What is at the core?
We find it is beneficial to have the elements of theory, history, and musical movement integrated and emphasized in the City Music Center classroom so time with your private teacher can be spent refining technique and improving performance ability.
The goals of the City Music Center classroom are to become a better listener, reader,
and performer of music. Through listening and movement activities, students learn
to perceive and discriminate among the rhythmic and structural elements of music:
tempo, dynamics, articulation, pitch, pulse, meter, rhythmic and melodic patterns,
phrasing and simple form. Students are supported in developing a kinesthetic and independent
understanding of those elements that can be artistically applied during musical performances. Three levels of musical movement courses are offered at City Music Center. Each level
is a two-year cycle: Movement in Music Level 1 Movement in Music Level 2 Movement in Music Level 3 Musicianship courses are offered at various levels to meet students needs. Each level
is a two-year cycle or more: Musicianship I Musicianship II Musicianship III Advanced Musicianship General Musicianship This 6-year cyclical curriculum ensures all students (new & returning) can join the
experience at any time! If you're unsure of what direction to take or if you need additional information,
please reach out to our team at City Music Center!Saturday Classroom Overview
Kindergarten and Grade 1
(Saturdays 10:00-10:30am)
Work at this level is designed to bring the building blocks of music to the student
through rhythmic movement, singing, listening and creating. Students explore these
building blocks (beat, rhythm, melody, form, articulation, analysis, meter and solfege)
through ear training with syllables, rhythmic and melodic sight-reading, and active
listening. Students will begin to layer musical concepts such as melody and rhythm, rhythm and form, sol-fa syllables and movement.
Grades 2 and 3
(Saturdays 11:00-11:30am)
Designed to challenge the student to a more thorough understanding of the elements
of music: binary rhythm patterns, conducting patterns, syncopation, major scale patterns
and intervals, ostinato, simple form, solfege and expressive elements of music. *This is a partner-course with Musicianship I in the second year.
Grades 4 and 5
(Saturdays 12:00-12:30pm)
Students take a deeper look at the elements of music. Music is analyzed in detail
through movement, solfege and improvisation. Advanced musical concepts are presented
and the students are challenged to create rhythmic movement that describes both the
musical concepts and analysis. *This is a partner-course with Musicianship I in the first year and Musicianship II
in the second year.
Beginning Piano
Grades K-2
(Saturdays 9:00-9:45am)
Young students explore the keyboard as a collective group. Students enjoy music-making
with a fun and supportive twist that helps engage young learners in preparation for
musicianship concepts.
Grades 3 and 4
(Saturdays 10:00-10:45am)
Students in Musicianship 1 learn the basics of reading and writing rhythms and melodies.
They demonstrate their theory skills by echoing, performing, and taking dictation
of rhythmic and melodic patterns, creating their own patterns, and applying their
theory skills to the music they are studying in lessons.
Grades 5 and 6
(Saturdays 11:00-11:45pm)
In Musicianship 2, students expand their knowledge of music reading, notation, and
sight-reading skills. Students will begin to analyze the structure of scales and chords,
as well as the harmonic organization of a composition.
Grades 7 and 8
(Saturdays 11:00-11:45am)
Students in Musicianship 3 continue to expand their knowledge of scales, chords, and
harmonic analysis, while they discover opportunities for practical implementation
of their theoretical knowledge and experiment with original composition. Students
learn to sing at sight, distinguish between various types of intervals and chords,
dictate rhythms and melodies, and expand their capacity to interpret more challenging
rhythms and meters.
Grades 9-12
(Saturdays 12:00-12:45pm)
Reserved for students with advanced working knowledge of music theory and practice,
this course allows for advanced musicians to work in small numbers alongside faculty
to craft a custom curriculum that is challenging, motivating, and rewarding. Building
on skills acquired in previous coursework, students focus on the evolutionary path
of harmony through historical and cultural lenses leading up to the jazz era. Students
also explore advanced concepts through composition exercises, active listening, and
analysis while getting to know some of the world's most prolific contemporary musicians
and composers.
New Students
(Saturdays 12:00-12:45pm)
General Musicianship is an individualized course where new students learn the foundations
of music and ear-training, in both large-group and one-on-one instruction. The self-paced
course is designed so that students may join their same-age peers in the standard
Musicianship track once they attain a certain level of knowledge and skill.
Music History
Grades 6-12
(Saturdays 10:00-10:45am)
Students in Music History learn of the connection between music and culture throughout
history, how music evolves over time, and how historic trends remain relevant in today's
musical culture. Students contemplate and connect music from the prehistoric to the
present including Western art music from the eras of Antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance,
Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, and popular music history of the United States.Questions?
City Music Center