How it Works
Project Rhythm brings a new kind of music method to your home or classroom. It teaches kids how to collaboratively produce their own music in groups and is a fun way for young people to take charge of the learning process.
- For ages 10-18
- Students learn life skills and make music like what they listen to on the radio
- No music or production experience needed
- Works with Chromebooks, PCs, Macs, and all tablets
- Aligns with Common Core, SEL, STEAM, and ISTE standards
- Aligns with existing music teacher skills
- No formal music training required
Method
Our goal is to teach young people life skills through the process of creating original art. We draw on our own experiences in the studio as musicians and in the classroom as teachers. while drawing from contemporary Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculums. We combined these skills with Common Core, STEM, SEL, ELA, CASEL, ISTE, ITEEA, and other national music and technological literacy standards to create an interactive, collaborative, and dynamic digital music curriculum.
Through the years we’ve honed our craft and named it the FLOAT method:
The approach used by teachers trained in our method: Think like a producer to capture the magic. Teachers show young people how to create the music of their generation. Music that is made in the 21st-century studio rather than the 19th-century study.
We guide our students through the creative process by teaching important leadership skills such as time management and conflict resolution. With our “Each one teach one” philosophy students not only learn by doing but are also empowered to teach and inspire each other in independent small groups.
Here we walk our teachers through the process, helping them to see all that needs to be accomplished over the course of the year and how to prioritize what needs to be done by when. While we leave the curriculum open for each teacher to choose what best suits their style as a teacher and artist, we also provide suggestions for the structure of the year. We invite them to envision the arc of the year from getting started on the first day to the final performance.
While we don’t teach our students to read music we do pass on the basic building blocks of the artform. We combine traditional components such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyric writing with contemporary production elements such as arrangement, mixing, texture, and timbre.
Students learn how to use contemporary hardware and software to create, engineer, arrange, and produce their own music. These hardware and software principles can be applied to other computer programs and physical engineering
Project Rhythm is committed to using music as a way to educate and empower young people.
We believe that by implementing effective youth programs, we can help young people:
Improve their collaborative leadership skills through:
- Collaboration
- Conflict Resolution
- Leadership
- Confidence
Improve cognitive development (executive functions) through:
- Planning
- Task Flexibility
- Problem Solving
- Execution
Increase career readiness skills through:
- Technology / Computer Skills
- Engineering / Troubleshooting
- Production / Product Creation
- Public Speaking
Ultimately, Project Rhythm believes these outcomes will empower youth to make positive life choices and to become beneficial contributors to society.