About our Unique Music and Movement Program

Age specific classes (0-11mos, 1-2yrs, 2-3yrs, 3-4yrs, 4-6 yrs.) that are responsive to the musical, physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of each child. Music skills are introduced in accordance with each child's capabilities and developmental readiness.

Solid musical progression - Core music skills are built upon each week without children realizing that they are actively "learning". Classes progress in very small logical steps from sound to symbols, from imitation to improvisation, from the simplest to the most advanced musicianship. Learning occurs through direct musical experiences that involve the entire body; creative movement, active listening, problem-solving, comparison, and guided question-and-answer.

Our exclusive song books and CD’s designed to raise children’s (and their parents’) interest in music and ensure a seamless continuity between home, class and future instrumental lessons. There are three books (Pentatonic, La and Do). In every class we sing a selection of the songs and gradually children experience more complicated musical concepts in class activities.

Multi-sensory teaching that support’s the unique learning styles of each individual child. We believe that ALL children can achieve basic music competence with the right approach. New concepts are presented in as many different ways as possible: enabling children to feel it, see it, hear it and know it.

We promote music literacy - Basic notation is gently introduced through pictures and stories, in an age appropriate way. By the age of 5 or 6, ALL Colourstrings-trained children can read and write basic music notation, are able to feel musicality, have a highly developed sense of rhythm and pitch and will be ready to progress naturally onto an instrument through Colourstrings if they wish to.

Our program integrates seamlessly into instrumental training (41/2 - 7 years). Favourite songs from the music and movement program reappear in the instrumental books. A colour-coded system of notation simplifies the process of learning to read music whilst an overall sense of play engages the children into highly focused studies.

Course Descriptions

In all 3 - 6 year classes children attend independent of parental support. Parents and carers will be given hand outs on a regular basis that reinforce what we have been learning in the class. You will also be invited to our parent participation days towards the end of each session

3-4 year - Interactive musical games 
Puppets, ribbons, instruments and parachutes are an integral part of each class. For the first time young children are encouraged to sing, move and play instruments independently of parental support, however parents may attend until your child feels comfortable. Through our playful approach children are unaware that we now progress onto specific musical details in the Colourstrings songbooks such as dynamics, tempo, form, pitch and beat which ultimately lead towards a deep musical understanding.

Children enjoy interactive games in partners or small groups. Musical stories captivate each child's imagination and encourage them to share ideas in a supportive musical environment where individual creativity is encouraged.

The focus is on developing pitch through creative movement (body sol-fa) and preparing the concept of rhythm by connecting speech patterns through clapping and instrument play. Games with the rhythm bears introduce the children to pre-music reading skills.

4-5 year class -  Rhythmic notation
Singing games, dancing and musical stories are immersed in weekly classes that challenge children's aural perception and develop musicality using the basic music concepts. Children are encouraged to explore and create rhythmic and melodic patterns with xylophone’s, glockenspiel’s, hand bells, body percussion and their voice. The introduction of basic solfège (do, re, mi) underpins the sub-conscious understanding of pitch. Curwen hand signs are learnt which help children to sing more accurately in-tune and visualize when the pitches of songs go up and down and how they relate to each other. 

Beat and rhythm are now combined together in partner games and the children start to do two different things at the same time which leads onto 2 part singing. The ensemble aspect of music making is emphasized through the creating, reading and performing of music together.

The focus is on developing accuracy in pitch and rhythm, putting creative ideas into musical language and teaching what music means when they see it written down. The rhythm bears lead the children onto reading and writing rhythmic notation and through songs and pictures the first elements of melodic notation are introduced.

5-6 year class - Pitch notation
Playground style musical games challenge children’s aural perception through more complex songs and creative movement. Our dynamic, high energy classes use colourful resources, parachutes, glockenspiels and some of the most beautiful instruments from around the world to help bring alive the musical points.

Through creative movement, improvising and composing children develop awareness of musical form and expression as they become more involved in making choices about the use of dynamics and tempo within a song.  The group is frequently divided to develop 2 part singing (rounds), ostinato (a repeated rhythmic or melodic pattern) and performing pulse and rhythm simultaneously.

The focus is on developing music literacy and reinforcing music concepts. Musical vocabulary is familiarised using pictures, flash cards and movement games. Now that their ears have been ‘finely tuned’ we sing in Solfege (do,re.mi) with hand signs which enables children to listen to music and transcribe it onto paper, and to look at sheet music and hear it internally without the use of an instrument challenge children’s aural perception.

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