MUSIC AND RHYTHM (grades PreK-12)

In this program, the student explores in-depth the elements of making music and the common root that runs through various musical styles. The musical genres are chosen by school staff in a pre-planning meeting in accordance with curriculum emphasis. In addition to teaching the concepts of music comprehension and appreciation, integrating music into literature, social studies, language, and visual arts curricula is an important part of this residency.

Concepts and skills learned include:

• Using percussive instruments and student’s bodies, hands, feet and breath to explore the question “What is music?”

• Understanding the meaning of “orchestration”

• Comparing and contrasting different styles of music-making through listening and performing

• Exploring the relationship between vibration and sound

• Arranging sounds into patterns and performing those patterns based on visual cues

• Creating a score.

• Establishing procedures for working with instruments, applying the concepts of following a conductor to instrumental performance.

The students compose, conduct and perform an instrumental piece using dynamics and another piece containing 2 instruments and different tempos.

Apart from the music, the concepts discussed in class teach the student important lessons about diversity and the power of working together. Since we use a variety of recycled cans, bottles and plastic buckets alongside our purchased instruments the class gets exposure to practical materials recycling.

Younger students learn to read and compose their own music using symbolic notation.  Older students learn or expand their familiarity with solfege, depending on their previous musical training.

The program usually ends with a shared performance.