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Getting started with music - Create a musical environment
Overview
Enjoy music everywhere - in the home, the car, at public events (e.g., concerts), and online. As parents all over the world know, children absorb information from their surroundings. Language is a great example. As Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki Method (aka Talent Education and the Mother Tongue Approach) noted, children learn the language(s) spoken at home. They so naturally through listening, trial and error, and constant exposure. They can learn multiple languages and learn to use vocabulary and sentence structures that are remarkably sophisticated. Try making music a fixture of your child’s environment. Encourage their enjoyment of it; enjoy music with them! Here’s how….
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https://hbms.org/Expert
Christopher Kenniff
Christopher Kenniff serves as the Dean of Programs at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, NY. Founded in 1944, Hoff-Barthelson Music School is one of the country’s premier community music schools with a national reputation for unsurpassed excellence. The School’s Mission is to inspire and develop each student’s potential through excellence in music education with a commitment to creativity, collaboration, and community. Its vision is to enrich lives and create community through music. The School serves over 800 students spanning all age groups, hailing from 50 municipalities across Westchester. Additionally, it extends its reach to another 250 students through partnerships with various community organizations and social service agencies across the county. Its esteemed faculty of 75 members includes some of the most distinguished educators in the region. Hoff-Barthelson offers comprehensive individual instruction in both classical music and jazz music; a sequential musicianship curriculum encompassing music theory, ear training, composition, music history, and music technology; ensembles including orchestras, choirs, chamber music ensembles, and jazz bands; masterclasses by world-renowned artists; scores of workshops, recitals, and concerts; a robust Suzuki program; early childhood instruction; outreach programs; and a summer music and arts program.
Steps
1
Enjoy playlists of your own creation, or ones that you find on any streaming platform.
What style of music is best?
- This is your opportunity to shape your child’s awareness and experience of music. You will also be shaping her/his taste. Think of music that is suitable for your child’s particular listening time - lullabies or classical or jazz collections for children suitable for bedtime. For the playroom, perhaps more lively selections. Don’t shy away from musical styles that you are not personally knowledgeable about. Try selecting a wide range of musical ensembles - orchestras, chamber music ensembles, choirs, folk music, more popular styles, etc… Find music on any streaming platform or online.
Enjoy listening and responding to music with your child
- You need not be very active in listening, just share that you too are enjoying the music and join in with how they are reacting to what they hear. This might include joining them in movement (dancing, jumping, running, twirling), singing/humming, clapping/tapping, or however they are experiencing music. Enjoy and have fun experiencing music with them in an authentically ‘childish’ manner!
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2
Enjoy live music
Find music in your community!
- In Westchester County, NY, Arts Westchester is a wonderful resource for arts events of all sorts, including music. Search their calendar for music events including ones that are specially curated for Music and for Family&Kids. Many events, such as summer outdoor free jazz concerts, are ‘adult’ events that children love. Community events are fun, enriching, and great for deepening your connection to your neighbors.
Keep an eye on the HBMS Calendar…
- …for the HB Artists Faculty Concert Series, masterclasses with visiting teaching artists working with young performers, and concerts featuring our choirs, orchestras, chamber groups, and jazz bands. Another wonderful way to connect to your community and encourage your child’s love for and experience of music.
Bring your children to events that feature children performing!
- Your child, like most children, expects adults to be able to do things that are amazing. But when they see/hear other children playing an instrument, they are oftentimes captivated in a very different way. Perhaps it is that they can more easily imagine themselves playing an instrument or singing one day? At the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, NY, children of all ages participate in free weekly recitals (Fridays, 6:30pm & 8:00 pm; Saturdays, 2:30 pm & 4:00 pm). Very young musicians (e.g., age 4-6) are often heard playing the piano, violin, cello, or guitar. Older children play an even wider range of instruments including woodwind and brass instruments on these concerts. At any rate, they are free, open to the public, casual, and really wonderful opportunities to enjoy music and perhaps even to discover which instrument your child might wish to play one day!
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Experience a class for free at an Open House for Hoff-Barthelson Music School
First Instrument and Junior Flute Club Sample Classes (1:00-2:15 pm)
Children (PreK-5) and their families are invited to explore our First Instrument Classes. Meet the instructors, try sample activities, and learn about piano, cello, flute, guitar, brass, and percussion group lessons. Flute players in grades 1-7 are invited to try out our Junior Flute Club.
Meet the Instruments (1:15-2:10 pm)
Parents and young children can explore and try out a variety of instruments—piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—in a fun, hands-on setting. A great way to discover which instruments inspire your child!
**Private Mini-Lessons (2:15-3:45 pm) Students (PreK-12) and adults can sign up for 15-minute mini-lessons to try private lessons with an HBMS
👉 Sunday, January 12, 2025, 1:00-3:45 pm | (Snow Date: Sunday, January 26, 2025, 1:00-3:45 pm)
RSVP is required. Use the link on this step to sign up.
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4
Meet the Dean
Finally, schedule a meeting with the dean to discuss your child's musical training and the school's offerings in detail. This meeting will help clarify any remaining questions and outline specific steps for your child's musical education.
Meeting with the dean will provide a comprehensive understanding of the school's philosophy and educational approach, ensuring it aligns with your family's goals.
Use the link on this step to access Dean's availability.
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