My students need 3 Yamaha PSR E223 Keyboards with Survival Kits (including power supply, stereo headphones, and instructional DVD.)
$513 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My music students bring passion and lots of practice to our semi-annual concerts. This June's performances included Tito Puente's "Ran Kan Kan", with 6 percussionists, bass, 2 pianists, 4 horns, and 4 singers. We had rock, a Cuban song, hip hop and step dance, a gospel chorus, and many other acts.
I love our students.
They are black and Hispanic, mostly from poor families, with the enthusiasm and energy of all teens. Their rich cultural backgrounds make them open to many styles of music. Our music program has grown from one recorder class six years ago to a full program. We now have fifteen keyboards, various percussion instruments, and thirty guitars through “Little Kids Rock.” The Bronx Arts Ensemble also funds visits by three artists: a percussionist, vocalist and guitar teacher. We have had successful concerts twice a year for the past five years, with an emphasis on Afro-Caribbean music as well as Rhythm and Blues, Hiphop and Gospel (Chorus meets after school.) My daily program has three general music and one “advanced” class we call “The Band” composed of more experienced or talented students.
My Project
This year we need to fine-tune our program by creating a full "piano studio" with 30 keyboards, for two reasons. First, our school is moving to a new location, and we will no longer be able to have multiple groups (pianos and guitars) practicing in the same classroom area. Our solution is to create three class periods for piano and one for guitar. A full piano studio has an added advantage: my attention during each period will be undivided, so both piano and guitar students will have more coaching from me. While fostering individual progress in music literacy (practicing, reading, and improvising rhythms and melodies) the new program will also enable students to play in ensembles including keyboard, bass and percussion. The best, most cost effective piano keyboard for this purpose is the PSR E223 Keyboard with Survival Kit (inclucing power supply, stereo headphones and instructional DVD.)
In teaching as in life, it's wise to simplify.
If, with your generous assistance, we have a full piano studio, the general tone in my classroom will be calmer and more focused simply because my attention will be undivided. I will be able to keep students on task as they progress in both the piano and guitar curricula. The pianists AND guitarists will be able to focus and achieve more in reading, improvisation and ensemble playing, thus making our final performances and concerts even better!
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