Music class in the time of a pandemic

Music class in the time of a pandemic

By Music Teachers Alyssa Gangarosa, Caitlin Grubbe, and Phyllis Sommer

Despite pandemic restrictions, music learning continues to flourish at Trinity School. The music curriculum provides a foundational skill set that is intentionally aligned from Early Learners through the Sixth Grade. Each year, these skills are expanded upon through grade-level objectives that foster students’ musical growth, deepening their musical understanding. Please enjoy a look at how we’ve continued to make music together at Trinity this year. With singing as the bedrock of our music curriculum, it was important for us to safely continue student development in this area while adhering to health and safety guidelines. Requiring our students to social distance and sing in masks for shorter amounts of time, we have been able to maintain student growth in melodic skills. With the need for masked singing, it has been especially important this year to spend more time on vocal health. Focusing on rhythmically spoken chants in the early weeks of school gave students time to adjust to vocal production through a mask. Pairing these chants with puppets, games, or movement made the necessary adjustment unnoticeable to the students but has made an immense difference vocally. Now, students are singing with ease in a healthy way. “Although we have to wear masks, I feel like my singing voice has been improving every single music class,” says Third Grader Ann Marie.

Students take pride in building a love of singing by cultivating community through singing games and learning folk songs to carry with them through their adult lives to share with future generations. From simple songs to singing in harmony, students across all grade levels gain confidence in their voice, the instrument they will never be without. “Music makes me feel so happy,” says First Grader Madison. “I love to sing!” Another important aspect of our curriculum is instrument playing. With restrictions on the sharing of class materials and the need for Specials teachers to travel to base classrooms this year, we created individual music kits for student use. Using everyday items, each kit has instruments modeled after what is typically used in the music rooms, such as pool noodles as güiros, egg shakers as maracas, plates

Fourth Grader Camille [left] uses dowel rods as rhythm sticks and Fourth Grader Moriah [right] uses a cut-up pool noodle as a güiro to perform in a four-part Orff arrangement. Each student also used egg shakers as maracas and plates and bells as tambourines to complete all four parts.

and bells as tambourines, and dowel rods as rhythm sticks. These items allow us to continue learning about instrumental technique and play together as an ensemble. Also included in the music kits are manipulatives to practice rhythmic and melodic skills, helping students build a strong foundation in music literacy. Along with the music kits, students use technology, such as xylophone applications and music creation software, to further develop their instrumental skills and encourage their innate creative abilities. For those students participating in distance learning, these music kits have provided a connection to their music teachers and classmates at school who are using identical kits in common learning experiences. Using the Seesaw learning management platform has also provided an opportunity to assess skills such as steady beat, rhythmic and melodic patterns, and composition. In addition, the well-being of our students is at the forefront of our teaching as music has the power to elicit an emotional response. It is more important than ever to celebrate simple moments of joy and to honor Trinity’s tenet to cherish all that childhood has to offer. Classroom participation, active listening, playing fun games, and moving expressively allow our music program to serve as an outlet for the socialemotional development of the young child. “Sometimes when I’m playing music, my worries just kind of disappear,” says Third Grader Derek. The joy of fun games with friends allows students to enjoy their peers in a socially distanced but connected way. Students also need a safe outlet to express more complex emotions that they may be experiencing, such as confusion, anger, or grief. Moving expressively to a wide variety of musical styles offers many ways for students to understand and connect with their emotions. Whether they are matching the fiery and accented spirit of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, moving sensitively to the soothing yet emotional melodies of Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe, or simply listening to Johannes Brahms’ Lullaby, students walk away from music class feeling empowered and uplifted. In addition to a vertically aligned music curriculum, each grade level has traditions that are integral to the Trinity Experience. The importance of these memorable events is evident during the “Memories” portion of the Sixth Grade Graduation ceremony, when our graduates recall highlights of their years at Trinity. Honoring these joyful traditions was a top priority of the music team, from the patriotism of the Pre-K Olympics to the magic of the Fifth Grade’s Nutcracker performance.

Mrs. Phyllis leads Pre-K students Quint and Pureheart in a vocal exploration exercise to help students adjust to singing with masks.

Third Grader Parker holds up a pair of eighth notes from his music kit. The kits provide manipulatives to help students identify notes and understand rhythmic values.

While some annual performances, including various festive sing-a-longs and school-wide programs, were not possible this year due to pandemic restrictions, it was very important for us to fi nd a way to reimagine the Upper Elementary Division holiday performance. Each year, this musical program serves as a warm and merry send off for the whole Trinity community, set in the beautiful location of Trinity Presbyterian Church where the School has its roots. Reimagining the holiday performance aff orded us the opportunity to include representation from all Trinity students, from our youngest learners to members of our Leadership Class. Seeking to create a program that was illustrative of our richly diverse population, we focused on a theme of light and hope with the intent to inspire the community to persevere and not lose sight of the spirit of the holidays. From Diwali and Hanukkah to Kwanzaa and Christmas, these holidays were represented through snapshots of curriculum-driven music activities already taking place in the music class. Captured through fi lm and photography and edited together, the fi nal presentation brought together the diverse population of Trinity School and the simple beauty of unity through music. “I felt so excited to share about Diwali with all my friends,” says First Grader Annika. From masks and music kits to social distancing and reimagining traditions, our new guidelines and tools are allowing us to fulfi ll our wish that our students experience the same joy, deep learning, skill building, and sense of security as any other school year. Before music class even begins, lessons are created intentionally for students to share music with friends, become inspired to learn more, foster innate abilities, and develop an aesthetic awareness of the arts. This is all done because, in the words of Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, “only the best is good Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, “only the best is good enough for a child.”

“I loved when I got to express myself by dancing to the music with my scarf,” says Third Grader Emily. “It was like a wonderland where I could express what I felt.” “My favorite part of the [Nutcracker] experience was the fi lming, because I felt like a movie star,” says Fifth Grader Jack.

Third Grader Aiden reinforces his music literacy skills by identifying diff erent notes in a known folk song in SeeSaw.