Introduction of Musikgarten

Musikgarten is a pre-instrumental music and movement program from USA, for babies, toddlers up to 8 years old, before they take up individual piano or violin lessons.

The program is based on 30 years of research on child development and psychology. The founders Dr Lorna Heyge & Audrey Sillick work with neurophysicists (brain development), early childhood psychologists/specialists, to design a curriculum with well-balanced musical experiences. The pedagogy is based on what is appropriate for children at different stages of development. Every child is different and develops at different pace. The aim of Musikgarten is to develop the skills, abilities, and talent necessary for a child to be physically and mentally ready before taking up an instrument. Music activities are designed to foster development of the whole child – body, mind and spirit.

At every level, the emphasis of the program is on music and being musical – singing, dancing, listening and moving to music, learning tonal and rhythm patterns and using simple instruments. Purchase of family material (consist of CD/Books/simple instruments) is compulsory, to reinforces learning in the home.

There are 4 programs in Musikgarten:

1.     Family Music for Babies (new born to 18mths)

2.     Family music for toddlers (18mths to 3 year old)

3.     Cycle Of Seasons (3 to 5 year old)

4.     Music Makers At the Keyboard (from 5 year old).


Family Music for Babies
(Newborn to 18 months old) 

Provides an early exposure to music in an interesting and stimulating environment. Parents learn how to sign language to communicate with their babies before they can speak. These skills are fostered through a progressive repertoire of songs and specially-designed class material.

Class
30 minutes per session, once a week

Age
For babies from birth to 18 months
Parent to accompany child

Family Materials (Compulsory)
Consists of 1 parent book, 1 CD, (age appropriate) instrument and a cloth bag

Fees and Class Timetable
Please contact us @ 91691024 (Karen) or email us tskymusic@gmail.com for more information, and register for your FREE trial lesson.

Programme Features

  • Group class for parents to attend with their babies
  • Parents will learn activities that will help them to:
      a) bond and play musically with their babies
      b) stimulate the development of the babies' left and right brain through music
  • Activities include learning how to sing, move, dance, rock, bounce with their babies and playing wiggle, tickle and peek-a-boo games with them
  • Parent book and CD with superb recordings for parents to sing rock, bounce, move, dance and play musically with their babies at home. Music and songs are of outstanding arrangements performed by professional singers, instrumentalists and children's choir

 Family Music for Toddlers (Parent/ Child)
(18 months to 3 years old) 

The lessons develop spatial intelligence and body confidence through music - great for toddlers learning to walk. Children will learn key components of music, including pitch, timbre, dynamics, rhythm and melody. Key skills taught include finger play, rocking, bouncing, singing and listening games, body awareness, tapping (with hands, feet and percussion), as well as music appreciation. The lesson provides an early exposure to music in an interesting and stimulating environment.

Class
30 minutes per session, once a week

Age
For toddlers from 18 months to 3 years old
Parent to accompany child

Family Materials (Compulsory)
Consists of 1 parent book, 1 CD, (age appropriate) instrument and a cloth bag

Fees and Class Timetable
Please contact us @ 91691024 (Karen) or email us tskymusic@gmail.com for more information, and register for your FREE trial lesson.

Programme Features

  • Group class for toddlers to attend together with their parents
  • Parents and children will participate together in fun musical activities that foster bonding, as well as enhance the children's total development, i.e. physical, intellectual, language, musical, confidence, self-esteem, creativity and social skills
  • Activities include chanting, moving, dancing, focused listening, rocking, bouncing and playing appropriate instruments. Such activities lay the basic foundation for learning music
  • Parent book and CD with superb recordings for parents, their children, as well as other family members to sing, rock, bounce, move, dance and play instruments together at home

 

Cycle Of Seasons (Unaccompanied)
(3 to 5 years old) 

Nurture your child's ability to use language & participate in dramatic play within a musical context. Activities will help your child to develop listening, focused attention, imagination, creativity and self-expression.

Class
45 minutes per session, once a week

Age
For preschoolers from 3 to 5 years old

Family Materials (Compulsory)
Consists of 1 parent book, 2 CDs, and flash cards.

Fees and Class Timetable
Please contact us @ 91691024 (Karen) or email us tskymusic@gmail.com for more information, and register for your FREE trial lesson.


Programme Features

  • Group class for preschoolers to attend independently. Parents are invited to participate in the class during the last 10 minutes (Parent Sharing Time) 
  • Children will experience activities that promote Language, Socio-emotional, Physical, Creative & Musical Development
  • Children will be introduced to sequential learning of musical concepts necessary for a strong musical foundation, all done in a fun and stress-free environment
  • Children will learn music like a language through Rhythm Patterns (Gordon Rhythm Language) and Tonal Patterns (SOLFEGE, Music and Songs in Major & Minor Keys) 
  • Activities include singing, chanting, moving, dancing, listening, playing musical instruments, story-telling, dramatization and interpretation of different kinds of music

 

 Music Make Keyboard (Unaccompanied)
(From 5 years old) 

The child is gradually introduced to the keyboard. The key components of music learnt in toddlers music and Cycle of Seasons are reinforced while keyboard skill is given more emphasis. Children are encouraged to respond to cues, echo short rhythm patterns, identify rhythm symbols and notations, as well as identify and respond to simple scores through percussion playing.

Class
60 minutes per session, once a week

Age
From 5 years old

Family Materials (Compulsory)
Consists of workbook, Listening and practice CD, notes and flash cards.

Fees and Class Timetable
Please contact us @ 91691024 (Karen) or email us tskymusic@gmail.com for more information, and register for your FREE trial lesson.

Programme Features

  • Group class for children to attend independently. Parents are invited to participate in the class during the last 10 to 15 minutes (Parents Sharing Time)
  • Children will experience activities that enhance language, socio-emotional, physical, creative and musical development
  • Activities include singing, chanting, dancing, musical games, ensemble work, story-telling, dramatization and movement in specially recorded music
  • Focused listening activities are included to develop the child's concentration power, increase their attention span and develop the ability to identify and distinguish sounds that they listen to
  • Children will learn basic musical concepts in a systematic and sequential way, thus building a strong musical foundation  
  • Children will learn the musical language through rhythmic patterns (Gordon Rhythm Language) and Tonal Patterns (SOLFEGE)

Comparison of Musikgarten Program vs traditional (1 to 1) teaching approach

Musikgarten (Music Makers programme - Aural first then Reading Notes)

1. Helps in Right & Left Brain Development

2. Use of familiar music to teach the children i.e. play the songs and pieces which they have sung and danced to before playing at the keyboard.

3. Comprehension i.e. understand the concepts and patterns of the music they are playing.

4.  Focus on ear-hand coordination

5.  Rhythm taught from beginning in games that reinforce experience in duple and triple rhythm. Steady Beat Development is nurtured through singing, movement activities and the use of simple instruments such as rhythm sticks and jingle bells.

6.  Keyboard patterns are visually reinforced in games leading towards ability to read notes with comprehension


7.  Kids come back for more because they enjoy the lessons and feel accomplishment. Parents do not face problems getting their children to practice.

Traditional Approach (1 to 1) to Teaching Piano


1. Helps in Left Brain Development only

2. Mostly unfamiliar music i.e. playing the piece for the very first time.


3. Decoding i.e. read notes and play at the same time.


 4. Focus on eye-hand coordination

5.  Rhythm taught and names of notes are taught theoretically.  Hardly any practical experience to nurture Beat Development.



 6.  Flash cards are used to reinforce separate notes or separate intervals with little connection to musical score

7.  Kids lose interest and show boredom after the novelty wears off. Why? Because they have not developed `readiness’ to play an instrument, hence are unable to achieve success. Parents face a lot of problems getting their children to practice.

Some words from the child to parent or teacher

Extracted from "Move, Sing, Listen, Play - Preparing the young child for music", by Donna Wood, Revised edition, 1995, Alfred Publishing.

1. If you encourage me to move to music (clap, jump, walk, dance, etc) I will know how music feels. This is my favorite response to music.

2. When I hum or chant unconsciously while I play with my toys, it means that I am feeling good.

3. If you sing to me, then I will learn to sing, too. Repeating favorite songs is never boring, but rather helps me sing better.

4. If you alter a song by putting my name in it, I will know that I am "in" the music.

5. Songs and rhythms with a rhythmic flows of words help me to hear the rhythm of speech and music. It will help my language development,too.

6. If I make up a little song for my own, this creativity is important as a musical experience and to my development as a person.

7. I will "turn off" my ears to music if:

  • you try to make me listen to music that is too "grow up" for me (recordings, radios, concerts, etc).

  • you try to make me listen to music for longer than my attention span.

  • you play "background" music while I am involved with other activities.

8. If you want to buy me a record, be careful of musical and literary quality, and choose one I can move to or sing with. Passive listening is for older people.

9. Please give me many happy musical experiences before you introduce me to the world of greater music (piano lessons, concerts etc)

10. Remember, you cannot teach me to enjoy music but I could "catch" it from you.

 

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