Ans. The books are designed in progressive order; hence students cannot pursue Bridge to Music Level-2 or above without having studied Level-1. For this reason, all classes from 1-5 will enjoy learning and studying the Level-1 book for the first year and progress to next level with each subsequent year.

Ans. Yes, it is perfectly possible to implement this music program starting with class one only. However, in the process of doing so, the students of classes 2-5 will be completely deprived of music education, although they would be studying in junior school for a minimum of two years. Hence, considering the advantages of learning music, we strongly recommend the implementation of Level-1 for classes 1 to 5. More importantly, the children will also gain fundamental education from Leve-1 itself.

Ans. Although the songs used in the method books are folk songs from European countries, the books also contain many original songs. The methodology aims at instilling in students a thorough understanding and command over basic elements of music such as pitch, harmony and rhythm. This provides a solid foundation for students to pursue learning any musical instrument or style of music. Hence, although the method primarily uses western music as a base, the learning is not restricted to any genres of music.

Ans. The music education methods of the west uses Sol (Pa in Hindustani music) as the tonal centre at initial stages, whereas the students in India are exposed to Hindustani and contemporary music that uses Do (Sa in Hindustani music) as the tonal centre. Most of the songs and all exercises used in Bridge to Music are composed to the tonal centre of Do (Sa), which is best suited for students in India. Apart from this, the rhythms used also draw influences from common rhythm patterns used for Tabla and other Indian percussion instruments at higher levels.

Ans. The Bridge to Music method mostly makes use of general musicianship that all music teachers naturally have. The theory of music part of the method is introduced in a slow progressing, step-by-step, manner considering the age of the students. The learning resources made available to teachers include Teacher’s Handbook, Instruction DVD, online forums and Professional Development Workshops. These provide detailed explanations and practical examples of concepts used in the book to help teachers at every stage.

Ans. Music learning is supposed to be a fun process and we do not encourage examinations for students of the intended age group. However, teachers will have access to sample test papers and/or practical assessment material available for download from our website (www.bridgemusic.in) that may be used to conduct internal assessments.

Ans. The books come with an audio CD that contains studio quality recordings of musical exercises given in the book to assist students’ practice. The CD also contains the recordings of each song given in the book along with a “sing along” track. The tracks on the audio CD will also be made available on our website for free download.

Ans. The classrooms will need to be equipped with a CD player along with good quality speakers. Optionally, teachers may make use of simple percussion instruments such as egg shakers, maracas, tambourine, etc.

Ans. The first book “Bridge to Music Level-1” is priced at INR 400/- only. The book comes with the audio CD.

Ans. As per the guidelines of ICSE syllabus for western music, the students are required to demonstrate Grade-4 level of musicianship on their instrument along with good knowledge of history of music and general music appreciation. The Level-6 to Level-8 of Bridge to Music, to be published in the second phase of the project, will cover this syllabus and enable students to pursue music as a core subject for class 10 examinations.