All students at John Rogers Elementary study music from kindergarten to 5th grade. Our music curriculum has been designed to foster music literacy through a multicultural approach. Each child learns to read music through singing, playing recorders, Orff keyboards and Afro-Brazilian percussion instruments. Students perform with their classrooms in vocal and instrumental ensembles for school assemblies and concerts.
I. – OUR DIRECTOR
John Rogers’ music teacher, Mr. Gary Harding has been studying music for over 50 years and teaching for 35. His academic background is in ethnic music and anthropology, having played and taught in Brazil, Europe, Nigeria and the USA. He is a member of Escola de Samba Ocara Clube and Ogan Alabé for Ilê Iansã de 'Ngola in São Paulo, Brazil. He is also past instructor of jazz and ethnic music studies at Washington State University.
II. MUSIC CLUB AND DRUM ENSEMBLE
Mr. Harding also directs the Music Club. The Music Club meets after school on Mondays and is made up of 50 students from the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. The Music Club focuses on advanced vocal and instrumental ensembles and performs throughout the year.
Your child may be invited to join the Rogers Music Club! This will be the 18th year we've had a Music Club at Rogers. 3rd, 4th and 5th graders are welcome to join if their academic progress and classroom behavior warrant the addition of an extra-curricular activity.
The purpose of the club is to enhance our classroom music program by focusing on recorder, percussion and vocal music performance. The club performs for the winter and spring concerts and we'll be adding some other engagements to our calendar as the year passes. This is a good opportunity for your child to have fun with music while strengthening their skills. In addition, the club is an excellent head start for children interested in instrumental music next.
Unless you've visited Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo our Drum Ensemble should be a big surprise. It is unique among elementary school music programs in the USA. The group plays “Samba Batucada” - the large percussion ensembles for which Brazil is so well known. The orchestra includes surdos, caixas, atabaques, tamboríns and agogôs as used in the famous carnival orchestras of Brazil.
III. – OUR MUSIC CURRICULUM
The John Rogers music program centers on three student learning objectives:
….. Experiencing a variety of multicultural music styles.
….. Demonstrating an understanding of the basic elements of music through singing, playing and listening.
….. Becoming fluent at interpreting both written and oral music traditions.
IV. A THREE STAGE APPROACH TO SUCCESS
….. Children in kindergarten and 1st grade are exposed to an intensive pre-literacy program emphasizing movement and language as a preparation for music literacy.
….. 2nd and 3rd grade children learn to play the recorder from the page. Begin alto recorders
….. 4th and 5th graders continue to read from the page, learn to play in 2 and 3 parts and develop skills in ethnic music ensembles. 4th and 5th graders also begin instrumental music.
All grade levels sing and play instruments, as well as, use Orff xylophones/instruments and applied methods on a daily basis.
V. A MULTICULTURAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD OF MUSIC
The curriculum is driven by a large literature of songs, dances and other music materials from the six continental areas of the world:
1) North America
2) South America
3) Europe
4) Africa
5) Asia and the Middle East
6) Pacifica
On a daily basis, each child sings and plays music from one or more of the six areas. Attention is paid to the musical traditions of the whole world – not just North America and Europe.
VI. THE RECORDER AND MUSIC LITERARCY
The recorder is, for many reasons, an excellent tool for developing a variety of skills in the music classroom. It can be used to teach pitch, rhythm, ensemble techniques, breath control and music literacy, but is often ignored as an inroad to multiculturalism. At John Rogers we attempt to "cover it all" by not only teaching each child to play the recorder, but learning to play the recorder through the use of ethnic songs.
Each student will learn:
1 - a basic knowledge of how to play the soprano recorder
2 - song literature from a variety of different cultures
Basic skills:
….. BAG [the first three notes] - late kindergarten and 1st grade
….. G Major Pentachord [gabcd] - 2nd grade
….. D Major Pentachord [def#ga] Begin alto recorders - 3rd grade
….. altos/tenors/basses - 4th and 5th grade
VII. HAND DRUMMING – ENTERING THE WORLD OF ETHNIC MUSIC
Hand drumming has become very popular in North America in recent years. Drum ensembles of various ethnic origins have changed the face of music education in this country. At John Rogers Elementary School our students learn the basics of authentic West African, Cuban and Brazilian drumming styles. We use hand drumming as an inroad to multicultural inclusion, world geography, ethnic history, foreign language and music performance in the classroom. Instruction uses an oral tradition every child can get into and enjoy.
Each student should develop an understanding of three content areas:
1 - Basic hand drumming skills in traditional ensembles
2 - Basic singing skills in Portuguese, Spanish and Yoruba
3 - Cultural context and setting of music, dance and song
VIII. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Harding has written these books and curriculum packages for use in our music classroom:
* “Ritmos de la Patria” - a bilingual book (Spanish/English) on Afro Cuban and Caribbean music.
* “Introduction to Middle Eastern Drumming” - a multicultural book on the percussion instruments, techniques and literature of the Middle East and North Africa.
* Cuban and Brazilian Hand Drumming" - a practical approach to individual and group drumming in the Latin American genres.
* “Ethnic Songs from Around the World - An International Approach to the Recorder” - an introduction to the recorder and ethnic song literature – divided by continent and cultural area
* “Carnival Drumming in Latin America” - an introduction to the music of carnival and saint's days; comparsa, maracatu and samba
* "Instrument Construction; Shekere, Atabaque, Bambula and Berimbau" - making musical instruments of African origin in the classroom
* "The Latin American Marimba - A classroom guide to ensemble performance" – traditional marimba techniques and literature for the elementary music classroom
