Hi! I'm Sherri Granka! I teach Music for Young Children music lessons in Brantford, Ontario.
Welcome to my MYC website! To visit me here again, please bookmark my URL: http://www.myc.com/teacher/SGranka and enter it in the Address field of your browser next time. You can also find me using the "Find a Teacher" link in the menu bar on www.myc.com.
There are many good reasons for young children to take piano lessons: they improve self-discipline, dexterity, coordination, self-esteem, thinking skills, creative abilities and personal expression. Group music lessons help children work together: children learn not only from the teacher but from each other.
MYC is a highly successful music education program for young children. In this unique program, piano lessons are combined with music lessons and involve fun and games too! Not only that, but parents get to attend MYC classes and learn how to play piano with their children!
Many children graduate from the program and continue private study. Other piano teachers and music schools have been happy to take on MYC graduates because they have a strong theory background, solid technique, and good sightreading and ear training skills. MYC graduates have developed good practice habits by the time they start private study and learn to play piano well independently.
I happily joined MYC in the Fall of 2002. In my first year, I discovered what a terrific program MYC really is. Children love learning about notes and intervals, building on their imagination as they hear "critter" stories or play music games. Keyboard lessons initially go at a relaxed pace and musical thinking is accelerated as children learn to sing in solfege (thus developing ear training skills), harmonize scales and melodies (beginning with Sunbeams I level) and play contrasting rhythm ensemble parts to a musical piece such as Vivaldi's "Winter." Children become excellent listeners and thinkers and better musicians in the process. The fact that they are learning alongside their parents with their friends makes it all that much more fun! This sums it up:
"The Music for Young Children Program has to be counted as the dominant force in the musical training of young children in Canada today. Many of the new students arriving each year in my studio are graduates of Music for Young Children. They arrive superbly prepared and well-motivated for further study. MYC teachers have found the right balance. They successfully blend the pleasure and joy of music making with the rigour of a well-crafted pedagogical progression."
Marc Widner, Chief Examiner Emeritus, Royal Conservatory Music Examinations
If you haven't already, please visit www.myc.com and read why parents think Music for Young Children is best at teaching children music. There you will find the Clear Benefits, Testimonials and MYC Programs.
A bit about myself...
I have taught piano for over 20 years and accompanied several soloists and choirs including the Junior Choir of the Brantford Children's Chorus. I have a B.A. from McMaster University with a Minor in Music and an M.A. from S.U.N.Y. Binghamton. In 2008, I completed the requirements for and received Music for Young Children certification. My RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) qualifications include Grade 8 piano, Grade 4 violin and Grade 2 theory. I have five years' orchestral experience playing first and second violin.
Other experience includes teaching French for five years in a day care setting, using music and games. I directed a children's church choir and their annual performance of Christmas musicals for several years; I served several years as Associate Artistic Director and Theory Teacher for the Brantford Children's Chorus.
In my spare time, I accompany group lessons for the Brant Suzuki String School and soloists for local conservatory exams and the Brantford Kiwanis Music Festival.
