Level 4 & 5:
kindergarten and grade 1
Fall/Winter: Level 4 & 5
Meet Miguel.
He’s ready for kindergarten this year, and has already started to read a little. He’s got a goofy grin, likes to roll on the floor with his dog, and is obsessed with Star Wars. He has always loved music, and says he wants to play guitar someday. Or maybe drums. So let’s nurture that! But none of us is looking forward to a daily battle with a 5 year old to make him practise. You know what he needs? Just a little more time to be a kid.
What if, instead of sitting on the piano bench for half an hour, he could learn the notes of the staff by jumping across lines on the floor? What if that silly song we sang in class was preparing him to play the tune on a 2-string dulcimer?
And what if he arrived at his first piano lesson 2 years later at around age 7, already knowing how to read notes and rhythms and to keep a steady beat, so that the piano teacher can get straight to focusing on physical mastery of the instrument?
Do you know how great he’ll feel when he soars through his first year of private lessons? While giving him a little more time to have the patience and maturity to handle the discipline of daily practising, Kindermusik will have kept music a joyful part of his daily life, and given him the opportunity to try pre-keyboard, string and woodwind instruments so he can choose what to focus on next.
You won’t believe what the oldest Kindermusik students can do! In a carefully planned sequence children will learn to read music and write musical symbols, and to play a pre-keyboard instrument (glockenspiel) a stringed instrument (2-string dulcimer) and a wind instrument (recorder).
Musical games, singing and learning about music from around the world keep it fun. This is our most structured class, and involves some desk work as well as weekly practicing.
60 minutes once a week for 15 weeks in 4 sequential semesters over two-years (material builds upon earlier semester). Parents/siblings join in for the last 15 minutes of every lesson.
What A Parent And Child Will Experience In Class
Singing and vocal development
It may sound like a foreign language when a child sings “ta” and “ti-ti”, but this is the language of professional musicians and composers and getting young children ready to read and write simple rhythm patterns.
Movement
See children dance expressively to music, giving them the practice they need to coordinate their body movements to the sound of music. This kind of musical play not only improves musicianship, but physical coordination as well.
Reading and Writing
Young children will learn melodic notation and identify pitches such as the C, A, and D notes on the treble clef, plus rhythmic notation. Eventually even composing their own music. By the end of Year 2 we will have learned all the notes of the C major scale plus F# and Bb.
Focused Listening
Children will learn to identify a range of orchestra instruments and their sound qualities, while also gaining an early awareness and knowledge of composers and masterworks in Western arts tradition.
Exploring and playing musical instruments
Authentic percussion, string, pre-keyboard, and woodwind instruments expose children to the many choices for future musical study, and at the same time provide them with the opportunity to musically succeed before taking on more formal instruction.
Guided Homework Activities
Simple instructions for activities and practising for parent and child to do at home to strengthen musical learning.
Plus…!
Musical games, ensemble development, musical terms and concepts, opportunities to create their own compositions, creative self-expression.
Semesters
Level 4: Semester One (Red)
Offered every fall
Everything your child learns later in semesters 2, 3, and 4 begins with this early introduction to the basics of reading music and writing musical symbols. We prepare carefully for playing melodies on a pre-keyboard instrument ”the glockenspiel”which will be used throughout all the Young Child classes.
Your At Home Materials provide the music, instruments, stickers, and activities for a home version of the same playful activities you’ll hear about from class, so your child – and you! – can learn where you’re most comfortable: at home.
Home Materials: Red Folder (with stickers, games bag, and Music At Home Cards, Family Songbook), Home CD of music from class, glockenspiel, and purple carry bag.
Level 4: Semester Two (Green)
Offered every January
Playing simple musical patterns and songs on the featured instrument from the first session ”the glockenspiel”is a central focus this semester.
While learning to sing a melody, and then play the pattern on the glockenspiel, we’ll delve deeper into the understanding of musical concepts such as piano and forte through orchestra-style music such as the William Tell Overture and Peter and the Wolf.
Music appreciation and understanding continues with a complete introduction to the instruments “and the families in which they’re grouped” of the orchestra. Home Materials: Green Folder (with stickers, handouts etc) and Home CD of music from class.
Level 5: Semester Three (Blue)
Offered every Fall
Appalachian music is a featured musical style this semester. First, you and your child will build a two-stringed dulcimer instrument with materials that we’ll provide. Then in class we’ll learn to play chords and simple melodies on the instrument you built together. But keep bringing your glockenspiel – we have some more notes to learn!
Your Home Materials include dulcimer-making materials, activity cards, and music that features recordings from Appalachia, African-America, and Native American music, as well as the Western Art music of the Nutcracker Suite. Home Materials: Blue Folder (with stickers, handouts etc) Home CD and dulcimer.
Level 5: Semester Four (Yellow)
Offered every January
In this final semester, we’ll we learn the remainder of the notes of the treble clef and introduce our wind instrument “ the recorder”.
As your child is introduced to basic methods of playing simple melodic patterns and songs on this wind instrument, we’ll also incorporate the instruments, concepts, and songs from previous semesters.
With a special emphasis on multicultural music, your child will learn to improvise and write music, as well as experience the musical styles of the Pacific Islands, Europe, and Africa; plus play special dances and children’s games from around the world, including Alpine dances, Mexico, and Ecuador.
Home Materials: Yellow Folder (with stickers, handouts etc) Home CD and soprano recorder.
Benefits for Big Kids
Young children who continue Kindermusik class into early school age will develop a greater capacity for learning and a lifelong love of music.
In Kindermusik class, your budding musician will be introduced to fundamental musical concepts, notation, and the basics of vocal development. Children explore a wide variety of musical styles and the instruments of the orchestra through group ensemble play, music, games, and stories from many cultures.
These classes are a musical learning experience that set the stage for future school success and the transition into formal music lessons.
What you’ll experience in Kindermusik Music Classes for Big Kids
At this age, big kids love learning and making music with their peers and can now begin to apply what they are learning in different ways. But especially when it comes to music, they need a learning environment that that encourages without pushing. The rich foundation of musicianship which Kindermusik lays has the potential to accelerate later progress on an instrument.
Language development
Being in a group class like Kindermusik gives big kids lots of extra practice in verbal communication, but language development is taken to all-new level as the children imitate melodic phrases, match pitch, and sing entire songs.
Vocal development
We take singing to a whole new level as the children sing in several languages, participate in speech ensembles, expand their vocal range, develop independent singing, and sing in an ensemble.
Cognitive development
Higher-level cognitive skills mean these eager learners can easily begin to grasp the fundamentals of reading, writing, and composing music which Kindermusik introduces in a perfectly sequenced and thoughtful way.
Gross motor skills
Children this age are more than capable of walking, running, and jumping and are now able to walk, run, and jump to the beat of the music. Kindermusik helps refine their gross-motor skills even further as the children imitate and learn multi-step dances.
Fine Motor Skills
The ability to hold a pencil and write their names means that these big kids are becoming skilled enough to also learn simple musical notation, play the bars of a glockenspiel, strum the strings of the dulcimer, and finger the holes on the recorder.
Social Emotional Development
At this age, self-esteem comes from feeling capable, and Kindermusik helps your child to develop a sense of confidence by belonging to a group, sharing ideas, and taking pride in his accomplishments.
Musical Development
Increasing skills and cognitive abilities mean that your big kid can enjoy more complicated group dances and ensemble experiences. She’ll have lots of opportunity to develop her singing voice as well. Most exciting of all, she is able to learn to read and write music as well as to compose her own songs.