*Harmony
Road Spring 2012 Schedule is Here!*
650
324 2373
Children's
Music Classes in Palo Alto
(Innovative, piano based music
classes for children as young as two years of age. Come &
see why children love our classes & parents rave about
them!)
"Great
program. I have recommended it to MANY friends in the area...fantastic"
- Julie M., Finn's mom
Greetings
from the director
New
Mozart's Approach
by Christine Shin
There
is such a proliferation of music curricula for young children:
Orff, Dalcroze, Kodaly, Suzuki, Montessori, and many more.
They all have strengths, and each emphasizes important aspects
of the developing musician. So why not combine the strengths
for the most comprehensive possible musical foundation?
It
was precisely this idea that motivated me
to implement a keyboard based children's program at the New
Mozart school. New Mozart's Harmony Road combines Montessori’s
child-centered learning, Kodaly singing, the rhythm and motion
of Dalcroze and Orff and the high parental engagement of Suzuki
to produce a uniquely multidimensional curriculum that introduces
young children to active and enthusiastic participation in
the world of music.
Our
Harmony Road group class curriculum includes four lesson elements:
keyboard discovery and skills; solfege singing and ear training;
rhythm and movement activities; and music improvisation and
composition. It is this final element in particular that distinguishes
New Mozart's program from many other curricula. The creative
act, not just performance, is underlined as a valuable part
of the complete musical person. This creative component was
an integral part of music education in the early 19th century.
But as the Romantic Period progressed, the virtuosic demands
of the piano literature increased dramatically, and piano
study began to focus tightly on the development of technical
performance skills. Reproduction eclipsed creation. By restoring
the place of the creative act in a complete music education,
we hope to return to the education of the total musician.
Our
program is rooted in the European philosophy of music education
that recognizes music as an essentially human activity and
every child as a musical being. Each level of instruction
is carefully matched to age-appropriate skills and conceptual
abilities. Technical work and music notation reading can stifle
creativity and overall musicianship if allowed to become the
focus of musical instruction too early, so Harmony Road delays
the introduction of these skills until a foundation of creative,
participatory involvement can be established.
Children
ages 3 to 4 begin laying this foundation by participating
in “Music in Me,” group music classes involving
activities in ear training, solfege singing, keyboard exploration,
and pitch and rhythm awareness.
As
children progress to ages 5 to 7, the four elements (keyboarding,
ear training, movement and creativity) continue but skill
and engagement level increases, incorporating study and production
of higher levels of organization for pitch and rhythm. Music
composition and improvisation become an ever-greater proportion
of the curriculum in the 2nd year.
Like
the Suzuki method, our Harmony Road emphasizes the vital importance
of parent involvement, including attendance at all classes
and active coaching at home.
The
results of the New Mozart's Harmony Road approach are extraordinary.
Children have a powerful foundation for individual keyboard
study, for general musicianship, and for the study of second
(or third!) instrument or voice. We hope that as word spreads
of the effectiveness in building young musicians, our approach
to teaching young children will gain presence in music education
beyond the New Mozart School of Music.
©
2006-2009 Christine E. Shin. All Rights Reserved.
For more info
on how children learn music, read the article below.
Developing
a Musical Language for Young Children
by Paul U.
Lee, Stanford educated cognitive psychologist
