NBSO
Family Music Resource Center
Family Music Resource Center
Pre-K Music and Literacy Program
In this new program, children discover the similarities between the rhythmic features of words and the rhythmic sounds we hear in music. This emphasis on the sounds of words is based on research that shows that listening comprehension is a predictor of reading comprehension and reading fluency.
This program includes the premier of the NBSO’s new storybook, “A Concert at the Zoo” written by David MacKenzie, Dave Prentiss and Terry Wolkowicz with illustrations by Olivia Coucci. A musical piece for solo cello and narrator was composed by David MacKenzie in which the prosodic elements of the text are imitated in the music’s melodic contour and rhythm.
After listening to the story performance, children can practice speaking and drumming the animal and instrument word pairs from the book in the following video exercises.
Exercise Number 1: Cat, Drum, Monkey, Tuba
Exercise Number 2: Cat, Drum, Monkey, Tuba
Exercise Number 3: Baboon, Bassoon, Raccoon with Cat and Drum
Exercise Number 4: Elephant, Timpani with Cat, Drum, Monkey, Tuba
