Music at Abintra

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

Victor Hugo

When music and movement are a natural joyous part of childhood, children benefit greatly in many areas of life. Language development, self expression, memory skills, concentration, social interaction, fine motor skills, listening, problem solving, teamwork, goal setting, and coordination are all impacted by early music and movement education. Here at Abintra our music guide Kari Buishas joyously inspires our younger students. Two days a week Kari works with small groups of Early Childhood students, instructing the use of the Montessori Bells and teaching Musikgarten.

The Montessori Bells are a beautiful set of perfectly tuned bells in the Major scale, designed to provide a sensorial means for children to increase the acuity of their auditory perceptions. Students start by understanding high and low sounds and then begin different matching games. There are nine sequential lessons on the bells and students absolutely love doing this work. 

Musikgarten is a sequential and comprehensive early childhood program that spans the first several years of a child's musical development.

At every level of the program our young musicians learn to feel and hear the difference between double and triple rhythms through movement, instrument play, focused listening, and singing. They learn to distinguish the difference between major and minor tonal patterns and find them visually and aurally in the context of a piece of music. Alongside Kari our students are at ease with the progression, as patterns and songs are repeated and built upon, addressing their needs at each level. Kari’s philosophy is that true music literacy is when we can "see what we hear" and "hear what we see."  

    

The Upper Elementary Abintra Chorus, led by our art and music guide Deanie French, has grown into a group of strong singers with a broad repertoire of traditional songs from around the world, from the Americas to Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Finland, France, and Great Britain. Through singing rounds they develop an awareness of the unified sound their voices make together while learning to hold their own place in the greater harmony. Our singers are looking forward to their first concert for the Abintra community later this Spring.