At AVS we use the “First Steps in Music curriculum,” created by renowned educator John Feierabend, Ph.D. This curriculum is designed to prepare children to become musical through a variety of songs, activities, games, and rhymes. Children discover the joy of music while developing listening, language, motor, creative, and social skills. Our goal is to help each child discover their natural musical aptitude, build a musical vocabulary, nourish musical intelligence, and develop a lifelong love for music.
Children who are tuneful have tunes in their heads and have learned to coordinate their voices to sing those tunes. We cultivate tunefulness in classes by learning proper vocal technique and by singing echo, call & response, and simple songs. Children are also encouraged to make up spontaneous tunes of their own during classes.
Children who are beatful are able to feel the pulse of music and how that pulse is grouped in either twos or threes. We cultivate beatfulness in class by keeping the beat of chants and songs on our bodies as well as on instruments.
Children who are artful are able to demonstrate sensitivity to emotion in music, and respond accordingly. We cultivate artfulness in class by moving expressively to a variety of styles and types of music. This includes fingerplays, action songs, circle games, and moving to the form and melodic lines of music without words.