Piano Club-- Danny MT041519_web
Local News

New Piano Club puts Hart students behind electronic keyboards

In the latest addition to James Hart School’s music program, 16 students have joined the Piano Club, an after school activity that gives them the chance to play the keyboard in 30 minute sessions twice a week. The eight keyboards arrived in November thanks to grants and support from the District 153 Parent Music Association. 
 

At first, it’s disconcerting.  How can this be a music lab without a sound?

  James Hart School student
  Danny Johnson joined the
  
afterschool Piano Club to
  learn to play piano
. (Photos by
  Marilyn Thomas/H-F Chronicle)
 

But look closer and you’ll see these students are playing the notes on electronic keyboards. The headphones they have plugged in allow them, but not the rest of the group, to hear the music.

In the latest addition to James Hart School’s music program, 16 students have joined the Piano Club, an after school activity that gives them the chance to play the keyboard in 30-minute sessions twice a week. 
 
The eight keyboards arrived in November thanks to grants and support from the District 153 Parent Music Association. The staff began including the keyboards into the music curriculum during the winter semester.
 
The keyboards are part of Hart’s Music Lab, begun in 2018, that incorporates 30 iPads and the electronic keyboards into the learning process. Every student in sixth, seventh and eighth grades spends approximately 2.5 to 3 full weeks working in the Music Lab each year. 
 
“While in the lab they spend half their time composing and the other half of their time learning the basics of playing the piano,” teacher Adrienne Olsen explained. The students use the GarageBand computer program to compose a five-track composition, a 12-bar jazz composition and a podcast. 
 
The Piano Club was started in February, according to music teacher Julie Holly, who is working with students in the after school program. Her supervisory stipend is covered by the Parent Music Association.
  James Hart School music
  teacher Julie Holly listens to 
  Oliver Stickney practice.

 
 
“We really wanted to open it up to the whole student body” at Hart, she said. After the email announcement, Holly had 50 students apply, but only had room for 16. 
 
The students are at various levels of proficiency. 
 
“Students that are in the music program here, they already know how to read music from band, orchestra and choir,” Holly said, “and some kids haven’t done anything (on a keyboard) at all.”
 
Danny Johnson, an eighth grader, told his family how much he enjoyed playing the piano during the first trimester of the music program, so when the email about the Piano Club arrived, his dad encouraged him to apply.
 
“I really liked playing piano. I like the sound of it,” he said. Danny’s learning the basics now, but said he enjoys rap music “and I do like classical music. It’s kind of rhythmic and really relaxing to listen to.”
 
Holly has her own headphones and plugs in to the student’s keyboard to hear them play at least one piece so she can assess their abilities and offer encouragement.
 
“I try to tell them how lucky they are because I don’t think there’s another school doing this in our area,” Holly said.
 
The faculty hopes to get funding for the third phase of the project – converting a closet in the Music Lab into a sound booth so the music students can create and record for their own podcast. The three- to five-minute podcast features a poem or other spoken word sandwiched between music students select.
 
“We hope to also purchase four more keyboards to allow more students to work on the keyboards at the same time,” Olsen said. “This would facilitate having our band, choir and orchestra students also use the lab for improving their theory and performance skills.” 
 

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