“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Mary had a Little Lamb” are stable songs that all young musicians learn to play during the first weeks of instrument lessons.
For students at Helen Steiner Rice and Stevan Dohanos Elementary schools, those songs and a few others were recently part of piano recitals for fourth- and fifth-grade students taking keyboarding/piano lessons as a part of the district’s fine arts expansion that kicked off this school year.
Music teacher Kyree Martin, who splits her time between the two schools, said she is impressed with how quickly students pick up the keystrokes needed to produce the popular tunes.
“Our students are getting the same lessons and learning the same techniques learned in private lessons,” Martin said. “You start with identifying patterns. Students are successful right away with piano because they don’t have to get the sound right like with violin or flute or get a rhythm going like with drums.”
While this is the first year for keyboarding lessons in all elementary schools, Martin piloted the initiative last school year with 10 keyboards, putting students into small learning pods.
She said students enjoyed it so much that she approached district leadership with a request for more keyboards.
At the same time, a fine arts expansion committee was exploring ways to offer students more classes in art, music, theater and dance.
A survey revealed that over 60 percent of families were interested in their children learning piano in elementary school.
It also was the instrument that received the highest feedback among respondents with middle and high school students.
Martin said the interest in piano wasn’t a surprise.
Many parents and grandparents remember taking piano lessons as children and want the same enrichment experiences for their children.
With both students and families interested in seeing piano brought back to music classes, district officials said they could only do one thing.
“We bought more keyboards — and lots of them,” said Assistant Superintendent Ross May.
“Kyree Martin is blazing the trail for us with using keyboards in her music classes at Helen Steiner Rice and Stevan Dohanos,” May added. “To see her students is nothing short of fantastic.”
Martin said students are really growing in this first year.
“For the first time, everyone gets their own keyboard, so everyone gets to learn at their own pace,” she said. “Our students have really taken to it.”
Following her turn at the piano, where she played “Mary had a Little Lamb,” Helen Steiner Rice fourth-grade student Kaylee Anderson said she was nervous going into the recital but is enjoying the class.
“I like learning how to do new things and learn new songs,” she said. “Even though I was nervous, I was OK because Ms. Martin was by my side helping me.”
Several parents attended the recent recitals, and Martin said she plans for parents to have more opportunities to see their young musicians as the program expands.
“We are about showing off our new normal,” she said. “This is what we are about. These are the opportunities all students will have.”
