Music classes at the Earth School are facilitated through an innovative collaborative program with a local dedicated music school, The Third Street Music Settlement.

Teaching artists from Third Street hold weekly forty-five minute workshops at The Earth School for all children in Pre-K through 2nd Grade. The classes run for 26 weeks of the school year and culminate in our end-of-year performance in the school auditorium.

Older children who have been a part of our music program in grades Pre-K through 2nd, qualify for free individual instrument tuition at Third Street.

Music Program Details

"Sometimes Jean would tell stories with songs and it was fun. I like to make up my own story songs with my instruments because that is what a musician can do - just make it up! - and maybe someone else will like it. I think Jean would like all of my songs."
Jasper, Kindergarten The Earth School Music workshops are based on the Orff Approach, a developmental approach to music education for children originated by composer Carl Orff (1895-1982) that seeks, through improvisation, to make everyday activities the foundation for early music creation. Orff believed that percussion was a fundamental form of human expression for children and adults alike, and the workshops focus on the use of body percussion (clapping, marching), rhyming, rhythmic games that involve speech and language, and the use of simple un-tuned and tuned instruments such as bells and xylophones.

"It brought me to tears to see all the classes performing different songs that they learned during the school year, and to have this privilege at a public school makes me feel so lucky…"
Stella’s Mom The Orff Approach uses only pentatonic scales, which have five pitches per octave instead of the seven note major and minor scales. Pentatonic scales are the basis of much folk music from around the world and, in the context of music education for children, have the advantage that no 'wrong' notes are possible, whatever is played is harmonically correct. This is a crucial factor in building a child's confidence in what they play and enabling a context in which improvisation can be encouraged.

As the children's confidence and curiosity develops, technical concepts such as dynamics are gradually introduced, and there is the increasing addition of movement, speech, improvisation of lyrics, and integration of poetry and folktales. For this year’s Martin Luther King Day celebrations, children on the Music Program sang songs from the days of the Civil Rights struggles, as well as songs written since then in celebration of Dr. King. Children have an innate sense of justice and fairness and music can tap into that, as well as teach important lessons in self-advocation and peaceful conflict resolution.

The collaborative aspect of music is always emphasized, with singing in groups and rounds an important factor in developing bonds of trust and understanding among our children. Our music calendar at Earth School celebrates the Fall and Spring Equinoxes, and the Winter Solstice, with whole-school gatherings in nearby Tompkins Square Park. And at the end-of-year performance that is the culmination of the Music Program, parents are given song sheets in advance and are participants in the music rather than just spectators.

Finally, the Music Program also plays an important role for children at our school with special education needs, with two classes dedicated to this per week. We feel that music is a powerful tool for learning about the self and the soul in often intangible ways that speech and language cannot achieve alone. It has powerful answers to basic questions such as "who am I and how do I relate to other people?" Music encourages communication and has the potential to foster peaceful and constructive approaches in how we relate to one another.