RUSSIAN SCHOOL AND CHOIR IN GUILDFORD

Choir and Music School

"When music and children are friends, there is nothing more beautiful in the world" - these are the words of Mikhail Plyatskovsky, the author of the famous children's song "Music and Children". I have been leading choirs for Russian-speaking children since 2012 and I wholeheartedly agree with the author of this song.

The pleasure and joy that children experience when they sing together is unlike anything else, and I want to tell you why.

Through music and theatre, children remember words and sentences faster; for them, the task of learning words (whether during a lesson or at home) is not a burden, but a pleasure.

Scientists have long ago scientifically substantiated the incomparable influence of music and singing on the brain: endorphins are produced, emotions are released.

Children who sing, if approached correctly, have no complexes, especially in a group, they do not think out of embarrassment that someone is looking at them, they feel like a group and feel that they can completely relax. At the same time, I instill in them the idea that the sound and the overall sound depends on each person individually.

Vocabulary.

Studying Russian culture. We sing songs from cartoons and movies, Russian hits that all modern Russians know by heart.

Artistry and self-confidence. We show both words and feelings with movements and facial expressions, each song is a small performance. The children are so used to this that they have learned to do it themselves - to come up with movements for the words.

Emotional development. It's like reading, every song is a little life story: it makes you worry, sympathize, rejoice, go through all the emotions, whether we sing about a brave and courageous and cheerful captain, a dog that was not allowed to go to an exhibition, about finding a dream - a scarlet flower, a swallow flying to its native nest. All these are either basic concepts - love for parents or sympathy for your dog, or more complex. I teach children to think about everything they sing.

Singing is a colossal production of endorphins! Children are happy: laughter, smiles, delight from the result. And the feeling of a team is akin to sports!

Solo. Voice development, self-confidence and when the choir sings along during the chorus, the child feels that he is the center of attention, he is responsible for how the song goes.

Competitions and festivals. We participate, represent Russian culture in London, receive high awards at international competitions.

We instill musical taste and an understanding of the quality of performance. With age, children learn to understand how high-quality their performance is and enjoy working on the sound. If I tell them that the sound should be deeper or more ringing, or more rustic or reserved - they know what I mean.

The smallest ones.

They have fun: we always sing loudly and dance a lot.

They learn words.

They learn to combine words with movements.

They learn to hear themselves in the choir and understand that their voice is very important.

I turn on classical music. I play excerpts, they dance to them, determine: polka, waltz, march. We put on dances: "Yablochko", "Little Swans", "Kadrille", etc. - we develop musicality and a sense of rhythm,

Older children.

It is safe to say that these children will never lose Russian culture. Not only do they speak Russian perfectly, but they have also absorbed the richest musical culture, courage and enthusiasm, the warmth and lyricism of Russian songs. Not shy of expressing themselves through dance, the children from this group “burn it up” to the fullest to the songs “And I’m going to meet you” or “I see a shadow diagonally”. Or “make fun” to “If I were a sultan” or hug to “Hope is my earthly compass” ...

It is difficult to overestimate the influence of classical music on the emotional and spiritual development of a person, especially a child. Meanwhile, if a child does not play any musical instrument, their access to classical music can be very limited. Long before the lockdown, I included classical music in our classes - we danced to polkas by Glinka and Rachmaninoff, staged scenes to musical excerpts from works such as the Turkish March and Swan Lake. Children love movement and through it they enjoy learning any musical genre.

During the lockdown, for obvious technical reasons, choir classes became impossible. I used this time to introduce our children to the wonderful world of classical music. This is how the subject of music literature emerged in our school within the choir. The content of the classes is adapted to the age of each group of children.

What do we do in class?

Listening to music, children draw and perform various tasks. Music evokes different associations and emotions in children, and this is reflected in the themes for drawing that they choose, the paints that they use. This type of activity gives a great boost to the development of imagination.

One of the topics was dance to classical music; this was a great opportunity to introduce elements of movement into the lessons. Children had to be able to identify what was playing: a waltz, a polka, a tarantella, a march, etc., and demonstrate the corresponding dance. Each child picked up a "partner" - a doll, a stuffed animal, or even their cat - and danced with pleasure to Strauss and Beethoven. It's even funny to remember that before the course began, many children said that classical music was boring!

There is a "theoretical" side to this subject - we study various instruments - listen to virtuoso pianists, try to understand which instruments achieve a festive effect in marches, why the organ is used in churches and how violins can express tenderness and sadness. We compare genres within classical music - baroque, classicism and romanticism, children learn how a symphony differs from a sonata - in other words, they learn to analyze and understand the music they hear.

We learn about the lives of composers and discuss the influence of their fates on their work. This develops vocabulary and invites children to think about things that are important to them - what talent is, how to work to develop it, how to believe in your dream.

My task is to instill in children an interest and a real love for this genre and I try to choose the most beautiful, in my opinion, pieces, I play some myself, and for listening to more complex ones I put on recordings. With older children we discuss the nature of the music, what emotions it evoked, whether they liked it or not and why.

Over the past year, children have listened to about 100 pieces. In my opinion, classical music has become more understandable and closer to them, and many say that they have come to love this wonderful genre!