Primary School Update: Starting on the Right Note

Primary School music teacher Philip Montgomery has taught his second grade students to understand a musical “code.” With a series of silent hand signs, he can cue them to sing the exact do-re-mi melodic and rhythmic pattern he’s signaling—no words required, just a student’s inner hearing. But it’s no magic trick: it’s the result of three years in the Primary School music program, where students follow a spiraling curriculum, learning to read and write musical notation, improvise, and even compose.

 

The Primary School music curriculum is based on the educational philosophy of Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian composer who believed that singing was the most accessible way to teach children the fundamentals of musicianship. Instead of placing sheet music in front of a student and trying to teach them the notes on a staff and the difference between a half note and a quarter note without context, the Kodály method flips the order, teaching sounds before symbols. Children learn to distinguish between rhythms and pitches by developing their musical ear through singing, movement, games, improvisation, and playing classroom instruments. Philip became certified to teach the Kodály method in 2002 and now instructs other music educators as a faculty member of Kodály Music Institute. He also incorporates elements of the Orff-Schulwerk and Dalcroze methodologies into his music curriculum by weaving in xylophones, drums, and movement.

 

Kindergarteners start with a readiness curriculum that is built around songs, movement, and games. Rather than getting bogged down in musical vocabulary, says Philip, “the song material allows children to naturally explore different components of musical sound–to identify what they hear as fast, slow, loud, soft, smooth, or staccato.” Throughout the year, Kindergarten students build a repertoire of songs that they will revisit in later grades to read and write their rhythmic and melodic patterns.

 

In first grade, students are introduced to solfège, the do-re-mi system, and the corresponding Curwen hand signs that help train students’ ears to recognize interval relationships. First graders learn to read rhythmic and melodic notation from the staff and start to recognize the meter of groups of beats, grasping the function of bar lines, double bar lines, and repeat signs.  As their skills grow, students are able to sight read and sing notes from flashcards using solfège and rhythmic syllables, and they make connections to familiar songs. Students also notate the pitch and rhythm that they hear on individual whiteboards with musical staves. To reinforce these skills in a fun and interactive way, students play games like Busted, where they draw popsicle sticks marked with rhythms, clap the pattern, and play until they pull a “busted” stick and lose their turn. First graders also use iPads and the Smartboard for music games, such as Rhythm Swing and Match the Melody, which help them practice pitch and rhythm recognition through play.

 

 

In second grade, students work with longer songs that have more defined melodic and rhythmic forms, and they begin improvising and composing their own music. In a recent class, students explored the AABA form of “Hot Cross Buns” by improvising their own versions of the song on xylophones. Between group renditions of the original melody, each student took a turn playing a personal variation of the tune. The class then came together for an improvised finale, listening to each other carefully so that they could play in unison. In a subsequent class, students notated their version on the staff.

 

While the Kodály method establishes a strong musical foundation, it also cultivates essential cognitive skills, including memory, pattern recognition, and focused listening, that support the development of the whole student. The emphasis on singing encourages vocal and creative expression, while games and movement activities help young students develop coordination. At the same time, the students’ mathematical thinking is engaged as they rearrange flashcards with note patterns to explore all the different variations they can create.

 

When Philip first joined Fay’s music department thirty years ago, young musicians received a recorder, a method book, and a lesson on note values like whole notes and half notes, all while they were trying to figure out the fingering. “I would have tears,” Philip recalls, “because all the foundational steps were missing.” Today, when Fay’s third graders pick up the recorder, they already have years of experience with music literacy. For Philip, that’s the goal: to not only ensure students are ready to pick up an instrument in third grade, but to prepare them for all the musical possibilities that lie ahead.