This is a unique class intended to give your child a well-rounded musical foundation while opening up their ears to the sound of English. English is a very rhythmical language and learning music and English at the same time is a great combination. Rather than make the child practice by themselves at home it is much more fun to play music and speak English together with a parent. This is a fun and rewarding class for both parents and children.

What you’ll experience in this class:

• Listening: Learning how to listen to music and English is the first step in communication. In this class we challenge children to use their ears to make decisions. For example listening for differences in dynamics (soft and loud), listening for the direction of a melody (up, down or same) etc. They will also use their ears to understand directions given in English. At first it will be difficult but as their ears adjust it will become easier and easier.

• Singing: The voice is the instrument that we were all born with and is the most intimate form of expression. Singing encourages self-expression and encourages language development. In this class we learn many songs all of which are in English. It is proven that singing in a foreign language can significantly improve learning how to speak it. When you just say a word it is hard to remember it but when you sing a phrase in a song it sticks in your memory for a very long time.  

• Improvising: Improvising is the essence of communication whether it be music or a foreign language. When we speak on a daily basis we are almost always improvising. If we weren’t it would sound unnatural and forced. A lot of musical education does not encourage improvisation and this is very unfortunate. Improvising helps children integrate concepts and make them their own. Improvisation also helps kids practice creative thinking skills by putting multiple ideas together to create something new. For example playing loud like a lion on black keys. Through improvisation children create their own learning than just being told the information. They get to experience it for themselves and this makes a much deeper and lasting impression. Improvisation is also a lot of fun for children. Improvisation also gives children the ability to share ideas with a group which gives them more confidence to express themselves within a group.

• Playing: This is first and foremost a piano class so we definitely spend time learning about the fundamentals of playing the piano. We learn how to properly sit at the piano, hand position, technique,  scales etc. However whatever we learn in this class it is all about having fun playing music. When we practice scales we play them to a fun groove and play the scales in different ways so that it is not like punching a typewriter.

• Writing: Writing is a very important way to reinforce things that you learn. Learning how to write music on a piece of paper will definitely make you understand music on a much deeper level. We learn how to write the different types of notes, treble clefs, bass clefs etc.