New! Sheet Music for the Recorder
S’Cool Sounds (SCS) continues to expand its free online Learning Resources site with Sheet Music for the Recorder, a new companion resource inspired by the Recorders Without Borders lessons and media developed by SCS Artistic Director and professional recorder player Nina Stern.
The new sheet music allows students of all ages to journey around the world through song while building confidence and recorder skills. With pieces ranging from simple melodies to full arrangements, students can perform at their own level and grow as musicians.
Behind learner experiences are our essential partners bringing these resources to life and inspiring young musicians. Through presentations, workshops, and mentorship, Nina and SCS teaching artists bring tools, creativity, and confidence to recorder teachers everywhere.
Recently, for example, SCS Teaching Artist Joseph Jones led a recorder residency at a public school in the Bronx that included weekly mentoring sessions with a new music teacher. With multi-faceted programs like this, SCS can share expertise that strengthens music classrooms and extends our impact from teaching artist to teacher to student.
Through the donation of thousands of soprano recorders to students in New York City, and soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders to students in Kenya, SCS helps open the door for the next generation of musicians. The results are already visible, with S’Cool Sounds/Crossing Thresholds (SCS/CT) ensembles joyfully performing for their communities and recently advancing, once again, to the finals of the Kenya National Music Festival.
Your generosity helps us provide recorders and educational resources that support students in experiencing the joyful effect of making music. Contribute today!
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT
Watch SCS Teaching Artist Ruaridh Pattison (“Mr. Ru”) perform “Ala De’Lona,” an Arabic folk song from the Levant Region. A fan favorite in Joseph’s recorder residency, this piece invites students of all levels to explore, play along, and make music together.
COMMUNITY MEMBER HIGHLIGHT
SCS celebrates the teachers and teaching artists who share the SCS recorder approach, including: Dave Adewumi, Morgan Davison, Megan Hurley, Joseph Jones, Berta Moreno, Julius Odhiambo, Ruaridh Pattison, Jacob Saya, and Hery Paz. These musicians are all wind players trained by Nina in the SCS teaching method for the recorder.
Their musical expertise and dedication to music education contribute to the expansion of SCS curriculum and programming. For example, when Mr. Ru taught at a school in Harlem, he brought out his saxophone and serenaded the students with Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.” He then surprised everyone by whipping out a pink recorder from his back pocket and playing the same song on it. Students were inspired to see what’s possible on their own recorders and were shown that they belong in a broader community of musicians.