The Wyalusing Music Program
with Mr. Clinton
Wyamusic
Music For All,
All For Music
Teaching 21st Century Skills
Learning to be better Human Beings
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Music For All:
Music is a fundamental element of humanity. We all experience and interact with music in a deep and profound way. There are even studies supporting the assertion that music is as essential a part of the profoundly deaf as is it in the hearing. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that understands the depth of experience and interaction that is music. If your cochlea is impaired, you still only miss a few out of the staggering multitude of facets that comprise music. Music is so intrinsic to humanity, that even those who claim "not to like" music are equally affected by it, brain scans showing the same modes of engagement regardless of affinity. Our brains sing and dance and hum along, even if we don't ever entertain the thought outside our own heads.
For this reason among myriad others, it is essential for all children to actively engage with music. Music is not the ditty that gets stuck in your head, it IS your head, and your body. It is an integral part of your "peopleness". By exposure, curiosity, and experimentation from birth on we assimilate with this world physically, mentally, and socially - we learn to use our hands, and walk, and feed ourselves, and speak and communicate. Throughout life we continue to deepen ourselves through exposure, curiosity, and experimentation. These processes in music are widely interconnected, and music is an essential link in every human being's growth as a human being. This is why "Music for All" is so important, and so satisfying.
Basic Program
From Kindergarten through Eighth Grade at Wyalusing, we provide all of our students with exposure and engagement with music in General Music classes. These classes are designed to engage students in the process of language development in music, language being the decoding and encoding of abstract states in our minds. We learn to engage in musical conversation, and we learn to both 'speak' and 'understand' in the complex language of music. We 'speak' with our singing voices, as well as through many different classroom instruments, learning to express ourselves more clearly as we develop, as well as learning how to interpret the expressions of others more fully. We learn to join with others in joint expression, as well as expressing ourselves individually, all through the language of music. As we grow we also learn to read and write this language in order to preserve and share our own musical thoughts and ideas, as well as decode the musical thoughts and ideas of others preserved and shared with us across cultures and throughout history.
Dedicated Musical Ensembles
When Students reach Fifth Grade, we provide opportunities for students to advance themselves musically through different performing groups. We offer Orchestra, Chorus, and Band beginning in Elementary School for children to take the musical language and expression they have been developing since Kindergarten and refine it by specializing in specific instruments as part of an ensemble in Orchestra and Band, and by further developing their singing skills as part of a large group in Chorus.
High School Performing Ensembles
Once Students reach Seventh Grade, they have opportunities to further specialize and refine their musical skills. In Jr. High students continue to develop a strong foundation in their knowledge and technique, both vocally and in their instrumental studies. In High School Students develop their musicality further and learn to refine their skills in increasingly self-guided studies. Throughout their time in Jr. High and High School these students are part of an ensemble and a musical community that motivates, encourages, and reinforces their development, while regular performances exemplify the joy, community, and teamwork of making music.