For those of you that are new to GBS, my name is Robert Kennedy and I am the Certified Kodaly Music Educator here at the Gillen Brewer School. During the upcoming open school night, my time with you will be limited to a quick hello to simply put the name with the face so I wanted to take some time here to let you know about myself.
Music has always been a part of my life. I was fortunate enough to have supportive parents and amazing music educators throughout my youth. It started with piano lessons during my formative years, the French Horn in middle school, the bass guitar in high school and then onto other instruments that have been discovered since then such as: guitar, ukulele, accordion, banjo, drums and harmonica. I ended up sharing this love of music and instruments with the children of The Parkside School when I became a substitute teacher in the early 90’s. During my breaks, I would schedule music sessions with the classes, promoting singing and dancing along to the music I remembered hearing as a child. This ended up being the seed of their music program - which was the first of its kind to combine Music Therapy with Music Education. During my employment at Parkside, I became certified as a Kodaly Music Educator at NYU while being mentored at work by one of my NYU music professors, as well as the staff of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic. Once again, I was fortunate to be surrounded by inspirational music educators. Shortly thereafter, I was given the reigns to be the music teacher and eventually became the head of The Parkside School Arts Department. During my time at Parkside, two teachers decided to start their own school (The Gillen Brewer School) and asked me to come and teach music on my day off. This program grew and grew and I decided to work here exclusively in 2005 and have been here ever since. To learn about the Kodaly Method: https://www.oake.org/about-us/the-kodaly-concept/ To learn about Music Therapy or Nordoff-Robbins: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/nordoff/therapy Music classes are held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with each class lasting 30 minutes. This year I was able to add a day to my work schedule so that every class can have music twice a week. The schedule is as follows:
Monday/Wednesday: Twisters, Robots, Orange Justice Monday/Tuesday: Break Dancers Tuesday/Thursday: yet to be named classes of Emmy, Rebecca/Marissa, Hannah Monday/Thursday: Shuffles, Worms, Cha Chas Music appreciation is fostered through carefully chosen folk and traditional songs and musical games from various cultures. These activities support learning opportunities that can lead to a foundation of basic musical terms and concepts. Nursery rhymes, finger plays, composed music, improvisation, singing, instrumental and movement activities, and dramatic music plays are the primary sources used to enjoy music intelligently and support the Gillen Brewer curriculum. The voice and body are used as the main instruments, with singing as the primary musical activity. Elements of music therapy are also incorporated into many lesson plans. Songs and activities typically contain various visual, audio, and physical elements meant to stimulate, serve, and confirm each child’s strength. Children are encouraged to participate in their own way. They can be given the option to sing, improvise, play instruments, show hand signs that represent the words, simply hum the melody, or move their bodies to represent the musical elements. A child’s motivation to participate in music can come from within the activity, whether it is a desire to play in an upcoming "musical game" or get a turn on an instrument. Through group activities such as structured instrumental pieces or musical games, the child becomes invested in the quality of his/her contribution to a musical piece and also the quality of the group’s musical effort and accomplishment. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me at [email protected] Sincerely, Robert Kennedy Kodaly Certified Music Educator |
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