SPRING 2024 CLASSES, DESCRIPTIONS and PRICING
Our fall semester runs for 14 weeks from January 29th through May 17th, 2024. We hope you will join us for a semester full of music, movement, and learning!All classes will be taught live at the studio, with the option to join in-person or via Zoom.
Bouncing Babies (Birth - 16 months)
30 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
Babies enrolling in our Spring 2024 session will use a delightful collection of songs and activities from our "Babies I" collection. In this 30-minute class, adults have the opportunity to play musically with their baby so that their well-being and total development might be served. Parents or caregivers will learn many songs for touching eyes and ears, hands, and feet - to help baby learn about the body and to build body awareness; songs for wiggling and tickling - to help baby enjoy the delight of music; songs for movement - to allow baby to feel the flow, beat, meter, phrase, and nuance for music.
This class is rich in interactive songs - bouncing, rocking, and dancing songs - to express the joy of playing together. We sing rocking and quiet songs, to help baby calm him/herself. We explore various rhythm instruments that baby can use and manipulate as he/she learns about sound, timbre, and vibration. There is much repetition from week to week because repetition of simple songs and rhymes enhances memory, oral expression. and later, written language.
Our goal is to awaken baby's natural curiosity and response to music, to develop aural perception, a musical sense, and a sense of beat, and to encourage pleasure in listening to and making music together at home. Come enjoy a wonderful playtime with your baby, and meet other moms and dads!
| Tuition: | $154 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $51.61 for CD/Book & instrument kit |
Wandering Walkers (15 months - 28 months)
30 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
The busy Wandering Walkers will love making music for 30 minutes using fun songs about the sounds of nature and the world around us! The curriculum for Spring 2024 is "My Day." We will experience the joy of playing together through finger plays, wiggling and tickling activities, body awareness songs and bouncing songs to experience the joy of playing together! Lots of movement is part of this class to allow children to feel the beat of music and learn about spatial awareness while enhancing their gross motor skills and coordination. Children will wander (hence the name "Wandering Walkers") during this class, and adults are not to worry... they are still listening and taking everything in! Children need time to explore the environment, and as long as they are not endangering themselves or another child, wandering is just fine!
Activities include singing, dancing, focused listening and simple instrument playing, creating an environment in which the child's music aptitude is nurtured and skills are developed. Occasional use of drums and hoops enhance the delightful playtime. Patterns continue as part of every class to shape listening skills and acquaint the child with the rhythms of music. Dancing with scarves and hiding games are part of the fun! Parent (or other grown-up) and child enjoy a time of bonding, playing and music-making!
| Tuition: | $154 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $40.44 for CD/digital download and song book |
Jaunty Jumpers (29 months - 3 1/2 years)
40 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
Busy, inquisitive Jaunty Jumpers will love making music in our 40-minute class, using songs that relate to the sounds of nature and the world around us. The curriculum for Spring 2024 is "My Day." This class is very similiar in content to the Wandering Walkers. We'll experience the joy of playing together through finger plays, wiggling and tickling activities, body awareness songs and bouncing songs! Songs from all over the world with contrasting tonalities, moods and meters are used throughout each class. Lots of movement is part of this class to allow children to feel the beat of music and learn about spatial awareness while developing their gross motor skills and coordination. Because their language is starting to explode, the children often make suggestions for various movements to enjoy.... such as running, jumping, twirling, tip-toeing and marching!
Simple rhythm instruments are played while we develop musical concepts such as high/low, fast/slow, loud/quiet. Occasional use of drums and wooden hoops enhance the delightful playtime. Patterns continue as part of every class to shape listening skills and acquaint the child with the rhythms of music. Dancing with scarves and hiding games are part of the fun! A wonderful, fun environment is created for these children, where their music aptitude is nurtured and skills are developed.
| Tuition: | $168 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $40.44 for CD/digital download and song book |
Walkers/Jumpers Combo (15 months - 3 1/2 years)
30 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
The Walkers/Jumpers Combo class includes the age range for younger (Wandering Walkers) and older (Jaunty Jumpers) toddlers. This class is 30 minutes long. The curriculum for Spring 2024 is "My Day."
Children love making music along with their parent (or other grown-up). Songs of contrasting tonalities, moods, and meters are included in every class, as are songs from other cultures. We do finger plays, wiggling and tickling activities, body awareness songs and bouncing songs to experience the joy of playing together! Lots of movement is part of this class to allow children to feel the beat of music and learn about spatial awareness while developing their gross motor skills and coordination.
Activities include singing, dancing, focused listening and simple instrument playing, creating an environment in which the child's music aptitude is nurtured and skills are developed. Occasional use of drums and hoops enhance the delightful playtime. Patterns continue as part of every class to shape listening skills and acquaint the child with the rhythms of music. Dancing with scarves and hiding games are part of the fun!
| Tuition: | $154 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $40.44 for CD/digital download and song book |
Precocious Preschoolers: Cycle of Seasons (3 1/2 - 5 years)
45 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
The Precocious Preschoolers use a curriculum called The Cycle of Seasons ~ "Summer," "Wind Dancers" (Fall), and"Sun Catchers" (Spring). This marvelous program draws its central themes from nature and aims to bring the family into the music, movement, and environmental experience. Life on earth is subject to seasonal changes - a wonderful phenomenon!
This class cultivates the child's musical development through songs, tonal and rhythm patterns, drumming, poetry and stories, movement activities, listening games, instrumental play and manipulative games. An adult stays with the child for the first 15 minutes of class, the final 30 minutes are with the teacher and students only.
The children will explore songs, dances and instruments using themes from the seasons and nature - a subject children love! Children are reminded that music is all around them - even in a sunset or a breath of wind!
The children are introduced to musical language for the rhythm and tonal patterns (Du Du-de for the rhythm patterns, and "do-mi-sol" solfege for tonal patterns.) The children begin to transfer tonal patterns to resonator bars. Understanding of musical tonal and rhythm patterns is the first step towards music literacy!! We continue with active listening and enjoy poetry to experience of the music of language. At this age, the child's language is exploding and is a source of joy and pleasure.
We do group dances for gross motor development and cooperation. A lot of movement is incorporated in all classes to develop balance, control and coordination, and to raise the level of consciousness of how to move, where to move and how parts of the body feel while in action.
The senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste - are the pathways to knowing, and the language for the sensory discoveries is confirmed by touch. As neurological networking occurs through movement, hand-eye coordination develops.
Humans are social beings and naturally seek community. Through making music with other chlldren and adults, young children are invited to become part of a music-making community. Holding hands, listening and moving to music together bond the child to the larger family through shared activities that bring pleasure and enjoyment to everyone.
| Tuition: | $182 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $54.63, includes CD/digital download, book, and cards |
Music Makers at Home (4 1/2 - 6 years)
1 hour/week; 14 weeks offered
Music Makers at Home is part one of the 2-3 year sequential program leading to music literacy and the Keyboard curriculum. Rudimentary music skills such as pitch matching, beat competency, ensemble development, and music notation are dealt with using themes taken from the child's home environment and natural surroundings. These themes include: My Home & The Woodlands (Fall semester) and Cattail Marsh & The Meadow (Spring semester). Children get two folders each semester, with notation games, instrument pages, and a CD/digital download recording.
Children ages 4 1/2 through 6 years will begin to learn how to write music patterns through making music. An hour of songs, dances, and expanded instrument exploration (use of resonator bars, glockenspiels, xylophones, and metallophones) will give the child a solid music foundation in the language of music. We continue with active listening, and listen to and learn about instruments of the orchestra. Names are given to tonal patterns (do-mi-sol) and rhythmic patterns (du du-de du); then we begin to "read" these patterns through card games.
Stories, poetry and singing games enhance the child's developing language, vocabulary, comprehension. This is a wonderful, well-rounded holistic program that meets all the needs of the young child, while taking him or her on the path to music literacy!
| Tuition: | $196 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $61.57, includes folders & CD/digital download |
Music Makers Around the World (6 - 8 years)
1 hour/week; 14 weeks offered
Music Makers Around the World is a PRE-KEYBOARD CLASS. and is imperative for your child's success in our Keyboard curriculum. It is part two of the sequential Music Makers Program. This class is designed to accommodate the 5 1/2 to 8 year old; it is a perfect follow-up for children who have completed Music Makers at Home.
In our World classes, children explore the music, dances and stories of different cultures, including Germany (Spring 2024), African-American (Spring 2025), AmerIndians (Fall 2024), and British Isles (Fall 2025). One unit is covered per semester; the entire program lasts two years. Children may begin in any unit.
As always, the key ingredients are singing, listening, playing instruments, lots of movement, and tonal and rhythm patterns. Through echoing patterns, the children will build a vocabulary of musical phrases which they can recognize aurally and visually. The children work with isolated patterns written in music notation, and begin looking for those patterns on song pages. We learn an increased repertoire of songs, and then build more complex instrumental ensembles to accompany our singing.
Children will take one or two years of Music Makers Around the World before beginning the keyboard class, depending on their readiness. Fine motor skills and attention span are extremely important to success in the keyboard class! Rushing these developmental skills cause frustration in the keyboard class if a child is not ready.
Materials include a CD/digital download recordings, map, song pages, and notation games. Children start reading music patterns with the games, and finding rhythm and tonal patterns in the music we sing! This is a holistic musical education - singing, movement, composing, improvising, and listening! You will be amazed at what your child learns in this class!
| Tuition: | $210 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $36.16, includes folder, CD/digital download, notation games & song sheets |
Keyboard - Year One (6 - 9 years)
1 hour/week, 14 weeks offered
An extension of the work done in Music Makers: Around the World, this class follows a very sequential approach to building piano skills and understanding musical notation as set forth in the books, Music Makers: At the Keyboard. The ideal age to begin is between ages 6 1/2 and 8 years. Starting too early often causes frustration, especially if a child's fine motor skills are not well developed. A child who begins at age 7 will usually progress faster than one who starts at age 5.
The final step on the pathway to music literacy, this program is designed to teach the children to play the songs they've been hearing, singing, and dancing to throughout the years of early childhood. This is not your traditional piano lesson! Activities include singing, dancing, drumming, ensemble playing, notation games and lots of movement. After all, music is an aural art, and the instrument is just an extension of the music that is inside of us!
After children are aurally familiar with a song, a four-step learning process is used to transfer the song to the piano (demonstrated on the Practice CDs provided with the materials). Your child will learn to transpose, learn to improvise, and learn to compose their own songs!
Students will receive books, CDs, and notation games, plus a Parent Handbook throughout the 28 weeks. For the first year of keyboard study, a parent or other grown-up who will supervise at-home practice attends each week with the student. You will have the delightful experience of learning alongside your child!
| Tuition: | $252 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | $71.17, includes student book, 2 CDs, and parent book |
Keyboard - Year Two (7 - 10 years)
1 hour/week, 14 weeks offered
The fun and learning continues in each successive book of the Music Makers At the Keyboard Program! Musical games, drumming, ensembles with xylophones and metallophones, singing and dancing all help solidify an aural foundation as the children progress on the road to music literacy. Children learn about composing and improvising, and learn to play chords from the very beginning. This is a very complete, holistic music program!
The same learning process as introduced in Year 1 continues as the children learn new songs. The ear is first, because after all, music is an aural art. We learn to sing tonal patterns, and then find those tonal patterns in the printed music. Thus we are able to decode a new song, before we've heard it played!
Each book takes approximately 15 weeks to complete. Children meet weekly for 60 minutes.
| Tuition: | $252 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | Varies |
30 or 45-minute lessons; 14 weeks offered
Lessons are scheduled on an individual basis with the instructor at a mutually convenient time, and are conducted in-person at the studio or online via Zoom.
For the 14-week spring semester, half-hour private lessons are $329 and 45-minute private lessons are $493.
Piano Lessons
Private piano lessons are available for children and adults, from absolute beginners to advanced musicians. Our studio includes those who are completely new to the piano, those who have completed three years of our Keyboard class and wish to continue their studies, students preparing for college auditions, and adults learning recreationally.
The well-rounded musical education that takes place in these lessons includes ear training, sight-reading, music theory, and duet playing. Performance and compeition opportunies are available for interested students.
All students must have a piano (acoustic or digital) at home on which they can practice. Piano lessons are taught by Devon Carpenter and Jennifer Rockwell.
Voice Lessons
Are you interested in singing classical, broadway, jazz, folk, or pop music? Sign up today to start voice lessons! Students will learn a healthy, classical technique, which can be applied to all styles of music and will make them versatile singers. Lessons are available for students age 6 through adults. Voice lessons are taught by Jennifer Rockwell.
Band Instrument and Ukulele Lessons
Private lessons are available to any students--regardless of level! Whether you are just beginning, have a few years experience, or are an older player, you can certainly benefit from taking private lessons. The lessons will include technique, studying repertoire, music theory, ear training, music history, and general musicianship development.
Lessons are available on flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, French horn, trombone, and ukulele.
All students must have their own instrument to use. Band instrument and ukulele lessons are taught by Jennifer Rockwell.
Harp Lessons
Private harp lessons are available for children age 7 through adults, on either pedal (orchestral) and lever (Celtic) harps. In addition to learning harp repertoire, students will also study music theory, ear training, harp tuning & maintenance, and sight reading. Interested students will have the opportunity to play in ensembles, orchestras, recitals, and competitions.
All students must have a harp (lever or pedal) at home on which they can practice. We have a limited number of rental harps available for students ($25/month). Harp lessons are taught by Devon Carpenter.
| Tuition: | $329-493 for the 14-week semester |
| Materials: | Varies |
Art Exploration (3 1/2 to 10 years)
45 minutes/week; 14 weeks offered
In this class, students will experiment with art manipulatives and practice fine motor skills. They will be exposed to various art mediums and do make-and-takes that showcase what they worked on in class. The goal is to build their imagination and experiences.
| Tuition: | $224 for the 14-week semester |