Making Music
A Pre-Instrumental Music Course
for Children Aged 3-4
Next course starts 20 April 2024.
‘The class has been very beneficial for our child, who went from being extremely shy at the start to fully participating and enjoying the class each week. It has been the perfect balance of learning and fun.’
– S. Ayers Lewis
‘Great classes that help children to develop and appreciate music. [They] leave each week happy and want to return the following week. Everything I had hoped for.’
– D. McKenna
‘Very engaging and friendly teacher who uses a range of activities, including dancing, singing, call and response and instrument playing. Both of my girls have been teaching us the call and response activities at home. We will be back!’
– A. Moore
‘I would highly recommend the Making Music course for 3–4-year-olds. It’s a truly brilliant course, wonderfully active and engaging, and it really benefitted my son’s listening skills and enthusiasm for singing and dancing. It’s lovely that there is no need for any knowledge of music or instruments for it and that the teacher combines her knowledge of music and teaching superbly well.’
– A. Ní Shúilleabháin
‘[A] great teacher for introducing my daughter to the world of music. She learned lots and enjoyed every class.’
– M. Waters
Course Description
The first stage of Waltons New School of Music’s Music for Me pre-instrumental programme, Making Music provides an excellent opportunity for young children to explore and enjoy music with others of the same age. Together they absorb musical concepts like high and low, fast and slow, steady beat, dynamics and pulse through fun games, call-and-response songs and movement. They learn to use their voices expressively to sing and chant. They become sensitive to phrasing, articulation and dynamics, and demonstrate this while playing percussion instruments, moving creatively to music or drawing what they hear. They will also discover how sound is produced in instruments by tapping, plucking, bowing or blowing.
Children can repeat this course as long as they remain within the age range of the course. The activities will vary each time the course runs, and the course’s key concepts will be reinforced through repetition.
Questions about the course?
See our main Pre-Instrumental Music Programme page for more information about the programme as a whole and Music for Me FAQs page for some frequently asked questions about our Music for Me courses. You can also use our Contact Form or call us on (01) 478 1884.
Parent Participation
Parents are encouraged to volunteer as ‘helpers’ for one of the classes, although this is not a requirement. Volunteers are there not only to assist the Music for Me teacher with class activities but also to understand better what their children are learning. Participating in your child’s class shows how much you value his or her musical discoveries!
If you have enrolled your child in this course, please complete our Parent Participation Form before the course begins, indicating what date or dates you are available to participate.
Child Safety & COVID-19
The health and safety of children attending lessons and courses at the New School is of the utmost importance to us.
First, the New School has a comprehensive Child Protection Policy in place, and all of our teachers are Garda vetted.
And second, we have made a number of changes to our equipment and policies to make the New School as safe as possible during the time of COVID-19. These include:
- Perspex screens in every classroom.
- Installation of HEPA air filtration/purification units where necessary.
- Antiseptic dispensers available throughout the school.
- Cleaning and disinfection of classroom instruments and furniture between lessons and classes.
- Regular cleaning of public spaces.
See our COVID-19 Safety Policy page for more information on what we have done, as well as the protocols we expect students, parents and visitors to follow.
Balbina Rogala
Hailing from Poland, Balbina was interested in music from a very early age and began learning piano at the age of six at a full-time music school in Cracow. She went to study at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Cracow, where she received both a BA degree and a Master’s degree in Music Education. Throughout her twelve-year training, she also studied music teaching methodologies such Dalcroze Eurhythmics, as well history of music, theory of music and choral singing. While studying in the Academy, Balbina participated in the Erasmus Student exchange programme, which enabled her to study choral conducting for a year at the Ottorino Respighi Conservatory of Music in Latina, Italy and Dalcroze Eurhythmics for a year at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien (Academy of Music, Theatre and Media) in Hannover, Germany. She has also taken part in many music projects and masterclasses in Poland, Germany, Italy and Ireland as a chorister, pianist and music educator. Balbina has taught both piano and pre-instrumental (early years) music with a number of music schools in Poland and Ireland, as well as with Music Generation. She also works as a piano accompanist for both instrumentalists and singers preparing for examinations and auditions.
‘I am passionate about music education and the opportunities it provides for personal development, and I have thoroughly enjoyed providing these opportunities to students of all ages over the years. I aim to provide each of my students, whatever his or her level or background, with a diverse, accessible and high-quality educational experience.’
2023-2024 Third Term
Course Schedule & Fee
10 weeks, 20 April – 22 June 2024
Saturdays 10.15 – 11 am
Course Type: In-School
Tuition Fee: €160
Enrolment
Enrolment for this course requires a completed Enrolment Form and full payment of the course fee. Places are limited to twelve and are available on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the date of enrolment. Many of our group courses fill in advance of their start dates, and early enrolment is recommended.
Have you have enrolled your child?
Please complete a Parent Participation Form.
Purchasing this course as a gift?
Please complete a Gift Certificate Booking Form.
Questions about the course?
See our Music for Me FAQs or
or call us on (01) 478 1884.
a comprehensive music centre in the heart of Dublin.