Hyde Park music students play a lively mix of bongos and body parts

By Lexie Kite

Marh 23, 2005 | HYDE PARK -- Xylophones, bongo drums, recorders and body percussion were only a few of the sounds that filled the halls of Cedar Ridge Middle School Monday night.

This was evidently not the typical sixth-grade concert, and these were not typical sixth-graders. Having worked daily for nine weeks to put together a program for friends and family, these students learned to play instruments many had never seen before.

"These kids study really well at home, as well as every day at school," Glen Crawford, father of performer Marcel Crawford, said. "I've been enjoying this concert for three years now, and they put on a good show."

As part of the middle school's exploratory learning program, music instructor Jennifer Wilkes said the students rotate among a variety of nine-week classes like cooking and keyboarding. In the exploratory music classroom, students meet daily to learn how to read music and play a wide range of instruments.

"This teaching methodology is developmentally appropriate for middle school-aged children," she said. "I think it's a great age for these kids to gain experience with music.

"My ultimate goal is for these students to have some experience playing as individual musicians in an ensemble," Wilkes said.

The performers kicked off the show with a body percussion composition entitled "Palm Valley Rondo." Clapping, snapping and stomping were combined for two minutes of eclectic melody. Each of the eight songs that followed were unique due to the fact that every student had the opportunity to play at least two instruments. Between songs, the performers quietly shuffled up and down the risers to take part in a different instrument.

"Every one of the students knows all the instruments, so you are only seeing a sample of what they can do," Wilkes said. "As of this week, we drew names to see who would play what part in each song."

Roseann Kunz, mother of performer Taylor Kunz, said, "I think it's great that these guys learned to play so many different instruments. It takes a wonderful teacher to help her students learn so much so quickly."

Taylor Kunz said the hardest part of the class was learning to play the recorder, though it only took him a week to feel comfortable playing it. His favorite instrument was the xylophone, he said, because it was the most fun to play.

"It was fun, but I'm glad to be done," Kunz said.

On Parents Day several weeks ago, Wilkes said the parents learned to play part of the Tango, which has proven to be the most difficult song to learn. She said the Latin vibe and rhythms of the song make it more complicated than many of the others.

"A lot of parents came up to me after the concert and commented they wanted to jump out of the audience and come play along because they learned the song," Wilkes said.

"Parents love the program because they don't see this type of thing in most schools," she said. "Plus, they usually don't have a background with alternative instruments like this, so they like the idea of their kids getting the experience."

She said most people comment on having never seen a program similar to the exploratory music class, and they enjoy seeing a nice variety of classes from which to choose.

Wilkes said she has been teaching the program for four years at Cedar Ridge, and she enjoys it enough to continue doing the same thing she has been doing. Her background lies in elementary education and music, which is a perfect fit for Hyde Park's sixth grade music students.

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