Musical expression
requires a unique combination of
artistry, intellect, and feeling
that separates it from other
human endeavors, and it ranks
among the highest of cultural
accomplishments. Music provides
a very powerful form of
expression for the human spirit.
The Forest Ridge Academy Music
Department curriculum instills an
acceptance of the value in making
and appreciating music in daily
life.

A solid music education can lead
to adults who sing and play
instruments, listen to a variety
of music with a critical ear and
advanced understanding, and
support the efforts of those who
make music and those who share
music with others. Our music
education program provides the
foundation for students to gain
literacy in the art form of music
by fostering an understanding of
the universal notation system.

Students at all levels of musical
development will learn to read
and write music at the level and
in forms appropriate to their
development. All students are
taught keyboard skills across the
music curriculum, as well as
several other instruments during
specified grade levels, such as
glockenspiels, recorders,
ukuleles, dulcimers, various
percussion instruments, and hand
drumming through rhythmic
drumming circles.

Over time, a higher level of
musical thinking develops,
leading to a higher level of
expressive communication. The
music program at Forest Ridge
Academy prides itself on
providing a comprehensive and
well-rounded education that
creates a solid foundation for
all students, even those who wish
to continue their musical
endeavors upon graduation. This
is accomplished through classroom
experiences and several elective
musical programs including a
Choral Ensemble and Orchestral
Ensemble for students in Grades 3-
8. Group music classes in piano
and violin are available extra-
curricularly for students in
Kindergarten through Grade 4, and
a Piano Explorers for Little
Fingers class has just been added
for Young Scholars and Junior
Kindergarten students.

Music is an integral part of a
comprehensive education. We
believe that it integrates
understanding from multiple
disciplines and leads to an
improved self-concept, broader
cultural awareness, and a
development of life-long skills.
Students will use musical
standards and terminology to
evaluate musical works,
understand and apply musical
theory, discover history,
periods, cultures, diversity, and
unique styles of music. Audio,
visual, and kinesthetic learning
styles are captured through
varied activities.

Students at Forest Ridge Academy
have the opportunity to explore
many instruments including
keyboards (all grades), African
drumming (Grades 4 and 5),
recorders (Grades 2 and 3),
glockenspiels (Young Scholars and
Junior Kindergarten), ukuleles
(Grades 4 and 5), harmonicas,
kazoos, and various percussion
instruments, as well as free
movement with scarves and body
socks. The program is well-
rounded and highly interactive to
include instrumental work,
theory, teamwork-building,
performance training, and annual
particpation in FAME (Foundation
for Art and Music in Education)
in cooperation with the Northwest
Indiana Symphony Orchestra. Our
Music Department vocalists were
also featured in a Michigan City
Humane Society commercial in 2004.
Orchestral Ensemble for Grades 3
to 8, Group Piano Ensemble and
Youth Violin Ensemble extra-
curricularly for ages 5 1/2
through Grade 4, Piano Explorers
for Little Fingers for Young
Scholars and Junior Kindergarten
students, and a lunchtime
performance "theatre"� known as
Bach's Lunch for all ages.

A Forest Ridge Academy Music
Education will provide students
with the tools to:

* Value music as a lifelong,
rewarding experience
* Respond to different kinds of
music and the music making of
others
* Perform different styles of
music accurately and
expressively, both vocally
and instrumentally, as well
as learn performance etiquette
and strategies
* Create and improvise music
* Read and write music with
proper notation
* Listen to and understand
different styles of music
* Use musical standards and
terminology to evaluate musical
works
* Understand and apply music
theory
* Discover history, periods,
cultures, diversity, and unique
styles of music
* Relate music to other arts
and disciplines outside
arts, and integrate
cross-curricular
experiences.

Throughout all levels of Music
Education at Forest Ridge
Academy, students will focus on:

Creating: Expressing
ideas and feelings through
improvising, composing, and
arranging music using musical
notation and terminology.

Performing: Presenting and
demonstrating work, formally or
informally; a process
that calls upon the technical,
expressive, and interpretive
skills of the learner.

Responding: Listening,
analyzing, critiquing,
demonstrating, evaluating, and
moving to musical works.

Understanding: Synthesizing
knowledge of music in relation to
history, culture,heritage, other
content areas, and life-long
learning.