Students Get into the Music at Bethune

On Friday, November 9, 2012 Students at Bethune Elementary enjoyed a musical performance by Project Jupiter.  Project Jupiter, an orchestra quartet from Illinois, currently plays at Spivey Hall at Clayton State University.

Members of the quartet, Project Jupiter, bring music to life for students at Bethune.

“The Coca-Cola Company was responsible for bringing this experience to life for our students,” explained Jami Pettway, the Principal at Bethune Elementary. “Not only did they sponsor the quartet, but they also upgraded our speaker system for performances of this nature.  We are incredibly grateful to them for their kindness and generosity.”

The performance exposed students to a cultural plethora of music played with two violins, a cello, and a viola. The members of the quartet highlighted the different parts of each instrument for the students, while also demonstrating how to create a melody.

A member of Project Jupiter explains the importance of a melody in music.

“Students learned about different genres of music, how music impacts a body of work, and parts of the viola, violin, and cello,” said Pettway.  “This was truly a global experience.”

The quartet illustrated and explained the melody of a piece of music by actively standing up as each quartet member played their melodic parts. In order to help students understand how a melody works, quartet members compared the combining of musical instruments to making homemade chocolate chip cookies.  In that, you can not have a melody (the chocolate chips) without the accompaniment (flour, eggs, and sugar).
At the end of the performance students participated in a candid question and answer session with the musicians.

Students ask candid questions about music and instruments.

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