DETAILS ON ORAN ETKIN’S MUSIC CLASSES :

To start a new class or to join an existing class, please email oran@oranetkin.com. For more information, visit www.oranetkin.com.

OVERVIEW:

Classes are organized by parents and tailored to the specific needs of your group. Children of ages 2 to 7 can enjoy these classes and the curriculum is adjusted to fit the age group of the specific class. For example, classes with children aged 3 1/2 and older can follow a special curriculum that I designed to teach the Glockenspiel (scroll down for more information on this), while the younger groups play games to prepare them for the next level of musical training. Classes of mixed age group are also possible, and summer classes tend to be a little more informal and are structured in a way to allow children to attend some weeks and miss others without “falling behind”.

The classes have several educational goals, which are achieved through fun songs, games, dances and stories. These include songs/dances that I wrote to teach a specific concept (such as high/low, melody/chords) and songs from the repertoire of the great masters from various genres that I have found and adapted for children (songs by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Tito Puente, Mozart, blues guitarist Blind Willie McTell, African percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, Ray Charles and many more).

I bring in professional instruments (saxophone, guitar, clarinet, banjo, etc.) to demonstrate and, when possible, let the children try. The children also learn to play instruments themselves. At first these are unpitched percussion instruments such as shakers and drums, and then we start learning their melodic instruments. 31/2 and 4 year olds are ready to start the second stage of the music classes, in which they learn to play the glockenspiel (more details on the glockenspiel below).

GOALS OF THE CLASS:

• Exposing children to the works of the great performers and composers in a variety of genres, including Jazz, Blues, Classical, African, Cuban, Brazilian, etc. Listening to the great masters such as Duke Ellington, Tito Puente, Mozart etc. is the best way to internalize that subtle thing that makes great music great.

• Learning the fundamentals of music-- developing and enjoying a healthy sense of rhythm and pitch (understanding high and low, which is crucial to understanding any melody and eventually to reading music); enjoying other contrasts such as loud/soft, music/no music, the difference between chord and melody, etc.

• Introducing some cultural/historical context to the music (for example, when I teach Eh La Bas, a Creole song from Louisiana, I tell a story about King Louis XIV of France for whom Louisiana was named, explaining why they speak French there and what the words of the song mean in French. While it gives historical context, it is also simply a fun story about a king that helps the children connect personally with the song).

• Introducing the various professional instruments used to make music (sax, clarinet, piano, guitar, banjo, African percussion, etc.) in the various families (percussion, string, wind). I bring in the instruments and demonstrate them and, when possible, let the children try.

• Teaching the children to play rhythmic instruments and start them on melodic instrumental playing.

All of this is done in a fun way through hands-on experiences, stories, games, songs and movement. For example, I have a story about the kingdom of Jazz, with the Duke- Duke Elington- the Princess Ella Fitzgerald, etc. that leads us into singing songs by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, etc. and learning to play some of them on the instruments (the stories also often explain how to play the song when we pretend certain notes are certain characters or places in the story).

Another example is learning the difference between melodies (one note at a time that moves around) and chords (several notes being played at once). Since the concept is somewhat abstract, I make it more concrete and fun with a song I wrote about a melody that goes up and down and all around the town and then other notes that join to make it a chord. This goes along with a dance we do that starts with one hand moving for the melody, then two hands shaking for the two-note chord and ends with everyone on their backs shaking both hands and both feet when the four-note chord is played.

THE GLOCKENSPIELS:

For classes of children over 3 1/2 years of age, I have a special curriculum focused on learning what is often their first real melodic instrument: the 25-note Glockenspiel.

I will provide each child with a glockenspiel (a xylophone-like instrument with a beautiful sound). The glockenspiel is laid out like a piano, and everything that we learn on the glockenspiel can be directly transferred to any other instrument your child may play in the future.

The complete glockenspiel has 25 notes, but I will take off all of the notes except one when I give the instruments out. Once we learn to play this one note, I will add a second note, and we will learn to play a song with just the two notes. As we continue to learn more songs, I will add more notes to the glockenspiel, so that eventually they will have every note. This focuses the learning process by only presenting the specific notes necessary for a given song. It also helps to make each child realize their own achievements when they have mastered the given notes and their glockenspiel grows with the addition of another note. These instruments will be yours to take home and to keep, which also offers an opportunity to learn about taking care of an instrument as well.

LOGISTICS:

The classes are usually hosted at one person's house (except for the occasional change due to logistics). This works the best, but I would be open to seeing if we can make it work as a rotating location if that is better for you.

While summer classes are more informal and do not require a commitment to a semester, the school-year classes generally work better when a consistent group of kids signs up for a semester (usually makes sense to follow the school schedule, but we can define the semester dates in any way that works for the group). In this way, each class can build upon material learned in previous classes, and this also builds a social cohesiveness to the group of kids.

The younger age groups do well with parents or care-givers present and participating in class, whereas the older age groups focus better without the presence of parents or caregivers in the room of the class (encourages more of a “school behavior”).

You can find out more information and see what some of the current classes are doing on the STUDENTS page of my website, http://www.oranetkin.com. Feel free to email me through the website or call with any questions: 917.626.5343.