|
Music Education
The education of a child is incomplete without direct experience in
learning to make music. This suggested outline for a gradual development
of musical skill is offered to encourage every family to include the
nourishing magic of music in their daily lives. Music is considered by
many the world over, as equaled only by the physics of nature, in being the purest
form of universal language.
Singing/Dancing/Hand Drumming
First Instruments
Small Hands
Digital Pianos
Acoustic Guitars
Recorders
Backpacker Instruments
The Works!
Music Maitri
Sixteen-year Developmental Plan
|
|
|
Music Maitri means making friends with oneself through music.
Our Zen of Music Education is a year-by-year mindful experiment with tones;
making rhythm and melody.
This outline, for progressive and practical skill development, is offered as
a guideline for anyone who can enrich a child's life with the gift of music.
This step-by-step musical education shows how to build skills gradually
throughout childhood. It is our experience that every child
deserves the opportunity to sing and to dance and to learn the basics of the
piano, guitar and recorder. Children inclined toward music, need
continued support throughout their youth, to become proficient
and to add other instruments as their talents expand. (Adults can use
this outline as well, to give themselves an applied music education.)
|
|
Singing is a human birthright.
The best way to develop singing, is by singing. Learn
songs from around the world, pass-on the songs we have loved from America,
learn new songs. But most importantly, let children make their own songs and
sing, sing, sing. The key to good singing is keen listening: to oneself and to
accomplished artists. (Parents who can sing
to their infant child are offering a priceless gift.) If you record your child
singing, remember to do so in an appreciative but "no big deal" way. Nothing
stops the true voice of a child as much as leading them into a false world of
glamour, neuroses, and fragmented self-consciousness. If a child naturally loves
performance, then let her/him do so, within their own abilities to maintain
personal balance. Remember, you are not only helping children cultivate rich
skills they will have in the future, you are mindfully enriching their days now
in childhood, with step-by-step, progressive and thorough musical education.
There is no rush to skip any steps, because each and every moment is our true life.
Dancing is the expression of rhythm and melody by the whole human body.
The patterns of the movements are rhythm. The actual movement is melody. In tap
dancing and flamenco dancing, the sounds made from movement are also melody.
Rhythm, melody, movement and sound were expressed brilliantly in ancient
dance, in ballet, modern tap,
and now inspired by dancers like "Stomp" who make a collage of sounds,
rhythm and melody on the floor and with things like brooms and garbage cans.
Young children are the most natural dancers. Some of these young dancers, in
terms of freely expressing rhythm and melody, manifest their musicality
in the most brilliant ways. It is our job as adults, to allow children their
birthright of musical experience through natural dance. Unfortunately, many
young children who naturally love to dance, stop dancing freely if
adults give them self-conscious dance instruction. We suggest that natural and spontaneous
so-called "free form" dancing be promoted for as long as possible. Don't
forget, the most trained and talented professional dancers strive to express
dance as though their movements were all spontaneous and natural. How
fortunate if natural dance were never squelched at all, but allowed time
for expression, even in the lives of the most disciplined and accomplished
dancers. Give a young natural dancer opportunities to dance freely. Help
them feel free to move to music, without giving them too much attention
and without any instruction what-so-ever, until specific demonstration is
requested. As in singing, listening is the key to true musicality in dancing.
Hand Drumming
A good drum will teach someone who can really hear the drum, how to play it.
Hands and fingers become dancers that make patterns on the surface of a real hand drum. Melody
and Rhythm are the results of the dance that hands do with the drum.
Hand drum playing and dancing go together so well, because they are basically
the same. (See Hand Percussion Instruments below.)
The brilliance in using Pentatonic Instruments, is that every note is
harmonious with each other. The Pentatonic scale is the same as the tones
of all of the black keys on a piano. With Orff Instruments, you can arrange
the bars into a Pentatonic scale or choose to use only the tone bars that
make up the tones in a chord of another scale. Thus, all tones play together
beautifully, in a simple melody, one tone at a time, or sounded together as
chords. This gives new players a big advantage to start developing their
personal musicality. If you have two different Glockenspiels, arrange them in
the same scale and be amazed at how much music you can make with a child.
Listen and let rhythm come from within without premeditation. Once in a while
add rhythm instruments and get the whole family going. You'll be jamming
before you know it. Save exacting melodies with these instruments for later.
The point here is to start playing by feeling melody and rhythm. That
is musicality. Keep it all upbeat and gentle, without hard goals. Store the
instruments in a special safe place and mindfully bring them out for making
music. Play often.
Glockenspiels
Find instruments like these in the
Sonor Glockenspiel section .
Sonor Soprano Standard Metallophone Chromatic Add-On
|
Sonor Palisono Soprano Xylophone Chromatic Add-On
|
Sonor Tenor-Alto Standard Metallophone Chromatic Add-On
|
Mallets
Find instruments like these in the
Sonor Mallet section.
Sonor Hard Rubber Resonator Bell Mallets
|
Sonor Hard Yarn Soprano/Tenor-Alto Xylophone/Metallophone Mallets
|
Sonor Small Hard Wool/Felt Timpani Mallets
|
Orff Instrument Sets
Find instruments like these in the
Orff Sets section.
Primary Line Basics Orff Set
|
Primary Line PJ1 Junior Orff Set
|
Sonor TW1 The Works Orff Set
|
Hand Percussion
Find instruments like these in the
Hand Drum section.
Remo 12" Pretuned Buffalo Drum
|
Remo World Wide Pretuned Hand Drum
|
Tall Carved Jembe Drum
|
Small Hands:
Ages 6-8 (3 years home study)
Beginning Keyboards, Ukuleles & Glockenspiels/Xylophones
Beginning Keyboards
Reading and writing music is based on piano keyboard fundamentals. Practical electric
keyboards make a piano-like instrument available to every home. We recommend that
just the piano sounds are used on this instrument, during these years. The sound
effects and imitation sounds can be explored after a child has a grounded
familiarity with the true sounds of instruments and of nature. Begin by playing all of
the black keys (the Pentatonic Scale) and you can find your own natural rhythm
and melodies. Next, explore every note and pick out familiar melodies, adding
the natural diatonic scale (the white keys). Then gradually
learn scales and simple chords, mindful of classic fingering. Whenever a student
gets stressed with practicing, that is the time to breathe and rejuvenate with
the ease of the delightful Pentatonic Scale. Play a little, 6 days a week.
Find instruments like these in the
Keyboard section.
Yamaha PSR-273 Electronic Portable Keyboard
|
Yamaha P120 88 Key Digital Piano with Speakers
|
Yamaha P60 88-Key Digital Piano
|
Ukulele
This cheerful little acoustic instrument from Hawaii, is perfect for beginning small hands.
Find instruments like these in the
Ukulele section.
Johnson UK-120 Hawaiian Soprano Ukulele
|
Johnson UK-200 Hawaiian Baritone Ukulele
|
Martin S-O Ukulele
|
Glockenspiel and Xylophones
Find instruments like these in the
Glockenspiel and Xylophone section.
Sonor Diatonic Tenor-Alto Large Glockenspiel
|
Sonor SXP1 Primary Diatonic Soprano Xylophone
|
Sonor Palisono Diatonic Tenor-Alto Xylophone
|
Digital Pianos:
Ages 9-12 (4 years home and/or private study)
Piano fundamentals are the basis of reading and writing music. Full piano keyboard
familiarity is the single most helpful experience for a student of music. While it
will assist all other forms of musical endeavor, piano could be a complete study alone.
Learning to read music is easiest on the piano keyboard, because it is visual as well
as tactile and kinetic. It is all right there. (We have experienced a direct correlation
from piano accomplishment to learning reading, writing and mathematical skills. It is
good for the brain.) Pianos are especially loved by the people who have direct
experience with the richness and diversity that pianos offer. Now with digital pianos,
the problems with having such a large instrument have been completely overcome. With
earphones, a student can easily practice without anyone else hearing a sound, and
that opens-up limitless opportunities of convenient practice time and place.
Find instruments like these in the
Digital Piano section.
Yamaha DGX500 Portable Grand
|
Yamaha YDP223 Digital Piano
|
Yamaha PF1000 Home Digital Piano
|
Acoustic Guitars:
Ages 9-12 (4 years home and/or private study)
It is a huge musical advantage to study the guitar while already becoming grounded with
keyboard fundamentals. But the acoustic guitar is more than simply a practical, portable,
environmentally friendly and affordable instrument. It is the most popular instrument
in the world, for good reason: The guitar is loved so, because it sings our human
heart.
Find instruments like these in the
Acoustic Guitar section.
Fender« CG7 Classical Acoustic Guitar
|
Martin D-15 Acoustic Guitar
|
Martin 00-17 Mahogany Guitar
|
Fender« DG-10 Left-Handed Acoustic
|
Martin 00CXAE Left Handed Acoustic-Electric
|
Martin DM Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Left-Handed
|
Recorders:
Recorders are included in our Music Education program, as one of the three main
instruments, because recorders offer a good introduction to all of the instruments
played with human breath. Recorders hold a special place in music history and
are loved by some artists as a main instrument. Recorders can be the most affordable
instrument of all, but serious recorder lovers will be glad to know that more
expensive fine wooden recorders are available. Simple melodies, recorder duets, and
the unique sounds possible only with breath instruments, make recorders
a must for this well-rounded music education program.
Find instruments like these in the
Recorder section.
Yamaha YRS-24B Soprano Recorder with Baroque Fingering
|
Aura Maple Alto Recorder
|
Yamaha YRA-64 Rosewood Alto Recorder with Baroque Fingering
|
Yamaha YRS-61 Boxwood Soprano Recorder with Baroque Fingering
|
Yamaha YRA-83 Ebony Alto Recorder
|
Yamaha YRBG-61 Maple Great Bass Recorder with Baroque Fingering
|
Backpacker Instruments:
These are all wonderful instruments that are practical to take along hiking,
biking, and jet-setting around the world, or taken along when going on the subway to
visit a friend or to spend the day in the park. We list a few favorites here. (Click
each instrument.)
The Works!
Ages 13-18 (6 years of further home, private study, band or orchestra.)
Recommended after completion of the ten developmental years of Music
Education. Older students can fill-in their education with piano, guitar, and
recorder during these later years. It is simply a harder way to learn. At the very
least, every music student deserves the grounded foundation that the piano keyboard
gives music, no matter which instrument eventually becomes the favorite.
(Click each instrument.)
Drum Sets
Drum Sets for Kids
Drum Sets for Teens
Drum Sets Full Size
Drum Sets for Beginners
Electronic Drum Sets
Ludwig Accent 5-Piece Combo Drum Set
|
Yamaha DS9XPSII DTXpress Electronic Drum Set
|
Ludwig Classic Maple 5-Piece Drumset
|
Electric Guitars
Electric Guitars for Beginners
Fender Electric Guitars
Gibson Classic Electric Guitars
Other Electric Guitars
Fender« Standard Jazz Bass®
|
Fender« American Deluxe Jazz Bass® FMT
|
Fender« Signature Series Jeff Beck Stratocaster®
|
Music Education: DVDs
Musical Instrument Instruction: Books
Music Literacy/Listening 101
All Text © Deb Huntley 2003 - 2014 ~ All Rights Reserved
|
