Music

The music program Concord Hill has a foundation in musical exploration and creativity. Students meet twice weekly at each grade level to sing, dance, listen, and create. Rhythm, beat, tempo, pitch, melody, and more are taught through active music-making and play. Guided by the Orff Schulwerk pedagogy emphasizing pentatonic exploration, folk music, and dance, students learn to play and improvise using pitched and unpitched percussion instruments in Concord Hill’s own Orff Instrumentarium. Dalcroze-based movement activities teach tempo, beat, musical expression, and phrasing supporting gross and locomotor skills, while mallet and small percussion techniques influence students’ fine motor development. Kodaly solfege signs and syllables support vocal development and pitch awareness, and are often combined with directional movement to reinforce the concept of pitch.

Each year of musical study expands on skills and concepts previously taught, culminating in weekly recorder lessons and note-reading and writing proficiency in Third Grade. Periodical performances showcase the students’ hard work and musical development and build confidence with public speaking and stage performance. Our Friday Morning Community Meeting culminates each week and includes joyous community singing.