On a gloomy afternoon not long ago, a handful of pre-schoolers laughed merrily as they chomped on Cracker Jacks.
The day was an important one. It was the day when, as violin students, they got to eat their old violins because they were getting replacements.
What`s going on at the Catherine Ferguson Child-Parent Center at Cabrini- Green and four Chicago public schools is a 4-year-old privately funded program that gives inner-city children the opportunity to learn to play musical instruments-free of charge-in an extremely fun environment.
But what about this consumption of violins?
In order to make learning the violin as fun-and easy-as possible, teachers with the Chicago-based Suzuki-Orff School for Young Musicians begin by having students learn how to hold make-believe violins built out of rulers and Cracker Jack boxes. When the students start making sounds, they recieve real instruments and celebrate by eating the Cracker Jack ”violins.”
This lighthearted measure is joined by others-such as learning to play by ear and listening to music-in classes covering piano, cello and flute, as well as violin. The training combines principles of two prominent approaches to music instruction geared for young people-the Suzuki and Orff Schulwerk methods-and requires that a parent or guardian attend weekly classes with each student and serve as teacher in the home.
”Through our approach,” says Peggy Wise, director of the Suzuki-Orff School, ”students learn music in the same way that they learn to walk and talk-that is, through imitation and by doing just one thing at a time.” And parents are taught to heap praise on each new attempt by the child, setting the child up for success.
What it all adds up to, says Wise, is that through learning to play music, students learn about ”beauty and sensitivity” even as they learn about the importance of setting goals and following through on their own and as part of a team.
After a year of beginning classes in the public schools via the outreach program, gifted and committed students as young as 4 can earn a scholarship to study Monday and Saturday mornings at Suzuki-Orff School`s headquarters, 1010 W. Chicago Ave. It is here that scholarship students learn more than music, as they mingle with about 100 children from all over the Chicago area, from all types of neighborhoods and financial and cultural backgrounds.
”When you look around the school, you see all types of ethnic backgrounds represented-it looks like the United Nations,” says Wise. ”You realize that this is how you`d like to see the whole city-people of all types gathered together for a common purpose. So, really, what`s going on is much more than just music. Besides shaping musicians, we`re using music as a way to excite students about life in general. And, in a city where education typically isn`t working, this is saying a lot.”
Mavis Mills, an 18-year-old scholarship student studying the flute, says
”thorugh these classes I`ve learned that I can do anything that I set my mind to do. Besides that, I`ve got a skill that adds joy to my life. Whenever I`m depressed or have nothing to do, I pick up my flute and get an instant lift. My flute gives me a great way to communicate.”
Because of her skill, she says she dreams of becoming a professional musician, perhaps in a symphony orchestra. This dream also is shared by many Suzuki-Orff students, including 14-year-old cellist Johnnie Beard, one of a growing number of Suzuki-Orff students who have won awards in major competitions.
”It doesn`t bother me to practice two or three hours a day,” he says,
”because I know the good things it does for me. Not only do I have fun playing, but all my friends look up to me. Playing music helps me in all that I do in my life.”
Parents speak out
Alfredo de los Reyes, whose three children study different instruments and make up a little ensemble at home, says ”because of this type of instruction, my family shares the sense of doing something together for a common good. My wife and I love to hear our children play beautiful and inspiring music-and that`s something that`s transferred right back to them.” Frances Boyd, whose 12-year-old daughter Dorethea studies violin, remarks, ”Because of the classes, I`ve learned how to read music and keep rhythm. So I can tell Dorethea when she`s not doing the right thing. We work together and that`s what`s fun.”
What such training can lead to for many students is a serious commitment to music and, in a much bigger way, an excitement about educaton in general.
Pernella Pugh, whose two 5-year-old granddaughters are beginning violin students, says, ”Since my girls started learning the violin they`re not interested in TV anymore. Besides music, they`ve learned to concentrate on doing something productive.”
According to Wise, such training not only gives children who otherwise couldn`t afford music instruction the valuable gift of music-and these kids learn to play demanding classical music very quickly-but also builds discipline, confidence, leadership skills and the ability to excel in reading and math.
”In fact,” she notes, ”this training has already resulted in higher reading and math scores from participating children.”
Solid role models
For young students, being at the school has recently taken on new dimensions. That`s because, in March, the 9-year-old Suzuki-Orff School began sharing space with the prestigious arts-oriented high school, The Chicago Academy for the Arts. The new arrangement means that owing to a number of shared programs and recitals, the young students have superb role models to emulate.
Says Kate Fagan, director of marketing and admissions at the Academy:
”The youngsters see the older kids excelling at what they do and it really excites them.”
The Suzuki-Orff students also get numerous chances to brush elbows with other accomplished musicians during frequent field trips to concerts and music competitions.
Also, acclaimed professional musicians visit the school on a regular basis to talk to students. Recently, Michael Morgan, assistant conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, visited the school to lecture students on the importance of practice.
”The method Peggy uses,” says Mogran, ”is absolutely at the top in getting kids started in music. They become well-disciplined right at the beginning. What Peggy Wise is doing is heroic, because there are so few of these types of programs around the country. Teaching very young people to play music is not an easy thing. It`s much easier when the musician is already trained and playing concerts.”
Jack Gardner, staff manager of corporate contributions for Illinois Bell, which has supported the program for the past three years, says the outreach and scholarship programs represent a way to ”fill a void” in music training in the Chicago public schools.
”Quality instruction in the arts is so important to children,” he says, ”and so far-reaching. It`s a boost that they feel for the rest of their lives.”
