General Music Classes Added at Somers Middle School

Music is on the rise at Somers Middle School.

Students who are not in performing arts classes now take two years of general music, in sixth and eighth grades, instead of just one in seventh grade.

“Exposure to the arts increases brain productivity, critical thinking, and mindfulness,” said Principal Jennifer Mangone. “It also helps increase social-emotional wellbeing.

Sixth graders are learning to play the ukulele and read cord charts. In a recent eighth-grade class, teacher Marie Williams taught the ways people have purchased and listened to music over the decades, beginning with vinyl records and moving to cassette tapes, compact discs, iPods and now streaming services.

Williams made the history more relevant with her personal experiences, recalling that the vinyl records from the progressive rock band Yes “had the best album covers,” and that compact discs “made a great stocking stuffer.” 

Later, her students will analyze form in pop music and learn guitar tablature (tabs), how to work a digital audio workstation and how to compose music to accompany fiction pieces they will write in English Language Arts classes. They will finish by learning guitar cords.

“If you want to go into music or songwriting, this will be important,” said student Matt Sowa.

True enough, but Williams said appreciating music is universal.

“We learn about music,” she said, “because music makes us human.”