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MUSIC THEORY
Enrichment Classes expound upon the understanding and
appreciation of music and the fine arts to the glory of God.
AGES 0 - 5
Our Music Play class is for our youngest Nashville Notes musicians - ages 0-3 are welcome to participate with an accompanying parent and ages 4-5 are welcome to participate as a drop off (parents are still welcome!) This class focuses on experiencing music through movement and activity.
- Each semester they learn about a composer of classical music while focusing on specific instruments of the orchestra, melodic direction of the tune, rhythmic elements, and more! They also enjoy moving to music with scarves and ribbon streamers.
- - Students learn how to read rhythm notation while playing classroom instruments like rhythm sticks, bucket drums, Boomwhackers, and other unpitched percussion!
- Singing games are used as an important musical foundation skill with students learning solfege syllables and steady beat while having fun with their classmates.
As an Orff-Schulwerk certified and Kodaly trained teacher, RaeAnna Goss believes that laying a foundation for music starts in these young years as children experience moving to the steady beat and are introduced to music notation through Kodaly rhythm symbols and solfege. They focus on quarter note, quarter rest, and paired eighth notes. Students are also introduced to the full diatonic scale, but singing games and activities focus on the intervals sol and mi.
Music Play
Grace Notes Music Foundations
AGES 6-8
Our Grace Notes Music Foundations continues building on skills taught in Music Play students are taught quarter note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes, and are also introduced to half notes and whole notes. Students learn the solfege scale and aurally identify the sol-mi intervals along with the added note la. As an Orff-Schulwerk and Kodaly trained teacher, I believe in the sequential process of teaching music skills through imitation, composition, and improvisation.
- Each semester we learn about a composer of classical music while focusing on specific instruments of the orchestra, melodic direction of the tune, rhythmic elements, and more! We enjoy moving to music with scarves and ribbon streamers.
- Rhythm and melody are performed in class with rhythm sticks, bucket drums, Boomwhackers, and other unpitched percussion!
- Singing games are used as an important musical foundation skill with students singing solfege syllables and steady beat while having fun with their classmates.
We are not a performance group but we love having parents join us for an “informance” at the end of the semester, sharing some of our favorite activities from class.
Recorders & Rhythm
AGES 9-11
Recorders and Rhythm is a new and exciting offering created especially for our older elementary students at Nashville Notes. This course focuses on building rhythmic precision and instrumental fluency in preparation for older choirs and instrumental ensembles.
Students will use a variety of percussion instruments and drum sticks to explore more advanced rhythmic concepts, including syncopation, eighth–sixteenth note combinations, and multiple time signatures. These skills are essential stepping stones toward more complex ensemble work. Recorders will also be used to demonstrate and reinforce knowledge of note reading on the treble staff, helping students connect written notation with practical performance skills.
No prior experience is necessary — only curiosity and a willingness to learn. While this is a non-performing group, there will be special opportunities throughout the year for students to share what they’ve learned with their families and celebrate their growth as young instrumentalists.
Students at Nashville Notes in instrumental and choral ensembles designated with an asterisk in the Course Catalog, receive instruction in the essential topics of music theory and aural skills as part of their education to help them develop as a holistic musician. This 30 minute class is included with and in addition to instrumental ensembles and Joyful Harmony Choir.
Musicianship & Theory (M&T)
Have you enjoyed Musicianship & Theory classes and want to dig deeper into some of the topics? Comprehension of basic building blocks of classical music and their relationships unlocks a whole new world of understanding how music works and what a fascinating system it is in all its beauty and full of various emotions. The course will cover topics (but not limited to) like intervals (perfect, major, minor, augmented, diminished), chords and their inversions, chord progressions, scales and key signatures (major and minor, circle of fifths, modes, chromatic and whole-tone scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, etc.) clefs, rhythm, and more.
This course is open to students who have completed or test out of the M&T course.