Kindergarten Music
The song “Do Re Mi” could be heard echoing down the halls of Jose Ortega as the kindergarten students learned about musical scales. Parent Alicia Yang, who leads the kindergarten music enrichment, used boomwhackers, tuned plastic percussion tubes, to walk the students through playing scales. Ms. Yang is a professional violinist who plays with the SF Symphony and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, among other ensembles. She also teaches violin.
Ms. Yang says, “Having already taught Music Time sessions at my daughter’s preschool, I was comfortable volunteering to do something similar when she entered Jose Ortega last fall. Since the SF Symphony’s AIM program, of which JOES is a participant, doesn’t include the Kindergarten grade level, it was a natural niche to fill. I’m so glad to be able to contribute to Jose Ortega Elementary by teaching a monthly music time for all the K classes. Music instruction can build self-esteem, improve spatial concepts, and improve reading ability.”
Her goals for the music time are “for the children to get to hear live instrumental music and participate in music-making themselves. I introduce basic concepts of rhythm and pitch, and get the kids to compose for each other and work as a team. I want them to observe the natural materials instruments are made from and show how they work to create sound.”
What have been the children’s favorite parts? “All of it! Getting to try a violin, and using the Boomwhackers sound tubes.”
In March, Ms. Yang’s husband, Amos, joined her at kindergarten music time to demonstrate the cello. He’s a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, and he played for the students, using musical games to demonstrate concepts of volume, tempo, and vibrato. He showed them that a cello can play both very high notes and very low ones, and that it can be both very quiet and very loud. The students had many musical requests for Amos including “ABC”, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and “Spiderman”. He also chose some of the songs, such as Brahms’s Lullaby, and asked them how each one made them feel.
The students were full of questions for Amos. They wanted to know if a cello is the same as a big violin, why it has a “long pointy thing at the bottom” (the endpin), and whether he could play it like a guitar. The children had a great time; they were very engaged and seemed to truly appreciate the chance to learn about this fascinating musical instrument.
Jose Ortega’s grades 1-5 participate in the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music (AIM) program. The PTA provided the funds for instructional materials for kindergarten music enrichment.
