Grades 1–4
Private Instruction: 1/2 hour, 3/4 hour, or 1 hour (1/2-hour lessons are available only to students in grades 1 and 2)
Techniques of Music: 1-hour class
Workshops and Recitals
Large Ensembles: String Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Brazilian Percussion Ensemble, or Junior Chorus
Students grades 1–4 enter the Junior Program, designed to give the young musician a comprehensive grounding in music fundamentals and to introduce more advanced topics. Techniques of Music courses include written theory and ear training and introduce
works from the literature.
Elementary Techniques of Music
Students learn basic music material through movement, singing, and listening. Coordination, rhythmic awareness, and basic reading are emphasized during the first two years, and fundamentals of music theory and form are stressed in years three and four.
Guided listening acquaints children with appropriate selections of significant literature and develops their listening skills.
Intermediate Techniques of Music
Students continue the work begun in the elementary courses, including more advanced sight-reading and melodic dictation. Harmony and species counterpoint are introduced. Listening is expanded to include longer selections. The emotional and expressive
qualities of a work are discussed in addition to theoretical concepts. Intermediate courses include intensive reviews of previously learned materials in order to establish a firm foundation for musical growth.