Kidzrock is a music program that teaches children as young as 4 how to play an instrument in the setting of a real rock band. Band members rotate on drums, electric guitar, and keyboard as they prepare to sing and play in a rock concert. Each band sings and performs songs featured on the Kidzrock CD. The songs are composed specifically for the program and use simple music patterns allowing this age group immediate access to musical performance.
Children learn how to read color-coded standard music notation from the Kidzrock Songbook while playing on modified instruments for smaller sized hands. The program creates a unique experience by combining instruments, theory, singing, ensemble performance and rock ‘n’ roll fantasy all rolled into one. All instruments are provided by Kidzrock and there are no practice expectations outside of the class.
What Children Learn in Kidzrock
The basic mechanics of guitar, drums and keyboards
How to read and play notes on the treble and percussion clef
Improvisation
Singing on pitch
Musical dynamics
Music terminology
How to play in a rock band
History of Kidzrock
Dave Simon, owner of Dave Simon’s Rock School in St. Louis, developed Kidzrock in 2010. He originally founded Rock School in 2003. The school catered to pre-teen and teenagers. Dave wanted to broaden his school’s appeal by offering programming for a younger age group. Private lessons proved to be a challenge for children younger than 7 due to the mechanical challenges for smaller hands. Dave observed from his own young children that they had basic sense of rhythm and melody. He devoted a year to experimenting with instruments and song structures that would utilize young children’s musical strengths making playing in a rock band a reality. Word about the program spread quickly and it became an immediate success in St. Louis. Kidzrock is now offered in arts centers, music schools, elementary schools and summer camps around the country.
Kidzrock Across America
Kidzrock is the only program in the US that makes the rock band experience accessible to children as young as 4. Kidzrock is licensed to over 14 music schools in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, Louisiana, Massachusetts, California and Colorado. This new approach to music education is proof that you are never too young to rock ‘n’ roll.