Dear HCS students and families,

I already miss being in the classroom with you!  While this new and different situation is not something any of us are used to, I know that music and art can help guide us all through and that we will be back together again. Hang in there!   For now, I am putting together a plan of action for musical adventure and learning outside of the music room! On the side menu, you will see a tab called "Online Resources and Lessons during CoViD-19".  This is where I will upload materials by grade level.   

Families and tutors, in accordance with a regular March and April of the school year, I am working my very best to provide the closest model of what students would be experiencing in the music classroom that could be replicated outside the music room.  Some activities will require being able to access sound files here on my website. I have also included below a list of other generic musical experiences and activities to pick from. I strongly encourage that somewhere during the course of a hopefully scheduled and structured weekday at home, your child or children get an opportunity to either create, perform, or listen and respond to something musical once a day.  These do not all need to happen each day, of course, and the length of time does not need to be very long. Even 5-10 minutes of musical activity can be enough to keep the spark of creativity burning!

Some generic activities that touch these three core areas of music education and a suggested calendar week could look something like:

MONDAY

*Improvise/find sounds around the house and turn them into organized music patterns

*Improvise with the voice in various ways

TUESDAY

*Create a planned work of music, of various forms (song lyrics and/or melodies, instrumental pieces)

*Create an ostinato (a short repeated musical idea using a rhythm or melody) to accompany a favorite song or piece of music

WEDNESDAY

*Perform for others a known song or piece with the voice or on an instrument

*Practice a song or piece with the voice or on an instrument

THURSDAY

*Listen and respond to a favorite song or piece of music

FRIDAY

*Regular music class lesson

Finally, while I know most minds are elsewhere right now, this is a reminder that March is Music In Our Schools month!  Even if we are not in school, let’s not stop the music at home!