The Best Keyboard Prep!
Musikgarten immerses children in music’s language in ways that cherish curiosity and an innate sense of fun. Students are instilled with joy through movement, playing, and singing, and through the analytical thinking required of them each week. The new sounds they hear raise skill levels by cueing them to listen with interest and anticipation. Focused attention is accomplished, for example, as they learn to sing and play a variety of American Folk Songs. Since I am a teacher who is fascinated with different cultures, I also add to the literature by introducing folk songs from Ghana, Austria, and Australia, and this kids have loved this!
Every week, we gather around in a singing circle and sing our favorite songs. The pieces “As I Looked Out My Window,” “Listen to Bells,” “I Don’t Care if the Rain Comes Down,” “Winter, Winter,” and “Bim Bam” are among our favorites. Since this material has been thoroughly analyzed, everyone feels comfortable playing them on the piano with simple, chordal accompaniment. The students also have learned to play “I Don’t Care if the Rain Come Down” and did this completely by themselves and by ear. Because the harmonic and solfege analysis had already been completed, they knew when the chordal accompaniment moved from a I chord, to a IV chord, and to a V7 chord, etc. I am really proud to see that they demonstrate this skill with such alacrity – it takes lots of repetition to coordinate!
My students also experiment by using different left-hand accompaniments; this adds excitement and demands that they act independently. They are creative about which patterns to incorporate into the left hand and eager to continue this work. They easily identify what sections are repeated in songs and which sections are only slightly different from one another. We regularly perform small concerts for each other, playing favorite songs for whomever is available to listen. One parent shared, “Wow! I only heard them play this at home a couple times and now they sound so professional!”
Our class work connects well to each child’s goals on the piano. For example, one Musikgarten student is interested in learning a sonatina by Clementi. During our individual lesson, she identified the key of the piece, the time signature, the first four measures of solfege, and determined the quality of the meter, duple or triple. With a little bit of help, she was also able to understand the aspects expected in a sonatina’s form, and then find those attributes in her piece. Another Musikgarten student identified all of the notes on the staff and sight-read for the first time in his individual piano lesson. Great job!
It is true that these points of maturation are common to all students who study Musikgarten, though it is also clear to me that there is unusually rapid improvement regarding student musicality in Music Makers at The Keyboard, Year Two: they come into CYM ready to learn and with excitement in their eyes. I hope you will consider joining MMK Year One – a new class will be forming and coming your way in September!