Tag Archives: music education

Early Childhood Music Programs: Kodaly-Orff

Tis the season for music, and this season I am exploring options in preschool music education. My qualifications for a program? It has to be fun and instill a love of playing with music, not just playing music. Our small local university has a great continuing education program, and one of the classes is Kodaly-Orff. This program introduces musical dynamics (loud and soft) and musical phrasing, which means that the children learn how to think about musical “sentences,” not just single notes. The children also learn about intervals and rhythm and progress towards reading and writing music. Generally, Kodaly-Orff classes … Continue reading →

So, Your Child Wants to Play Guitar

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One day your child comes home from school and says, “Wow, my friend Slash just got a really cool Gibson Les Paul Guitar and a new amp. When can you get me a guitar so we can have a BAND?” Well…let me be the first one to tell you that depending on the model, guitars range in price anywhere from $50.00 (Garage Sale model) to $10,000.00 (Collector’s Edition endorsed by an overpaid, famous musician). At this point it might behoove the parent to inform the child that they would be willing to get the child the $50.00 Garage Sale Version … Continue reading →

Using Jazz in Our School Curriculum

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Much research has shown that music enhances learning. Music has been researched in academic terms from listening to classical orchestras in the womb to music in the classroom. Washington University has taken music education one-step further. Throughout the month of July, the University will be hosting a summer institute for high school educators. The program will introduce the teachers to using jazz in their curriculum. Jazz began in the 1900s and has continued to be very popular in America. The idea is to inform teachers that the history of jazz can be used to help students expand their knowledge of … Continue reading →

The Questions Continue Part 1: We love Art, Music and P.E.

Kaye and I have been publicly discussing our views of home schooling vs. schooling out of the home (as homeschoolers would call it). Kaye’s last blog has asked so many questions that I have decided to answer them in three blogs instead of just one! The first question Kaye poses has to do with physical education. If I may, I’m going to expand upon her question, and answer what a home schooling family can do to satisfy requirements (if there are any) regarding art education, music education as well as physical education. I hope that if there are any of … Continue reading →

A Few of My Favorite Things: Music at Home

Two years ago, my daughter came in and pronounced that she wanted to take violin lessons. I was a little shocked: was this a deep seated passion or was she just exploring! But we didn’t want to shell out the thousands of dollars necessary for private or even group lessons. So we went to e-bay and bought a new violin for $30 and went to Ebaru Publishing Co. and bought curriculum to teach her violin. All in all, it was an investment of less than $100. Did she keep it up? No, but that’s o.k. She learned tons of music … Continue reading →