Massachusetts Department of Education has designated the arts as core curriculum. Some students excel more in Music than in any other subject area, in fact, everyone has some potential to achieve musically. Howard Gardner, in his book Frames of Mind, includes music as one of his 7 intelligences. Music helps us relate to other people, from our peers, to those in cultures vastly different from our own. Music is an important outlet for creativity and personal expression.

Music concepts include tonality, rhythm, steady beat, form, timber, dynamics, and expression. Before formally experiencing these concepts, students are provided with many experiences in singing and steady beat movement; ability to sing in tune and move in a steady beat are prerequisites to formal music learning. Since music is primarily an aural art, we focus on listening and hearing before reading or other stimuli. It is only when students demonstrate ownership of a specific concept aurally that they are introduced to musical notation.

Students at Taft School participate in a weekly, 45 minute music class with Mrs. Gretchen Cutler or Miss Rebecca Ethier, our music teachers. Our goal as music educators is to provide children with the musical experiences necessary to enjoy a life of music appreciation and participation.
 

16 Granite Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569
Telephone: 508-278-8643/Fax: 508-278-8646