Preparatory Musical Literacy and Private Lesson Preparation for ages 3 - 9

Course Length: Full School Year, September - June.

Teaching Methods used to reach all goals in Musical Munchkins and Mini Musicians

Kodaly Method: Traditional childrens songs, rhythms and their accompanying dances and games are used to foster an enjoyment of singing. The rhymes and rhythms of these songs are explored by employing both verbal and written musical identification.

Dalcroze Eurythmics: Basic elements such as beat, dynamics, accent, meter and rhythm are explored through simple movements such as crouching, stretching, stomping, patting and clapping.

ORFF Music for Children: Words, poems, stories and songs are explored using a combination of movement with instrumental and vocal sounds. The children use the musical tools learned in class to create their own compositions.

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Click Here to see pictures of some of our classes in action

GOALS:

• to have fun while fostering a love and enjoyment of music as part of everyday life.
• to develop an ear for music as well as a sense of rhythm, movement and dynamic expression.
• to enjoy singing and the ability to sing in tune with others.
• to aid in the development of language through the use of stories, poems (set to music and movement), songs and listening activities.
• to set the stage for future involvement in music making through an introduction to fundamental music literacy.

"The ultimate aim of this approach is the enrichment of students' lives through the development of their inherent musicality...what makes ORFF special is the way it develops the idea that the child learns musical behavior through behaving in musical ways; by creating, listening and performing. The end result is a musically independent student".


GOALS:

• to have fun, as well as to introduce a rudimentary music vocabulary in spoken and written form.
• to further develop beat competency and rhythmic independence.
• to learn a variety of accompaniment patterns that can be used in conjunction with one another to create a full ensemble experience.
• to explore simple musical forms such as binary, rounded binary, rondo, verse/chorus and canon.
• to foster an interest in music composition through improvisation.

Age Range: 7 - 9 years

This course is a culmination of all that was learned in Musical Munchkins and Mini Musicians 1. In this level, we begin to use all the musical tools to create our own compositions and orchestrations. Children will not only invent the music that they play, they will learn how to write the correct musical notation including the pitch and the rhythm. This is the final step towards Private Lesson Preparation and choosing an instrument.
This course will focus on the recorder and note and rhythm reading. The children will learn how to use the recorder in both the lower and upper ranges by the end of the year.
This class will be geared towards performance.

Prerequisite: Mini Musicians 1 or an interview with the director or administrator.

CLASS TIMES