Musical Literacy
Learning rhythm and pitch starts in kindergarten
Pear - note - watermelon – music. The students read it, then clap it.
They are learning to read rhythm—a foundation of musical literacy—with Meadow Pond Elementary’s music teacher Melissa Richardson.
“The notes and pictures correspond by the syllables each word has. For instance, we call a quarter note ‘NOTE,’ two eighth notes ‘MU-SIC,’ and four 16th notes “WA-TER-MEL-ON,’” said Richardson. “I start out with mostly simple pictures and read them with the children while keeping a steady beat. As we practice, I add more and more classic notation. By fourth and fifth grade the students are reading straight notation.”
Students also have time to sing - and enjoy Richardson singing to them.