The Grow with Music Program for Schools

The Shankar Mahadevan Academy is transforming the way music is taught in schools across India through its innovative Grow with Music Program. The “Grow with Music” program introduces children to the fascinating world of music and takes them on a musical journey that starts from the basic elements of music and progresses to the more advanced principles of music. The intent of this program is not to make a musician out of every child, however it is to inculcate in them a deep interest in Music and the ability to enjoy and appreciate music.

In this program, Music is used as an effective tool to develop other life skills including creativity, leadership, collaboration and confidence building. It is an activity based program where the students experience, rather than just memorize concepts of music. These activities are designed to be fun and engaging for a child, while also giving defined takeaways from each interaction.

The program also provides sophisticated learning tools that allow for structured practice and creation even away from class. Parental involvement is also encouraged and there are activities designed to be carried out together. This not only allows a musical involvement for the entire family, but also gives a context for effective interpersonal engagement and creating joy together.

Music is recognized as one of the most effective catalysts in holistic brain development, with a lot of published research on its positive impact on the brain. It is one of the few endeavors that can be a lot of fun, while still adding immense value to the practitioner. A human’s capacity to learn is highest as a child. More importantly, the neurological framework that defines his/ her learning approach is formed as a child. Thus, exposure to such a holistic music program as a child not only teaches the individual a great many things about music, but also give an edge over others in terms of intellectual capabilities, grasping power and emotional balance.

The Grow with Music Program is driven by the belief that Music is not the privilege of a talented few. It is a skill that every individual can acquire through a structured learning mechanism. The curriculum provided is highly structured, progressive and relevant with measurable outcomes. Music education is made fun and engaging using innovative approaches to explaining musical concepts. 

The Program breaks down Music into its fundamental blocks – Beats & Patterns, Pitch, Notes & Patterns, Dynamics, Articulation, Mood & Emotion, Timbre, Form and Texture. A theoretical understand of these elements is facilitated through dynamic interactions. Relevant activities are then carried out, allowing an experiential understanding of the same.

The program incorporates internationally recommended strands in Music Learning and balances out aspects of Singing, Instruments, Notation theory & skills, Creation & Composition and Listening & Responding skills. Musical genres included in the program are Folk traditions from around the country, Rabindra Sangeet, Popular Western Songs, Regional Songs, World Music in various languages, Indian Classical & Semi Classical Music and Fusion of various genres. 

The students are also exposed to different instrument families, and learn to identify different instruments through audio/ visual inputs. The role of various instruments in a song is also explored. In parallel to this, evolution & usage of different instruments in various cultures and time periods are brought to light. Students are encouraged to take up a deeper exploration of any particular instrument that appeals to them, after having given them a complete and experiential overview of the different kinds that exist. Many rare instruments are also presented here, and can be studied for their academic interests or performance value. Traditional and non-traditional notation techniques and theory are also dealt with to enable students to read/ write music and communicate their musical ideas effectively.

Creativity and lateral thinking ability in students is nurtured by using a pedagogical approach that lays emphasis on creating and composing music. Students are exposed to different genres of Music from around the country and the world, hence also introducing them to an international cultural experience that will take them a long way in life.The program stresses on application of all the constituent elements, by facilitating a student driven creation and composition exercise. The students explore individual musical ideas and then come together to bring individual elements in place to create a full-fledged musical piece. This brings in a complete understanding of individual musical elements and how each element alters the overall impact of the song.

The program is supported by the Online Music (OM) Book, a unique technology driven musical tool for student practice. The students can find all their lesson plans, curriculum and audio/ video recordings of lessons with lyrics on their unique login page. Individual practice pages are provided with reference tracks and a recording facility where the student’s practice can be submitted online and be assessed by the teachers.

Regular reviews and training by the Academy for the teachers ensures the program stays up to date and dynamic enough to retain its impact.

The Grow with Music Program offers an insight into various cultures and genres. Along with the various soft skills the participant imbibes through the experience, this program gives a strong base in music theory and practice, which can be cherished throughout life and also taken forward along more focused paths by those interested.