you can throw the vocabulary and assessments in here and there - but it ’ s the experience of what music has to offer . And it ’ s playing games with your friends that you think are just games , but really I ’ m assessing your ability to match pitch , I can assess and help you build all these skills . And it stays with them . Everyone sings . Everyone takes a turn . So , with First Steps , I like the purposeful play , I like the framework , the ability to take the recipe and make it your own --- that allows you to integrate it and make it into whatever is going on in the school . It gives the students , teachers , and parents consistent , friendly language to describe what it means to be a musical person . The parents understand that these are the skills and components that help you build your musical ability . You know , anyone can sing . Here ’ s the recipe to help you get there . And so that helps parents to see and understand ...
C : They ’ re able to see it more from a growth mindset , instead of ...
K : Being fixed and saying “ I can or I can not .” It ’ s no longer that music is something you can or can not do . Or “ I ’ m talented or I ’ m not .” It ’ s an “ I ’ m not there yet . Here are the things I need to do to get there .” And they ’ re playing while they ’ re doing it . So they don ’ t necessarily realize it ’ s work until you share with them . When you give them feedback , and you say “ Could you try using more of a singing voice ?” It ’ s not “ You ’ re terrible .” It ’ s that “ I noticed that you ’ re singing with your speaking voice .” ( Which is what many people do , which leads them to think they cannot sing .) “ Oh , when we did Pitch Exploration , I loved that you made your voice go into that head voice place . Could we try it again on our owl / whale voice ? Or try it as an echo ?” ( We have been known to make strange sounds in the music room .) So you ’ re giving them the skills that they need , and the feedback they need , and they ’ re playing and it just becomes natural . Solo singing is natural . Everyone takes a turn . Isn ’ t that great ?
C : I loved how you got them excited for that by asking them if they were “ up for a challenge ”. And you could see every kid just sitting up a little bit straighter -- just getting ready for that challenge . They wanted it . It was really obvious .
K : And that ’ s the growth mindset piece . It ’ s really celebrating that this might be out of our comfort zone but we ’ re going to try it with a good attitude and if we can ’ t do it yet that ’ s OK . And I think as adults we forget that their mindset is still developing , and hopefully we can model that experience so that music becomes something that is truly for everyone .
Catherine is MMEA ’ s VP of General Music Pre-K-5 . You can contact her at mainemmeagmpk5vp @ gmail . com . Look for “ Part Two ” of Catherine ’ s conversation with Kaitlin in a future edition of the Motif .