mardi 29 mars 2016

Grade School Music

We're just making our own decisions with music like everything else, but we monitor what the public school is doing, almost nothing, and download various grade level expectations from schools that publish them online.

Our school has a teacher that rotates in from time to time, no music teacher on staff. No budget for it, and we're entering a fiscal crisis so that is probably going to end altogether.

I read through all these grade level expectations and it has both the taste and feel of chewing cardboard. Talk about uninspiring, just the tone of it.

students will...
students will...
students will...

We figure just learn to play something. But start from day 1 with music theory. Piano is pretty good to start with because even with really small hands you can play the full-sized instrument.

So our school standard is to learn music theory and play an instrument. There isn't some level they have to perform at, just that you begin as if you were an adult. What I see is a lot of dumbing-down like calling "fast" notes a "ti" and slow notes a "ta". Just one example of many I see where the concept of whole note, half note, quarter note isn't taught from the beginning. Despite typical kindergartners being capable of it.

If kids can learn the alphabet, then they can learn the staff, clefs, notes, etc. Just another set of symbols. But start there, and just keep at it. No set of expectations by grade level, just do music.


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