Philosophy

“My education and experiences have led me to believe that positive psychology is the key to learning and retention.”

– Neal Spitzer

 

My repertoire includes classic nursery rhymes and songs that have proven the test of time.  I am always open to the songs that are being introduced by teachers or would like to be introduced by classroom teachers.  I look forward to collaborating with the classroom teachers to introduce songs that help with days of the week, counting, self-esteem, etc.

 

My goal is to create self-motivated, creative learners. Through the means of positive psychology we can create a high-gain, low-risk environment for learning through play. We recognize and celebrate that every child has their own unique needs for learning and many ways to express themselves creatively.

Positive Psychology and Music Together

 

In positive psychology, a “flow” state is the mental state in which a child performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. You often hear professional athletes and other performers referring to this state as “being in the zone.” This feeling of exhilaration and accomplishment ties in with the theory that cognitive abilities are socially guided and constructed. In short, culture and our experiences serve as a mediator for the formation and development of specific abilities, such as learning, memory, attention, and problem solving. Understanding and adapting the activities to the ages of our young learners is also a major key to learning. At this stage in their development, we focus primarily on Trust, Autonomy and Initiative.

 

All of this is done through movement and music! Creating lesson plans that engage our young learners to sing, dance, and play music is how we succeed in building a “flowing” learning experience. The class involves a collaboration of professional musicians and students playing music together. 

 

Core to my own teaching principles is the philosophy of experiential learning. The process of I do (teacher models how to play), We do (collaborative playing), and You do (students play independently) is the foundation for creating his lesson plans. We learn by playing music together.

“Most people think being musical is a question of talent—you either have it or you don't. While that may sound reasonable, it's completely untrue! All children can learn to dance and sing just as naturally as they learn to walk and talk. With this in mind, we formulated four basic principles that guide everything we do.”

 

• All children are born musical.

  • All children can achieve basic music competence—that is, they can learn to sing in tune and dance accurately to a beat.

  • It's crucial that parents and caregivers participate in class and model music-making for their children in class and at home, regardless of their own musical ability.

  • The environment that best fosters young children's musical growth is playful, musically rich, and developmentally appropriate.

The educator can learn from the students while practicing and playing together, and adapt the activities on an individual level. Rather than focusing on a single measure of human cognitive ability, it is helpful to consider all of the different (and unique) mental strengths that an individual may possess. In that light, our lesson plans are designed to celebrate all learning styles that your children will bring to our program.

The following are guidelines that I have used from the New York State Department of Education Music Standards for PK-12th Grade.  All of these concepts are present in music throughout the educational process (PK-12) and are adjusted according to the developmental abilities and cognitive development of our young learners.  As we grow and assess the abilities of our students, we can scaffold their learning process with the sky as the limit.

Standards for PK Learners:
 

• With substantial guidance, explore and experience a variety of music.

• With substantial guidance, explore favorite musical ideas(such as movements, vocalizations, or instrumental accompaniments).

• With substantial guidance, select and keep track of the order for performing original musical ideas, using iconic notation and/or recording technology. 

• With substantial guidance, consider personal, peer, and teacher feedback when demonstrating and refining musical ideas.

• With substantial guidance, share revised musical ideas with peers.

• With substantial guidance, demonstrate and state preference for varied musical selections provided by the teacher.

• With substantial guidance, explore and demonstrate awareness of musical contrasts.

• With substantial guidance, explore music’s expressive qualities(such as voice quality, dynamics, and tempo).

  With guidance, demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities(such as voice quality, dynamics, and tempo) 

•  With substantial guidance, practice and demonstrate what they like about their own performances.

• With substantial guidance, apply personal, peer, and teacher feedback to refine performances.

•  With substantial guidance, perform music with expression. 

• Respond appropriately to aural and visual cues.

• With substantial guidance, state personal interests and demonstrate why they prefer some teacher-provided music selections over others.

• With substantial guidance, exploremusical contrasts in music.

• With substantial guidance, explore music’s expressive qualities(such as dynamics and tempo).

• With substantial guidance, talk about personal and expressive preferences in music.

• Explore and imitate sounds found in the environment.

•  Imagine and describe places, times, and reasons for making and listening to music.

•  Illustrate musical ideas through movements (such as dramatizations of books or stories).

• Manipulate music concepts (such as tempo and dynamics) in order to express ideas.

• Perform/Explore folk music from a variety of cultures.

• With substantial guidance, explore personal preferences for varied musical styles and repertoire.