Kids N Keys

Kids n Keys introduces children to the fundamentals of music and piano playing in a fun group-setting. In three 8-lesson segments students will:

1. Be Inspired:
   We believe that exposing students to great music and high-quality performances plays an important role in inspiring musical accomplishments. Each Kids n Keys class includes critical listening activities. Our goal is for our students to leave class each week feeling excited about music.
   
2. Sight-read:
   We expect all of our students to learn to read music. The ability to sight-read opens doors to an entire world of music.
   
3. Play by ear:
   Traditional piano instruction, in most cases, ignores this important skill. To be a well-rounded musician and, more importantly, to be able to spontaneously create music with other musicians as a group, music students must be able to play what they hear. Bach To Rock incorporates many concepts from the famous Suzuki method to accomplish this goal.
   
4. Play as a group:
   Studying music within a group provides a unique opportunity for young musicians to begin to develop the skill of playing music with their peers. This is highly motivating because it closely resembles a “team” atmosphere and it is a social experience.

Exposure to music at an early age supports both cognitive and intuitive foundations for musical growth. Studies also link music-making to greater spatial intelligence and improved learning abilities.

Kids n Keys offers students a playful environment where they encounter the concepts, symbols, and sounds that form the basis of music literacy. Our curriculum incorporates different types of activities and games that involve listening, movement, singing, and creative music-making. We also firmly believe that young students have the ability to make music at the keyboard even before they can read music notation. In every class, students learn to play popular melodies on the piano and prepare for a group concert.

We believe in small class sizes (up to 6 kids), so that each student receives the ideal balance of individual attention and positive peer interaction. Our state-of-the-
art keyboard/computer lab offers students the opportunity to learn from cutting-edge music software such as MusicAce.

The skills and intuitive musical understanding developed in Kids n Keys prepare a child for success in the study of any musical instrument.

Click here to view a sample Kids n Keys Activity Sheet

The Benefits of Creating Music
Learning to play a musical instrument challenges the brain in new ways. In addition to being able to discern different tonal patterns and groupings, new motor skills must be learned and coordinated in order to play the instrument. These new learnings cause profound and seemingly permanent changes in the brain structure. For example, the auditory cortex, the motor cortex, the cerebellum, and the corpus callosum are larger in musicians than non-musicians.
(How the Brain Learns by David A Sousa, pg 225)

Music and Mathematics
Of all the academic subjects, mathematics seems to be most closely connected to music. Music relies on fractions for tempo and on time divisions for pacing, octaves, and chord intervals. Here are some basic mathematical concepts that are basic to music.

Patterns - Music is full of patterns of chords, notes and key changes. Musicians learn to recognize these patterns and use them to vary melodies. Inverting patterns, called counterpoint, helps form different kinds of harmonies.

Counting - Counting is fundamental to music because one must count beats, count rests, and count how long to hold notes.

Geometry - Music students use geometry to remember the correct finger positions for notes or chords. Guitar players' fingers, for example, form triangular shapes on the neck of the guitar.

Sequences - Music and Mathematics are related through sequences called intervals. A mathematical interval is the difference between two numbers; a musical interval is the ratio of their frequencies. Here's another sequence: Arithmetic progressions in music correspond to geometric progressions in mathematics.

Ratios and Proportions, and Equivalent Fractions - Reading music requires an understanding of ratios and proportions, that is, a whole note needs to be played twice as long as a half note, and four times as long as a quarter note. Because the amount of time allotted to one beat is a mathematical constant, the duration of all the notes in a musical piece are relative to one another on the basis of that constant. It is also important to understand the rhythmic difference between 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures.

(How the Brain Learns by David A Sousa, pg 227)

Music and Reading
Several studies confirm a strong association between music instruction and standardized tests of reading ability. Although we cannot say that this is a causal association (that taking music instruction caused improvement in reading ability), this consistent finding in a large groups of students builds confidence that there is a strong relationship (Butzlaff, 2000). Researchers suggest that this strong relationship may result because of positive transfer occurring between language and reading.

Studies done with 4 and 5 year old children revealed that the more music skills children had, the greater their degree of phonological awareness and reading development. Apparently, music perception taps and enhances auditory areas that are relevant to reading (Anvari, Trainor, Woodside, & Levy, 2002).
(How the Brain Learns by David A Sousa, pg 229)