Today was the first music therapy session provided to the mothers. They engaged in building a community and supporting one another through playing and learning about the djembe, sharing musical preferences, and singing songs. It was beautiful to see how open the women were to trying new and unfamiliar things. One even volunteered to share her voice with the group.
This week we had a fun mini concert during our first class, during which we encouraged the student to strum and sing along. We had fun while reinforcing our “playing position” and strumming to a beat.
On the second class we had a very excited new student. The age difference between the two participants who attended this week made it a bit challenging, but both are learning fast and we already know several chords.
We were given a more private room for our classes this week. As a result of having less distractions, we were all more focused and ready to have some fun!
Today we started late because of some tech issues at Arise. That did not stop the musical spirits from being up during our class. We ran a bit late to make up for some lost time, so we ended with some cool down songs to help us get ready for bed. The lullabies included Friendly Sun, Baby Beluga, and Twinkle Twinkle.
As we had a Halloween themed class, it was a lot of fun to sing spooky songs, make some ghost sounds and dance around. Some of the participants had costumes on and were ready to rock!
During our first ukulele class we learned about the parts of the instrument and important concepts, such as numbering and naming the strings, numbering the frets, and fingers of the left hand.
We had a great class and the children were participating a lot. Some requested songs, some lead the actions for other songs, and they all sang as a well rehearsed choir. The parents were also very engaged and adding their voices to the choir.
As we get to know each other better, the connection through music will only grow!
Week two at Arise YWCA and we had so much fun!! A huge highlight was adding instruments - maracas and rhythm sticks! We used them to ring the bells during the fire truck song and to jam together to Baby Beluga. We finished the class stirring a witches brew in preparation for Halloween next week. The big kids chose to stir in spiders, cobwebs, and eye balls, OH MY!
The highlight of our first class was getting to know the participants and their passion for music. It was great to experience the excitement the participants had and how much they enjoyed our first class.
It was great to sing with our student again this week, and because he didn’t have camp during the daytime, he was a bit more focused. He was quite intent on playing with all the instruments he could get his hands on, so we did as many rhythm songs as we could fit in.
Our new student was a pleasure to meet! He was open to vocal explorations and clapping games, and excelled at solfege. He was full of laughter when we sang a new song about waves, and waved his arms throughout. A very joyful day at Ernestines!
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