QuaverMusic Helps with the Harmony
By Kristin Clark Taylor
The Sound of Music
Take a stroll past Sharon Plunk’s classroom at the Paso del Norte Fine Arts Academy in El Paso, Texas, and you’ll definitely hear it:
The sound of music.
That’s because Ms. Plunk, the academy’s music director, has a toolbox filled with resources that will help bring these sounds to life.
There’s one resource in particular that she keeps close at hand:
QuaverMusic.
“I use Quaver every single day, for every grade level that I teach,” Plunk says with quiet confidence.
She means this literally.
Plunk happily describes some of the “sounds of music” that emanate from her classroom on any given day, using Quaver as her primary resource.
For pre-K through 1st grade, “I teach the music and movement component, and they love it,” she says.
“The songs and lessons, especially at this young age, lay an important foundation for learning, and, of course, the movement component is a great way to engage them!”
For 2nd grade, “they’re learning bells,” Plunk says, which everyone enjoys – “all you can see are smiling faces!”
Third grade, Plunk says, is when the Orff instruments are introduced. “I’m lucky to be able to turn to Quaver for many of these resources.”
Fourth grade is when Plunk introduces Quaver’s super-popular ukelele lessons, a wonderful way to bring the instrument to life.
For her fifth-graders, the Texas educator focuses on Quaver’s recorder lessons, another favorite.
Plunk also pulls a healthy cross-section of Quaver songs from her teacher toolbox during the holidays as well, and to celebrate special events.
Quaver’s in the Choir!
In addition to using the resource for general music education, many educators — including Plunk — are able to customize the curriculum so that it meets their specific needs beyond the traditional classroom as well.
As the school’s music director, Plunk plays various roles at the Paso del Norte Fine Arts Academy — in addition to being a Pre-K–5th-grade music teacher, she also serves as the afterschool choir director.
Plunk uses QuaverMusic with her choir as well.
“During the holidays, my 4th and 5th -grade choir students went caroling in the hallways of our school, and one of the songs we sang was Quaver’s ‘Jingle Bells!’
Plunk offers a few more examples of how she uses Quaver with her choir.
“They have really good exercises that focus on things like breath control and vowel placement,” Plunk says, both of which are vital in a chorale group.
To illustrate her point about vowel placement, Plunk even sings a short, sweet note that she holds for a few seconds.
“Quaver has an exercise where the student sings the actual vowel, something like this …”
And here, she stops speaking in order to sing the letter ‘e’ out loud.
“These kinds of tools and techniques are helpful because it helps teach students how to pronounce the vowels and words correctly while they’re singing!” she says.
Plunk’s larger point, of course, is that Quaver is not only adaptive and highly customizable, but it also offers hands-on activities that meet the needs of all learners … and all teachers!
What does she appreciate most about having QuaverMusic in her classroom?
“The fact that it’s so user-friendly,” she answers quickly.
She expands and expounds.
“Quaver is so easy to navigate that teachers at all levels can use it, from those who are at the very beginning of their careers to those who’ve been teaching for years!”
As Plunk speaks, you can almost hear the sounds of laughter and learning in her classroom.
Listen closely and you’ll hear it, too.
There it is again.
The sound of music.
Want to get QuaverMusic in your classroom? Visit QuaverEd.com/Music!
Kristin Clark Taylor is an author and a journalist.
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