Chennai-based NGO Brhaddhvani, a music research and training centre, has launched a new music curriculum for kindergarten children, in partnership with Art Links Learning Brhaddhvani works towards disseminating music education in schools, while Art Links Learning ensures a structured and seamless delivery of the curriculum.
At a function held at Chennai Public School on September 1, two parallel curricula were launched. The first was Mitra, a kindergarten curriculum for Indian classical music conceived by Poornima Sathish, with guidance from renowned Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri, a trustee on the Brhaddhvani Board.
The second was Kindermusik, a Western music and movement course, also for kindergarten students, designed by Art Links Learning in collaboration with Kindermusik, an institution that offers Western music courses in over 70 countries through 7,000-plus music educators.
At the launch, Sadhana Rao, director, Art Links Learning, reinforced the shared mission of Art Links and Brhaddhvani. Brhaddhvani’s newly appointed executive director Usha Ramesh explained the various courses for schools provided by the institution under the Brhad-Shikha Programme.
The founder-chairman of Brhaddhvani, Karaikudi S. Subramanian, said: “Our Comet methodology has captured the imagination of parents and school managements alike. We are now all set for the next phase.”
Said Bombay Jayashri: “The methodology using correlated objective training is fascinating. Mitra will trigger the sensibilities of children when they are most receptive to sounds and tunes.
The new curriculum is designed attractively, with books that list activities and games guaranteed to make the learning of music interesting and fun for pre-schoolers. For instance, children count the windows of an orange bus to learn the number of beats in adi talam. Or they mimic animal sounds to develop their voices. One exercise has them climbing a hillock to sa-pa-sa and descending to the beginner’s song ‘Vara Veena’, while in another game, they count the clouds using sollu kattu.
