November 2024 – Music Moments

I’ve become a sucker for every season – every month. I have my absolute favorites, but I’ve gotten better at practicing GRATITUDE. I mean who hasn’t heard the buzz about it? Practicing gratitude is all the rage! Various studies have shown the tremendous benefits of practicing gratitude – everything from supporting heart health, improving the quality of sleep, decreasing inflamation, boosting immunity, and decreasing feelings of anxiety and depression. So, even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, practicing the art of being thankful clearly has its benefits!

For the me, practicing gratitude includes feeling thankful for the little moments that make each season, each passing of time unique and special. There are a lot of beautiful things about November. The leaves (at least in some areas) seem to nearly all have finally completely learned to let go. They’ve accepted that it’s time for change.

We honor Veterans in the middle of the month. My dad was an Air Force Veteran. Our oldest son is in Navy ROTC which makes Veterans Day have even more meaning for me. At the elementary school, where I’ve taught for serveral years, our Veteran’s Day assembly includes a slideshow of photos of family members of students and staff. Man! Did it hit different the first year there was a picture of both my dad and son!

There’s the holiday of Thanksgiving which may mean turkey, pumpkin and apple pie to some and hopefully also means time with friends and family. But Thanksgiving can carry different meaning for various populations. November is also Native American Heritage month. I’ve loved sharing Native American music with my students through the years.

November Music Activities

In November – our Little Kiddos Music classes sprinkle in as much as we can! We learn songs about apples, leaves, turkeys and being thankful. Many of our listening selections (that we listen to while playing instruments or move to with scarves or the parachute or bubbles) reflect a variety of the themes and holidays for the month as well. Every year, I add new songs to my Autumn Playlist, Patriotic Playlist, and Thanksgiving Playlist as well.

My listening suggestions for this month definitely pay homage to the many things for which I’m grateful during November!

FOR EARS OF ALL AGES:

Patriotic/Americana Music
Oh, When the Saints performed by the incomperable Louis Armstrong (and featuring Jewel Brown) is a fun way to kick-off the month while many corners and people in the world celebrate All Saints Day. Plus, you just cannot ever go wrong with Louis Armstrong or good ‘ol New Orleans Jazz.

If you want to really dig into Veteran’s Day the Armed Forces Medly performed by the U.S. Army Field Band will do the trick! The Space Force anthem – Sempra Supra (meaning “Always Above”) – is too new to be included in this medley. Patriotic marches have such a perfectly strong, unmissable steady beat. They work really well for playing along to with rhythm instruments. I often use them to have kiddos play ostinati (repeated rhythmic patterns).

Glenn Miller’s super bluesy St. Louis Blues March is a really fun tune!

Almost everything by American composer, Aaron Copland, paints vivid images for me of some of the natural beauty in the U.S. – especially Fanfare for the Common Man and Appalachian Spring. I first heard Fanfare for the Common Man, when attending a youth symphony camp as a young teen. The camp was located on the water with the most breathtaking views. I’ll never forget climbing up the side of a huge sandy cliff to watch the sunset into the sea with the hours of practicing this piece running as the soundtrack in my mind. When listening to Appalacchian Spring, I can see the sun glowing through colorful Autumn leaves. Oh, how I love music and the magic it can work on us!

Native American Heritage
I recently discovered a contemporary composer, Jared Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, who beautifully weaves multi-tribal musical elements and instruments into his compositions. His piece Chokfi’ (Rabbit) is a fun example of this.

Gratitude
In terms of feelings of gratitude for the month of November, I was excited to learn that his piece, Variations on a Theme (also known as Enigma Variations), by a composer whose work I’ve always loved. Edward Elgar composed this piece as a thank you to good friends. The movement, Nimrod Vartiation, was dedicated to his friend Augustus J. Jaegar who convinced Elgar to continue composing music. It’s a beautiful piece even without the knowledge of its purpose!

Lastly, I’ll share a piece that – for whatever reason – just feels like gratitude to me even though it’s about a bird! I suppose that’s fitting for Thanksgiving…If swans understood the fate of turkeys in November, I suppose, they could. If you listen to or watch Kathryn Stott’s and Yo-Yo Ma’s perfect performance of Camille Saint-Saen’s The Swan, you’ll be filled with gratitude as well, I assure you!

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Little Bins for Little Hands has a huge list of Incredibly Fun Thanksgiving Stem Activities for you to check out!

How cute would it be to craft when you have friends over? Everyone can write what they’re thankful on feathers and then rock this little turkey hat during dinner!

Who needs to use a paint brush when you can roll paint with corn?! It’s corn! Corn on the cob painting looks super fun!