Children
Written by
Silver Lamb
Silver is a music specialist serving the Sylvan Union School District. She has taught classroom and instrumental music to first through fifth graders for twenty eight years. She is a woodwind player, writer, and avid golfer. She advocates for a comprehensive arts education for public school children.
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Matthew is a fifth grader at Mary Ann Sanders School in the Sylvan District. I caught up with Matthew after a lesson and did a quick interview with this talented first year alto sax student.
Mrs. Lamb-Why did you choose to play sax?
Matthew-My dad played it and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Mrs. Lamb-What do you love about the sax?
Mathew-The sound, and that my sisters don’t play it.
Mrs. Lamb- So you come from a musical family? What do your sisters play?
Mathew-Gianna plays the flute and is a freshman at Enochs. Cailin plays clarinet and is in seventh grade at Dan Savage Middle School.
Mrs. Lamb-Tell me what you learn in your sax class?
Mathew- To read the notes, how to count the rhythms, read the symbols like fermatas, clefs, rests, ties, and repeat signs. I am also learning how to make a good tone.
Mrs. Lamb-What’s in your music future?
Matthew-I want to continue in band in middle school. I want to participate in drum line, and marching band.
Mrs. Lamb-Anything else?
Matthew-I will always remember my first music teacher, Mrs. Lamb
Interview with Matthew Nicolich
Kid's Corner: Children and Music
Written by Silver Lamb, Photos taken at MaryAnn Sanders Elementry School
Every day in Modesto’s smaller “other” school district, Sylvan, little bodies are singing, dancing, reading, playing, enjoying, and learning about music from trained classroom music educators. Oh sure, there are California State Music Standards, elementary music curriculum, common core principles for the arts, Marzano’s standards-based-assessments, and on and on, but in reality the music specialists that teach these classes are the super heroes of a music loving community. These are the teachers that expose and ignite a passionate love of music, a love that continues on to ensure a rich, vibrant music future for a city like Modesto and its surrounding areas.
In every culture of the world, music has been passed down to the young. The Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, the Incas; historically, music has been an interwoven thread that both expresses and instills community. Mothers, families, church leaders, elders, most everyone values music at one level or another. Children are naturally exposed to the music that their family or friends value. Music is a part of our diverse country’s cultural activities like birthdays, fiestas, quinceaneras, weddings, proms, etc. Simply by family osmosis, much of our informal musical exposure comes from home.
Conversely, when an educational body decides that music education is a subject that deserves intense study and exposure equal to reading and math, that is when magical things begin to happen.
Music does amazing things to young brains. It helps with language acquisition, retention, and spatial math comprehension. Students who participate in vocal and/or instrumental music tend to stay in school. Music is an outlet for expression and community. Hey, there’s that word again: community! While participating in a music class community, students bond in an aesthetic, almost spiritual way that brings on feelings of worth and belonging. And along the way, our “future adult” Modesto citizens become equipped to be music connoisseurs, performers, patrons, and/or simply appreciators, and the health of our musical community is ensured.
During what I call “the Art’s Program Drought Years” districts across California slashed and/or cut music, art, and drama classes all together. It was a very sad time for our young students. So many children missed having public school, specialist led, arts instruction. But now that is beginning to change. Slowly but surely, music and art are showing up again. Sylvan District has partially brought back classroom art and classroom music. All students, first through fifth, are getting a powerful, inspiring time of instruction once or twice a month. As our district continues to recover, I am hopeful more music and art specialists will be added to restore weekly lessons.
Our fifth grade instrumental program has over four hundred students enrolled just this year in our little district, and I know Modesto City has continued its belief in the
power of instrumental music education as well, even through the lean years. Fifth grade band and strings programs help fill our middle and high school bands and orchestras with primary educated musicians. That allows our secondary musicians to go on to experience performance, travel, competitions, festivals, adjudication, and on and on. These experiences for youngsters led to life long arts lovers that fill our Gallo and State Theaters, our Mistlin Gallery, our Graceada Concert in the Park series, our ballet studios, our little theaters, our downtown music scene, and all the rest. Arts education matters, and it starts with our youngest citizens.
So rest assured Modesto, our little elementary school halls are continuing to fill with singing voices, beginning instrument squeaks and bops, paintings, play productions, and on and on; all the things that help to ensure a creative, vibrant, arts loving community.
Interested in how music gets started at the elementary level? Want to sit in on an instrumental or classroom music class? Give one of the ten elementary schools in the Sylvan district a call and set up a time to observe. Magical things are happening in our young Modesto citizen’s lives. Music super heroes are inspiring our babies to fill the many venues of music opportunities in Mo-town.
Music matters.