Pre-School Class--Music for Little Mozarts

For children, Ages 4 to 6 years of age with at least one parent attending. Nevilla E. Ottley, teacher

These classes are keyboard-based classes, with singing, action songs, stylized dances, and music history age-appropriate stories. Classes are scheduled weekly for the entire school year, beginning August through June.

Tuition is $350 per 14-week term. Materials cost about $69. During the school year, classes of various levels are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 6:00-6:55 pm, or 5:00-5:55 pm. Summer tuition (end of June, July, beginning of August) is $300 with classes twice per week for 6 weeks.

Little Mozarts students have an Ottley Music School tote bag filled with 5 books (Lesson, Discovery, Recital, Workbook and an optional Coloring Book), 2 CD's, large flashcards, and 2 stuffed animals,

1. Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear for Book 1,
2. Haydn Hippo, J. S. Bunny and Clara Schumann Cat with Book 2,
3. Nannerl Mouse and Nina Ballerina with Book 3, and
4. Puccini Pooch and Pachelbel Pengin with Book 4.

Each animal presents a facet of music learning; for instance,

• Mozart Mouse is the treble clef,
• Beethoven Bear is the bass clef,
• Prof. Haydn Hippo teaches lines and spaces,
• J. S. Bunny shows us intervals of a third, and
• Puccini Pooch introduces opera.

Music for Little Mozarts Class Curriculum

The Music for Little Mozarts are designed for children between the ages of 4 to 6 years old whose fine motor skill are developed to the point where they can play with individual fingers.  They are energetic classes with diversity to keep the attention of the little ones throughout the 55-minutes they are in the class. 

Each child attends the class with a parent sitting next to them in the classroom at the keyboard, so that the parent learns right along with the child, and can practice with the same daily.  Children of that tender age can practice three times per day, short 10 to 15-minute practices, each time with a different book.  The books are coordinated so that the same thing is taught and practiced or sung or danced or colored.  This type of diverse repetition helps the child to learn quickly and easily.

The 55-minute class is divided into 4 sections:

1.  The teachers begins class with the a rousing rendition of the "Hello Song", or the first song in each Discovery book, using the CD and all the activities that are specified, as the children get into the mood to learn with fun.  

2. They go into theory with the flash cards, air playing (hands in the air, so that they can discover the movements of the walking fingers, etc.), then bring those motions into the piano playing. 

3.  Such focused work is usually followed by some upbeat physical music activity such as singing, or doing an action song, or learning a dance. 

4.  Every other week, the teacher alternates workbook theory and ear-training with a story time about the childhood of various composers of different ethnic backgrounds instead of the danc-ing or singing.  There are several books available at the school.  Stop each week with a cliff-hanger, and the following week review the story from the former week before going on.