Classes offered at the Early Childhood Music Program:

First Steps to Music (Birth to 24 months)

In First Steps to Music, the young children are stimulated through sensory experiences (hearing, seeing, and touching). The ear of the child is awakened. The bond between parent and child is strengthened through songs, chants, and movement activities.


Beyond the First Steps (2 to 3 years)

As the vocabulary grows and the child becomes physically more independent, the focus of the class moves toward providing opportunities for independent exploration of sound-making materials, singing and chanting, and m movement to music. In Beyond the First Steps, the children imitate the parents and teachers as they move toward independence.

Music Makers--Beginning (3 to 4 years)

Now that the children have sophisticated language skills, they are encouraged to sing and chant on their own without the help  of their parents. (Parents continue to attend class, but do not participate in every activity.) As the children develop their large and small motor skills they are able to play many different percussion instruments and use a wide variety of gestures for expressive movement to music.


Music Makers--Advanced (4 to 5 years)

Activities conducted in the advanced level of Music Makers are based mainly on Kodaly, Orff-Schulwerk, and Dalcroze approaches to teaching music. Continued attention is paid to the development of the singing voice and rhythmic sense as preparation for playing Orff-Schulwerk instruments (xylophones and metallophones) begins. The children are guided to improvise on these instruments and use their bodies as they sing, chant, and move to music. In this class, a musical vocabulary is developed as the teacher labels musical concepts such as loud and soft, up and down, high and low, fast and slow, pokey and smooth, mood, and beat.


Small Musicians--Advanced (5 to 7 years)

Activities conducted in this level are intended to further develop the musicianship skills of the children. These activities, based on the work of Kodaly, Orff-Schulwerk, and Dalcroze, are approaches to teaching music that emphasize aural rather than reading skills. Basic techniques of playing piano, based on Suzuki methodology, are introduced. Children also play percussion instruments and recorders. In addition, composers and styles of music are introduced along with beginning music-reading skills.


Where do you go from here?

After age seven, children can continue their musical training by joining a school or community choir or by taking private lessons on a musical instrument. Below the age of nine, children are encouraged to play piano or violin, and sometimes cello or guitar. Occasionally, a young child may begin percussion lessons at age seven. Wind instruments are usually begun at age nine, in the school or privately, after the permanent teeth have come in.