events, and at birthday parties.

Songs to practice good singing: School Song, "Happy Birthday", "God Bless America", "The Star Spangled Banner", "America The Beautiful", "My Country Tis Of Thee", "Grand Old Flag", "This Land Is Your Land".

______________________________________

 Mr. Nelson's Latest Music News:

High Adventure goes "Into A Larger World" - Featuring the voice talents of several Polk School students and teachers!

______________________________________

Spaghetti Cake loves "The Rush" - Written with Polk School's own Perugini Sisters and performed at our Spring Concert!

____________________________________________

Click on the image below for your free download!

NOTE: This is a zip file, and once downloaded onto your home computer,                         should be easily opened and playable on iTunes or Windows Media Player.

"Songs In The Key Of Me" Polk School 2010-2011

Track Listing (56 Mins) - 191 MB - View Chords and Lyrics

• Let The Games Begin (3:06)

 • The Key Is Me (3:01)

 • Guys Just Want To Hang Out (2:45)

• Build Our Own World (3:23)

• Racecars & Rockstars (3:41)

• Unsinkable (3:57)

• Eat, Love, & Play (3:11)

• Bad News Report (3:18)

• Love Conquers All (4:05)

• All The Way Around (3:29)

• American Colors (3:19)

• My Space To Escape (3:15)

• Grace (4:28)

• Play Ball (3:33)

• What We Do (3:55)

• The Fate Of Ahsoka (Bonus Track) (3:43)

It's been 3 years since we created a CD at Polk School, and 6 years since we made a CD of all original songs (2004's "Buckingham Street"), but this felt like a good time time to get back into it.  This year, there was a big literacy push in the Watertown School System, and everybody was doing their part to help reinforce reading and writing in the curriculum.   It's been a lot of work for the students and I, but the results clearly speak for themselves.  You're one click away from a free download of 15 brilliant new songs, in which every word came from the minds and mouths of Polk School students.  On behalf of Polk Elementary School in Oakville CT, we are very proud to present you with "Songs In The Key Of Me".

The unit took 10 weeks to complete in music class.  Every group from every grade wrote their own unique original song.  At the beginning, the students learned about the importance of brainstorming, and keeping a journal to write down and store their ideas.  The students brainstormed what they wanted to write about, and together we distilled the list down, looking for connections and similarities.  In every case, we came up with 3 main concepts for the song that we all agreed on, and then went about trying to combine them into one singular idea. This was the birth of the album.

The lyric writing process took by far the longest. The students worked on rough drafts at first, focusing on the 3 major parts of form in songwriting: verse, chorus, and bridge.  They learned that songwriters are storytellers, and how the verses should tell a concrete story, with a beginning, middle, and end.  We talked about the function of the bridge, to sum up the "moral" of the story, as in a fable.  They wrote second drafts to their songs, building on the rough draft, and ultimately on the computer and overhead projector we worked out our final drafts, and really focused in on editing and revising, rhyme scheme, the "hook", and trying to get down to exactly what is was that we were trying to say in as few words as humanly possible.  Giant lyric sheets were hung all over the room, covering every inch of wall space, immersing the students in their own thoughts and creativity.

The next part of the process moved rather quickly, as we talked about melody and harmony, major and minor, how a melody has to be simple and singable, and how the chords contribute to the emotional message of the song and further illustrate the story behind the lyrics.  In every case, the students suggested what chords to play, and I helped carve out a melody on the guitar.  After many weeks of work, the songs were finally starting to come alive.

Then came time to talk about tempo, style, and arrangement.  From a friend I borrowed a powerful keyboard workstation, which we nicknamed "Paddy" (the Korg PA-800) and with the touch of only a few buttons, it was quickly evident whether the song we had written was country, dance, hip-hop, Celtic, or even Bollywood.  We talked about intros and endings, and decided which ones we thought fit the song best. I recorded and later mixed the tracks after school on the Tascam DP-01 digital 4-track recorder.

Finally, it was time for the students to shine, and record their vibrant new tracks.  This process took 3 weeks, as they first rehearsed their vocals, then recorded the album not once but twice, in an effort to get the best sound that we possibly could.  The students worked really hard, and I think it shows in every aspect of the recording.  Each step along the way, Polk School students were involved with the creative writing process, and got to see firsthand how a song goes from idea to finished reality.

As I often do, I contributed a song of my own to the album as a bonus track.  This one was inspired by a Star Wars convention that I'd been to over the summer in Orlando, FL.  (Yes, I'm a huge Star Wars nerd.) It's based on my favorite character from the Clone Wars TV show, Ahsoka Tano, a young Jedi Padawan learner.  Not only is she a popular character on the show and beloved by fans, but she is a mysterious character as well.  Her conspicuous absence from any of the feature films points to an unknown future and has many fans, myself included, wondering about her ultimate destiny.  We were lucky enough to have a music video made for the song, which is below.

I truly hope you enjoy this wonderful new CD.  I opted not to print physical CDs this year, not just to avoid asking for money, but in the hopes that all students have access to their music, as they certainly do deserve it.  Feel free to burn CDs and pass them out to anyone you know and love.  We also ask that you help us spread the link to this website far and wide, and share with the whole wide world the outstanding work that Polk School students did, once upon a time, in the Fall of 2010.  Thank you as always for your support!

Mr. Nelson - December 2010

Cover Artwork by Mrs. Field

READ THE FEATURE ARTICLE IN THE WATERBURY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN!

READ YET ANOTHER FEATURE ARTICLE ABOUT "SONGS IN THE KEY OF ME"!

____________________________________________