PETTY SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAM

Today more and more people are reaching adulthood unable to sing, play or read music. Even though man is musical by nature, many people cannot sing in tune and do not have a sense of rhythm. Why is this?

Just as the innate ability for oral language cannot develop without experience and proper nurture, even more so, the innate ability for musical language cannot develop independent of these things.

It is not enough that one "hear" music one's entire life…one must also "make" music. In recent centuries past, it was not uncommon for an individual to be able to play an instrument. We now live in an age where music is merely something consumed; something we download to our computers and i-pods. Modern day man is unmusical because he does not make music himself and therefore his innate ability remains dormant.

If then, it is necessary to cultivate our musical nature, the question then becomes - "at what age should music begin to be taught?" Is a certain age too early? Is a certain age too late? Should one wait until the age of reason when the child can begin to understand the all important theoretical and mathematical aspects of music?

In answering these questions, we must consider two things. First, there is absolutely no reason a child cannot begin developing and nurturing his innate musical ability before he is intellectually mature enough to comprehend the complex nature of music and all of its' parts. Second, and even more important, is the fact that the preschool through early elementary years are the most critical in the development of a child's ear.

THE METHOD

The CLAA Petty School Music Program begins at age 4 and is based on the Kodály (koh-DAH-ee) Method. Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) was a Hungarian composer and educator who believed that everyone was born with the ability for music. Appalled at the level of musical literacy in his country in the early 1900s, Kodály made it his mission in life to change the way music was being taught in the schools. Today, over a century later almost all Hungarians can sing and play an instrument. In fact, a Hungarian without knowledge of music is considered illiterate. His method was so successful that today it is taught in many countries around the world.

So what is the Kodály Method? First of all, the method is child-developmental rather than subject-logic based. With a subject-logic based method, the subject matter is arranged in an order that makes sense logically in terms of the content. With a child-developmental based method, the subject matter is arranged according to how the very young child develops musically at various stages of growth.

For example, in music, the diatonic scale is widely considered as the best starting point for learning within a subject-logic based method. But for the very young child the diatonic scale makes no sense as a starting point, since they are not even able to distinguish between high and low pitches at this point. Further, when their sense of pitch does begin to develop, they cannot yet discriminate half steps (a necessary element of the diatonic scale). Teaching music to the very young using a subject-logic based method is, in effect, asking them to intellectualize about things that they not only have no experience of, but are unable to experience yet.

There are countless other reasons to use a child-developmental based method for the very young, some of which include: the very young child cannot yet keep a beat; he cannot yet differentiate between beat and rhythm; he has difficulty remembering melodic and rhythmic sequences; he cannot yet sing in tune; he has a very limited vocal range; he can sing easier with someone pitched in his own octave; he can recognize descending intervals before he can recognize ascending ones. This method takes into account all of these factors and much more, and is ordered according to how the child's intellect, inner-ear, and motor skills naturally develop.

THE TEACHING TOOLS

The primary teaching tools of this method are the human voice, authentic nursery rhymes, and authentic folk songs. The first pitches introduced are those of the descending minor 3rd (so-mi). These are the easiest pitches to hear and sing at an early age. In fact, in his research Kodály discovered that children all around the world begin singing using the exact same 2-3 notes! (mi-so and mi-so-la) Since very young children cannot discriminate the sound of half steps, the pentatonic scale (which has no half steps - do, re, mi, so, and la) was the next obvious step in a child-developmental based method. Further research showed that the folk songs of many countries around the world are made up of the exact same pitches - those of the pentatonic scale! (do, re, mi, so, and la)

The songs are not simply used to teach intervallic pitches. Once learned; the songs are re-used to teach many other musical concepts. (see course outline below)

Some of the other teaching tools include:

The moveable "do" system which was developed by the Benedictine monk, Guido of Arezzo, in the eleventh century. This system is very useful in teaching sight singing. For example, when a child knows the pitches "so-mi" he can read them at any place on the staff. Once all of the pitches of the pentatonic scale have been learned, much music off the 5-line staff can be read by sight.

The Solfege hand sings developed by John Curwen in 1870. These signs strengthen intervallic perception and present the child with a visualization of tonal space.

Rhythm duration syllables (similar to those used in French solfege) which make it possible for children to chant rhythmic patterns in time. This is not possible using the note value names (quarter note, eighth note, etc). For example, the words "quar-ter note" have three syllables, whereas the duration of a quarter note has only one sound for the duration of that one beat.

Rhythm pattern sticks (written or physical) are a sort of rhythmic short hand and a very useful tool to help young children understand relative durations of sound. They also pave the way for music notation, which is vital for music theory and even more so for music composition.

COURSE OUTLINE

There are 4 levels in the Petty School Music Program. They must be taken in order and may be started as early as age four. (For example, a four year old would complete level 1 in his 4th year and continue to complete one course per year; a child beginning the program at age five would complete levels 1-2 in his 5th year; a child beginning the program at age six would complete levels 1-3 in his 6th year; and a child beginning the program at age seven would complete levels 1-4 in his 7th year.) Below are the course objectives for each of the levels.

Level 1

Distinguish between noises and musical sounds
Distinguish between a speaking and singing voice
Distinguish between fast and slow
Distinguish between loud and quiet
Distinguish between high and low
Learn 15 songs and rhymes
Be able to sing 3 pitches (mi, so, la) in tune (in various keys)
Be able to sing 6 different intervallic patterns in tune (in various keys)
Echo clap simple rhythmic patterns
Echo sing simple melodic patterns
Keep a steady tempo
Distinguish the beat from the rhythm of a song
Sing a song without using the words
Learn quarter notes and eighth notes
Tap out 1-bar rhythms by pointing to rhythm pattern sticks
Learn about rests in music
Begin development of inner hearing

Level 2

Reinforce previously learned concepts
Learn 15-20 new songs and rhymes
Be able to sing 5 pitches (do, re, mi, so, la) in tune (in various keys)
Be able to sing 20 different intervallic patterns in tune (in various keys)
Learn rhythmic duration syllables
Be able to recognize a melody simply from hearing its rhythm
Be able to recognize a song simply from hearing its melody hummed without words
Tap out 1-bar rhythms using a combination of rhythm syllables and rhythm pattern sticks
Continue development of inner hearing
Learn the solfege syllables mi and so
Learn the solfege hand signs for mi and so
Introduction to the 5 line staff
Be able to recognize mi and so on the staff
Sing songs using the combination of solfege syllables and solfege hand sings.
Learn the 4 instrument families and be able to identify each of them by sound

Level 3

Reinforce previously learned concepts
Learn 15-20 new songs
Learn the solfege syllables la, do, and re
Learn the solfege hand signs for la, do, and re
Be able to recognize la, do and re on the staff
Sing songs using the combination of solfege syllables and solfege hand sings.
Listen to simple rhythms and be able to notate them with rhythm pattern sticks
Be able to notate their songs with rhythm pattern sticks
Be able to notate their songs on the staff
Be able to identify individual percussion instruments by sound
Be able to identify individual brass instruments by sound
Learn about sixteenth notes
Learn about note heads and the rules for the direction of note stems
Learn about accented beats
Learn about bar lines and 2/4 Meter
Sing 2 part Canons

Level 4

Reinforce previously learned concepts
Learn 15-20 new songs
Learn to sing half steps
Be able to sing all 7 pitches (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti) in tune (in various keys)
Learn the solfege syllables fa and ti
Learn the solfege hand signs for fa and ti
Be able to recognize fa and ti on the staff
Be able to identify individual woodwind instruments by sound
Be able to identify individual string instruments by sound
Be able to stomp the beat while clapping the rhythm
Learn about half notes
Learn about sixteenth/eighth note combinations
Learn about 3/4 and 4/4 meter
Sing the scale with solfege syllables and hand sings
Notate the scale on the staff
Clap 4-bar rhythms from memory
Sing 2 and 3 part Canons
Practice sight reading music
Rhythmic Improvisation
Melodic Improvisation

Note to parents: Any child can learn to sing in tune and with correct rhythm. In the beginning your child may not be keeping the beat or rhythm, and they may be singing off pitch. This is normal. With time these things will develop if they do everything required of them in their lessons, activities, exercises and exams. All of the lessons and exams use audio, pictures and video, and it is not necessary that the child know how to read. Because of the nature of this course, not all of the lessons have exams. Exams occur only at key stages in the learning process.

Scheduling: Depending on the child’s age and course level, anywhere from 1-3 lessons may be completed per week. Use the chart below to determine how many lessons your child should be completing each week. It is important that they are singing during the week and so the child may review the lessons, songs, rhymes, games, etc. as often as they want. Music as a subject should be twice a week for age 4 and three times a week for ages 5-7 (split up between lessons, exercises, exams, and reviewing/practicing).