The Key to Music Education:
Cottage Music Institute offers half-day and whole-day professional learning programs that focus on fundamental Musicianship skills for teachers, performers, and students.
Courses cater for all levels of music training, and are custom designed. All courses explore ways of learning music in a fun, exciting and challenging way. Participants develop core musical skills using songs, rhymes, listening, and ensemble activities, and incorporate key aspects of Kodály, Orff, Dalcroze, traditional and Jazz/Contemporary teaching approaches.
Courses for:
We develop skills such as pitch, rhythm, harmony, singing, memory, literacy, creativity, improvisation, inner hearing development, part thinking, harmonic listening, aural perception, vocal health, fundamentals of music theory, conducting, and performance.
We offer short intensive courses for high school students interested in developing skills in the areas of aural perception, dictation, and music theory, and for professional or semi-professional musicians interested in developing their musicianship and music theory skills. We also offer highly-specialised sessions on maintaining good vocal health for business professionals, choral directors, and teachers.
Courses are designed based around participants’ areas of interest, and can be offered during or outside of school hours. Dates and times will be arranged by consultation with the participants. Courses are offered at various locations, and can be held at your school. Whole-staff singing & vocal health sessions are also available.
Why Music is important in education:
Many studies have shown that quality music training enhances learning in other subject areas, such as sciences, mathematics, and languages. Intensive musicianship training provides a sense of mental stimulation that passive experiences do not. Music has a huge role in the area of mental health, as it lifts the mood in the classroom.
Regular engagement in quality music learning has been shown to enhance attention span, memory, and executive functioning, particularly in neurodiverse learners. Involvement in our structured programs builds confidence and a sense of connection. Students’ sense of self is enhanced, individual interpretation is encouraged and developed – and, students learn to find their own voice while benefiting from successful engagement in learning with their peers.
Engagement in our music activities fosters a sense of structure/form, routine, discipline (children come to realise they are equally responsible for the success of the lesson), and greater inhibitory control. These skills are life-long skills that help transition into the broader community, translating positively into their work life years later.
Discovery is the key to a deeper understanding of music – our aim is to create an environment where learning is natural, so that children absorb concepts in a way that is not obvious to them.
It is important that learning is fun, engaging, and interesting, so that it stimulates the imagination, and raises in the children a sense of curiosity and wonder about their musical world.
Music can be developed in children through classroom activities, transitions, brain breaks, community singing, and assembly presentations, and teachers continue to develop their own skills through their work. We explore aspects of the music curriculum and look at how to create exciting and challenging activities that allow children to experience music in a positive and engaging way. We look at ways of practicing, rehearsing and preparing for performances.
For more information, or to discuss course design and content, e mail info@cottagemusicinstitute.com
Short courses are also offered for International teachers.
© Micheál McCarthy 2025
Enrolments, Class Information
