Our Philosophy

The Harmony Road curriculum provides a holistic approach to musical training. We hope that music will become a natural part of the students’ daily life. Children experience musical concepts and absorb patterning through ear training, singing and rhythmic activities. As skills grow, students will become comfortable with note reading and keyboard performance areas. Strong singing skills will enhance the students’ total musical development.

The Learning Process

At Harmony Road – we learn by doing

Imitative singing – to develop pitch and learn melodic patterns

. . . . . by copy . . . . . by ear with hints . . . . . by ear

Repetition is critical to develop musical memory. 

Short patterns will soon become a part of longer phrases.

Developing Audiation

Audiation  or “inner hearing” is critical to the development of total musicianship.  Audiation occurs when children are exposed to musical patterns, rhythms, and harmonies that they can store in their musical mind.  Because children are so conscious of sounds in early childhood – a wide range of key centers, meters, and harmonic content should be provided for them to experience through movement, singing, chanting, and the use of manipulatives.  Remember – the voice is the most natural musical instrument and processing patterns through the voice helps the child store the patterning in the ear.

 

Developing the Solfege Connection

Solfege becomes the means for internalizing pitch.  The solfege notes become the child’s musical language.  The use of fixed DO solfege encourages the development of a very strong sense of tonality and relative pitch.  Tracking pitches on the keyboard while singing the solfege makes the ear, voice, and tactile connection.  As the child begins to read music – he hears the patterning when he sees the notes!

 

Developing the Tactile Connection

Researchers have also discovered the importance of the tactile sense in early childhood – especially in musical growth.  Basic small percussion instruments help the child find his rhythmic pulse.  Exploring sounds on a keyboard brings the pitch the child has heard and sung into a concrete experience he can hear, touch, sing, and feel!  Tracking pitches with a pointer finger enables the child to learn the sequences of pitches and such concepts as high, low, middle, going up, going down, and staying the same.  The ear, voice and keyboard become partners in the learning process. 

Developing Reading Readiness

Very young children cannot understand abstract concepts of note reading, but they can be introduced to basic reading readiness activities (ages 3-4).  Learning about high notes and low notes is fun when the child has the opportunity to use manipulatives such as note magnets on a magnetic board.  The concept will be meaningful if it is experienced physically first.  Other concepts that will gradually be introduced include – stepping up, stepping down, notes on lines, notes on spaces, and going up and down with scale songs.  When the child is secure with these basic concepts, short patterns which are being sung may be introduced on the staff.

EXPERIENCE FIRST – THEN SEE!