Keyboard Lab Curriculum

SoundTree is proud to announce the publication of Alfred’s SoundTree Keyboard Lab Curriculum.

Unlike any other music technology curricular offering, the SoundTree Keyboard Lab Curriculum includes three levels: Elementary School, Middle School, and High School.  It is the perfect solution for a comprehensive, vertical K-12 music curriculum that focuses on the keyboard as a tool for both learning piano skills and reinforcing musical concepts, skills, and general music integration.  These exclusive, in-depth, keyboard-based curricula include powerful resources for teaching in the group piano instructional environment.  Each includes a variety of materials that make it easy to incorporate technology in the music classroom.  These curricula will serve as an integral resource for any music educator who teaches music with pianos or keyboards.

Each level has two distinct components:

Keyboard Component:  The core keyboard component of the curriculum includes the most popular group piano methods available from Alfred.  Each curriculum level is age appropriate.  The sequential materials from this course included in the SoundTree Keyboard Lab Curriculum include:

• Elementary School Level: Alfred's Basic Piano Library Group Piano Course Levels 1-4
• Middle School Level: Alfred's Basic Piano Library Complete Levels 1-3
  
• High School Level: Alfred's Piano 101 Levels 1 & 2

In addition to these methods, all associated teachers materials (including MIDI files and CD ROMs) are included.  There are also exclusive Reproducible Worksheet Books that contain Theory and Ear Training worksheets to correlate with each unit of Alfred’s Piano resources.

General Music Component:  In addition to the keyboard materials listed above, The Elementary Curriculum Book includes 60 lesson plans written specifically for the Korg Group Education Controller (GEC) from SoundTree.  These lesson plans serve as a guide for incorporating a GEC keyboard lab into the general music classroom setting.  Written by experienced teachers who teach in a keyboard lab environment, these classroom-tested lessons include lessons in the following areas:

• Music Fundamentals (Rhythm, Notation, Music Reading)
• Composition
• Ear Training (Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation)
• Improvisation
• Listening Skills
• Notation
• Performance

In addition to the SoundTree materials, there are a number of grade level specific materials published by Alfred included.  Please check the Curriculum Overview documents below to examine what materials come with each curriculum level.

The lessons are not presented in a specific order, but are intended to give the teacher maximum flexibility to include them in the curriculum based on the needs of students in the individual classes.  The musical experiences in each lesson address the National Standards for Music Education.  Each individual lesson is organized in the following manner:

• Keyboard Skills Required
• MENC National Standards
• Objectives
• Materials
• Procedure (This step-by-step procedure includes specifics on how to use the GEC)
• Extensions
• Reproducible student handouts (Included with most lessons)

In addition to the print materials included in this book, there are companion websites that include the MIDI and audio files mentioned in some of the lesson plans which can be downloaded for use in the lesson.

• The companion site for the Elementary School Curriculum is located at: www.soundtree.com/elemcurric [1].
• The companion site for the Middle School Curriculum is located at: www.soundtree.com/middlecurric [2].
• The companion site for the High School Curriculum will be located at the following URL: www.soundtree.com/hscurric [3].
  

Learning musical skills through technology generates tremendous enthusiasm among students.  The technology allows students the opportunity to perform, improvise and create music according to their individual tastes.  They now move from the realm of music lover to music maker, opening a new world of imagination to students who might never have been involved in the creation of music.  The sincere intent of the developers of this curriculum is to make the music learning experience interactive and rewarding for both the students and the instructor.  Enjoy!

Click HERE [4] for an overview of the Elementary School Curriculum, including National Standards, musical skills, and keyboard proficiency levels.

Click HERE [5] for an overview of the Middle School Curriculum, including National Standards, musical skills, and keyboard proficiency levels.

Click HERE [6] for an overview of the High School Curriculum, including National Standards, musical skills, and keyboard proficiency levels.

Click HERE [7] for a sample lesson from the Elementary Curriculum.

Click HERE [8] for a sample lesson from the Middle School Curriculum.

In addition to the Elementary and Middle School Curriculum, Alfred and Soundtree will publish the High School Level Curriculum in the Fall of 2010.  For more information about this and any product, please contact your local SoundTree Account Manager, or call 1 (800) 963-8733 today.