Group Class Philosophy & Curriculum

Preparation

• Having an instrument to play at home is highly recommended. Instruments for in-class use may be available in certain classes, but having your own is preferred.
• Guitar and piano students should have a small three-ring binder in which to store class materials. Bring your binder to each class!

Our Common-Sense Philosophy

• A teacher’s job is not to discover talent, but to develop it. Our program is inclusive, rather than exclusive - we’re not trying to weed anyone out.
• You learn how to play music by playing music. It’s not about “practice.” It’s about playing. Play a little bit every day and you will learn to play songs. Over time, you will learn how to play the instrument.
• If it sounds good, it is good. Can the student play a song smoothly and beautifully? Great! Does it sound hesitant and choppy? Well, it needs more work. No big deal - it will eventually sound confident and sure-footed with continued playing. You don’t have to be a musician to tell the difference.

Our Curriculum

• We have a song-based program influenced by Kodaly, Suzuki, Montessori, Vygotsky, and other great thinkers in education.
• A group class requires each student to have a measure of autonomy. Learning familiar songs by ear helps students to self-correct even when the teacher is not directly listening. This helps to sharpen a student’s musical ear, critical thinking skills, attention span, ability to perceive patterns and sequences, and self-confidence.
• Music theory is integrated into the classes not only through group activities designed to illustrate music theory concepts, but also through the learning of each song. Students will become familiar with the melodic and harmonic framework of each piece they study in order to facilitate the learning of the song, in the same way that an understanding of phonics can help children learn to read.
• Standard musical notation is introduced in a language-based way, learning to recognize key phrases in a musical context.
• For younger students in a group setting, each child may choose a different task (or center, or song) to work on during their discretionary time. We look for engagement in each student to determine how successful they are in a given class, and whether they need an additional challenge, special guidance or attention, or a review of material. It is not uncommon to see a child in one of our classes practice continuously (and happily!) on one song or skill for twenty minutes. If the child is fully engaged in this work, it is the right work at the right time.
• Students review songs and concepts frequently, set short-term and long-term goals, move forward at their own pace, explain and demonstrate concepts and skills to each other, and are collaborators in their own learning in all respects. 
• Progress may sometimes seem slow, but it is solid - imagine a rubber band being pulled back, only to snap forward.
• Opportunities for improvisation, composition, and collaboration make our classes useful even for students already in private lessons.
• Performance opportunities are many, both in the context of the classroom and in more traditional venues such as recitals, festivals, and parties.