The music program at Sullins Academy is committed to providing an aesthetic environment that enables students to develop a lifelong appreciation for the performing arts. Knowledge of music is fundamental to the education of the whole child, allowing students to draw connections between the disciplines, to understand the importance of the continuation of cultural heritages, and to find joy and excitement in the learning process.

PRESCHOOL & JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN

Preschool students are introduced to music and its concepts in their regular classroom, as well as, the music classroom. Young children engage in music as play. When offered a variety of drums and strikers, children play with sound. When young children hear music, they move to it. Once children learn to sing, they create their own melodies and invent their own words to familiar songs. These practices are realized in each preschool music class that meets weekly. The students explore opposites such as quiet and loud, fast and slow, long and short, and high and low. A variety of musical timbres are presented through singing, hearing, and playing instruments. Movement is also a key component in understanding music in the early phases. As children respond to and explore music through movement, the underlying concepts are reinforced and a foundation for further music appreciation is formed. In preschool, the music curriculum is a tool for developing listening and creative expression.

KINDERGARTEN - FIFTH GRADE:

An understanding of pitch and intervals begins with solfege hand symbols at a fundamental level in kindergarten with simple scales and intervals, fun songs and games, and increasing in difficulty (and fun!) each year, culminating with college level ear training in 8th grade. 

​

Steady beat and rhythmic instruction begins with body percussion (clapping, patting, stomping, etc), and rhythm sticks, drums, tambourines, shakers, and more in our wonderful collection of percussion instruments. From preschool all the way to eighth grade, our students enjoy our pitched percussion instruments, especially boomwhackers, xylophones, and metallophones. 

Ukulele instruction begins in second grade with strumming a steady beat and plucking the individual strings. In third grade, students learn chords C, A minor, and F. From fourth grade and beyond, students learn more complex chords, and moving between chord changes with more ease, with the ability to play more and more songs. 

Students begin to truly read music as they play recorders in third grade, and instrumental instruction continues in our piano lab in fourth through eighth grade. Fourth graders study in preparation for and take a field trip to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Students are introduced to a wide variety of styles of music, western and world instruments, and students sing in many languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, German, and more. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL:

Our middle school students take an integral role in crafting and choosing their culminating performances according to their interests. Students continue to gain skills in singing unison, 2 part and 3 part music. They continue to gain skills on Ukulele, Piano, and Drums. Whether performing a play, creating and performing their own musical, learning about the technical side of theatre, or performing in a junior version of a broadway show, students have ample performance opportunities, and our most senior students have ownership in those decisions.