Characteristics of class development - School Project

Giving value to music education worldwide

The School Project endeavors to create opportunities and develop environments for high-quality music education to be accessible to all children worldwide.

With an eye toward building music education curricula in the countries where efforts are being carried out, the project works with local ministries of education to implement pilot classes using Yamaha educational materials, and support the production of local educational materials and the training of local core instructors. Instead of rolling out Yamaha’s own program, we aim to design music classes optimized for each country or region.

Precisely because the initiative utilizes industry-government-academia collaboration, one of the strengths of the School Project is that it is directly linked to the fostering of human resources desired in that country or region. Instead of providing dance activities with music, instrument lessons, or lecture-style classes, we support the designing of music classes that encourage proactive and collaborative learning, and treat music as an academic subject with clear objectives.

Characteristics of class contents

Through the power of music, what does Yamaha provide to educational settings in each country/region through the School Project and for what purpose?
Below, we share the characteristics of our class contents and how we try to nurture the skills that will be sought after in society in the future through the power of music.

Connecting people through music

We value the creation of connections between people forged through music. With faith in the power of music, we strive for understanding among diverse persons.

Experiencing "Do-Re-Mi" through musical instruments

Children experience the “Do-Re-Mi” musical scale and become aware of sounds by learning songs and how to play instruments, expanding their musical worlds.

Engaging with music over a broad spectrum

Not only do children learn to play instruments, they also gain general knowledge of music across the 4 areas of singing, musical instruments, music making, and music appreciation that are taught in Japan.

Nurturing the skills sought after by society

The project helps children gain capabilities such as self-confidence, understanding of others, leadership, resilience, and self-control, which are sure to be important for them to live in a complicated and diversifying society.

A place of learning where children take the lead

We place importance on student-centered learning, where children learn proactively and from one another, rather than the conventional teacher-centered approach.

Incorporating local traditional music

While the "Do-Re-Mi" musical scale is utilized, the focus is not solely on Western music. We support the creation of curriculum that incorporates local traditional music and organize curriculum to suit the desires of the local community.

Examples of music classes

Rhythm pair work

[Image] Children facing each other while playing the recorder

① Freely create rhythm using sounds and rests.
② Listen carefully and imitate the rhythms produced by one another.
③ Change the role.

#Careful listening
#Teamwork
#Self-control
#Creativity

Being the teacher work

[Image] A child acting as a teacher, and other children playing the recorder in response to his/her signals

① A student stands in front of the class in place of the teacher and gives cues.
② Repeatedly start/stop sounds according to cues.
③ Experience the teacher role to understand the others’ viewpoints.

#Leadership
#Understanding others
#Self-control
#Teamwork

Class rectical

[Image] Children presenting their recorder performance while others listen attentively

① Split roles into performers and audience.
② The audience listens carefully and gives feedback.
③ Play both roles to nurture respect for one another.

#Teamwork
#Understanding others
#Communication
#Listening

Training instructors

Yamaha does not send teachers to directly take charge of classes for children in the country/region where the initiative is being carried out.

We respect the culture, customs, and traditions of that country/region, and train and foster local instructors who become core to the school teacher community in order to achieve sustainable learning. With the cooperation of local education ministries, we have adopted a model in which local core instructors provide training for school teachers to encourage independence and revitalization of local educational establishments.