Music at Mountain Road is a hands-on excursion into the creative process.
What is our teaching philosophy for music? Mark Kelso’s teaching philosophy based on his experience (and also his study of psychobiology) is:
Music can be really fun
The more fun it is, the more we do it
The more we do it, the better we get at it
The better we get at it, the more fun it is, etc.
As many people learn more about music, their brains start localizing the function, thus reducing the enjoyable “whole brain” effect that a more “fun” approach to music engenders. Music is less a skill to be acquired than it is a language to be exposed to through direct involvement in a community of music making.
What are the children learning? For the second half of the school year we will be focusing on recording a full length CD with the theme of the Sacred Spirit in Nature, featuring both original and well known songs. Throughout the production of the CD which (will include field trips to Mark’s 1000 square foot professional recording studio for recording sessions!) We will be focusing on the following areas of musical performance and recording:
1) What does it mean to stay on pitch? How can we tell when we are singing sharp or flat?
2) What is a “groove” applied to the rhythm of a song?
3) How do we keep all of this skill level in place while still offering our true spirits to the music and our listeners?
4) What goes into arranging a song for recording and how do we go about recording all the different parts?
5) Once the parts are recorded, how do we edit, mix, master them into a final song and put that into a final CD?
6) How do we humbly accept all the accolades that will be heaped upon us by our family, friends, and the media when we finally finish this project?
What songs will the children learn? In addition to these specific skill sets, we will also be learning a number of songs.
The proposed songlist includes:
1) A new version of O Light of the World by Mark Kelso with lyrics to be revised by the children.
2) Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
3) I Love the Earth by David Grover
4) Take Good Care by Susan Osborn
5) An as yet to be written song by our very own Isaac
6) A new song by the children
7) Habitat by Bill Oliver
Heyaho by Sarai (whom the children know from her work as a teacher in residence during Gathering of Gratitude held in January)
9) Prayer for All by Mark Kelso
10) Prairie Child by Bert Marshall
11) Sacre Coeur (already recorded by some of the children two years ago for a benefit for a hospital in Haiti serving the poorest of the poor.
This entire list is subject to change because CD projects have a life of their own. Hopefully the children themselves will also record at least part of the instrumental backgrounds to these vocal songs.
Will this CD be available to the public? We hope to donate the CD itself to the group supporting the Sacre Coeur hospital in Haiti for use in their fundraising. We are currently working out these details and how we will make the CD available in the US.
Will there be a local concert? Yes. Please come to our Open House on March 20th from 1-3 to hear a few of these songs sung by the children of Mountain Road School.
