HANDS OF A CHILD, WORK OF A MUSICIAN

The Junior Music Course (JMC) Primary level is designed for 4 and 5 year-old beginners. As the most comprehensive course available for children of this age, JMC focuses on the development of well-rounded musical ability - through listening, singing, keyboard playing, reading, writing, and creating.

From the first year of the JMC Primary level, students will train not only their fingers, but their ears, their minds, and their imagination. Ear-training is an integral part of JMC, since age 4-5 is the best time for a child to acquire a sense of pitch - most students attaining either absolute pitch, or very good relative pitch by the end of the first two years. This ear-training will help them in the future to play music by-ear, improvise, and compose.

The materials and approach are all designed specifically to capture the interest of this age group, and colourful textbooks and beautifully orchestrated music on CD help to inspire the students.

At the end of their first two years in the Junior Music Course, students will not only have achieved a high level of performance, but they will have also acquired the tools necessary to create their own music.

Course areas include:

• Solfege Singing
  
• Lyric (Song) Singing
• Keyboard Games
• Repertoire
• Ensemble (singing, rhythm, and keyboard)
• Harmony/Arrangement
• Music Appreciation
• Rhythm Instruments
• Rhythm Step
• Rudiments (Theory)

Each student of JMC: Primary completes two levels each year, bringing them to Book 4 at the end of their second year. Students are then invited to take the Fundamental Skills Survey to confirm their achievements. Graduates of JMC: Primary continue in the Junior Extension Course.