The music program at Foundations School Community is considered to be as important as any other academic subject, and we give a considerable amount of time to it. There are many studies that show how music promotes brain development in other areas of children’s studies…especially math and reading. As much as possible, we use a developmental approach to music called Orff-Schulwerk, based on the works of German composer and teacher, Karl Orff; teaching music through a relationship of song, movement, body rhythms, and simple diatonic xylophones, glockenspiels, and percussion instruments.
Community Sings: A group of people making a joyful noise together
Our American existence was built on community gatherings of singing and dancing, and sometimes these were the only times people saw each other for many weeks or months. They were opportunities for an exchange of friendship, sharing of ideas, problems solving, and, of course, fun; a little escape from some pretty hard times. That’s still true today. It is said that the more people sing in groups, there is a higher level of involvement in the tasks that a healthy community needs to do to care for itself. We take care of each other and teach our children to do the same: not only our own community, but our neighborhood and city communities, and, ultimately, the world. Perhaps a better world starts with our own Community Sings, where we extend our love of singing out into the community itself. Approximately every three weeks we gather together, sharing what we’ve been working on recently – like an oral newspaper to include you in the children’s school life. These Sings will include songs, games, instrumentals, recorder pieces; whatever we’ve been working on musically, and the community is often asked to participate. There is also a sharing of events from each classroom.
Friendship, Community, Curriculum, and Social Justice Songs
Our songs come from a wide variety of sources and encompass all of the above areas. Any time we can connect song with a particular academic subject, it reinforces learning in a whole other way. The emotions and meanings of songs stay with us for the rest of our lives. The kids love many of the songs we traditionally sing every year and have been known to break out in song together many years after leaving FSC.
African Marimba Instrumentals
Over the years we are very lucky to have built up a large Orff Schulwerk instrumentarium, with xylophones, metallaphones, , glockenspiels, bass bars, and a wide variety of rhythm instruments. Once a week we concentrate on these African marimba pieces. The kids learn several parts that fit together, both through music reading, echoing, and by ear. The completed instrumentals are impressive and complicated, and the kids feel quite accomplished in performing them.
Recorder Classes
Recorder classes are a required part of the curriculum from Grades 3 through 5. Recorder fingering is very similar to some orchestral instruments, such as clarinet, saxophone, and flute, and yet simple enough to learn. It’s a great beginning of possible years of enjoying playing an instrument. We wait until Grade 3, as children’s motor skills are developmentally ready to handle the recorder fingering at this time.
After School Rock Band
Not your traditional orchestra, this is for Group 3 and up. It was started as a way to help kids connect with each other through creating a rock band. The kids would be responsible for helping choose which songs the band would learn, and then spend
time in between band times working on learning their specific parts. That means the kids must have an ability to focus when we get together, and the maturity to work on their own during the week.
Chorus
Chorus is a time to concentrate on harmony singing in different parts and the mechanics of singing in the body. The kids perform a variety of songs at Community Sings and also sing at Graduation at the end of the year. It is a voluntary class.
