Music Makers: At the Keyboard – November

Music Makers: At the Keyboard is an incredibly exciting way to incorporate music and the keyboard into a child’s life. The benefits of singing, movement, and general music making is so beneficial to children’s development and Music Makers: At the Keyboard is a perfect combination of all. 

This past month, the students in Music Makers: At the Keyboard partook in all of these activities. Most notable during this time was that students did extremely well integrating solfege and Gordon Syllables into the classroom. Solfege is a useful tool for singing that is usually introduced at an elementary level, continues to progress throughout secondary education and throughout collegiate level singing. Each pitch is designated to a specific solfege syllable within a key range, and the students have a visual of their vocal pitch with their Curwen hand signs. The system helps students analyze the pitches in songs and sing them in tune.

Students analyze the rhythm in songs by learning their Gordon Syllables. This is where each “on the beat” note is a “Du,” and each off-beat note is “De.” This month, we focused on quarter note and eighth note four-beat patterns. The students were asked to say these patterns on “Du’s” and “De’s.” Each student in the class was successful with the tasks and were able to fluidly read twelve measures of four-beat patterns with ease!

The students improved an incredible amount this month: many moments stood out to me. Laura, a beginning piano student in my Music Makers: At the Keyboard class, stated, “I just read an entire page of rhythms… by myself!” The students were excited about being able to identify “Du’s” and “De’s” in their music – and they eagerly practiced identifying these syllables outside of the classroom. Music Makers: At the Keyboard has helped my students find a true connection with music, and it is extremely inspiring to observe! Thanks for another great month and have a good holiday!

Want to improve your music literacy skills? Register here for Music Makers: At the Keyboard Levels One 6+ (Trial 4-Pack). Click Maria Gracielle Constantine to read Maria’s credentials.