Rebecca Duncan learned at an early age about the creative and holistic method behind the art of music. She spent her adolescence and early adulthood searching for more knowledge. Now, she shares what she has learned with her elementary school students.
“I’ve always enjoyed singing, even as a young kid,” Duncan said. It was a habit she inherited from her grandmother. “I’d have records and cassette tapes playing and I’d sing along. [Choir] was an opportunity for me to join a group and to sing on stage.”
Duncan performed in the fourth grade choir at her school, and joined band the year after. She played the clarinet. Her instructors made the classes fun for her, and were the driving force behind Duncan’s decision to become a music instructor herself.
South Suburban Community College in South Holland, Illinois, was where Duncan earned an associate’s degree in music appreciation. She transferred to Valparaiso University for a bachelor’s in music education.
In 2006, Duncan finished her own schooling and got a job in La Porte, teaching music to middle school children. It just did not feel like the right fit, she said, so she kept looking.
A year later she was hired by the Portage Township School system, and since has been teaching at both Meyers and Jones Elementary schools.
“I like giving kids an opportunity to share their feelings and be creative in a different kind of way,” she said. “Music is important because it offers another side of creativity, not just in elementary school, but through their whole lives. They learn to appreciate the value of it, even songs they hear on the radio, when they know more about music.”
Her kindergarten through second grade students first learn the basics of percussion to get the feeling of rhythm. It is a foundation Duncan builds on each year after. Third graders learn note names and practice on the xylophone and are taught more about orchestral instruments. Then in fourth grade, student learn the recorder.
Orchestral instruments make a comeback in fifth grade, where the students get to experiment with them a bit more in preparation for sixth grade, where they will have to choose one instrument to study. Often, they stay on the same instrument throughout middle and high school, Duncan explained.
Students are also encouraged to join the afterschool choir, to learn more about music application and to become personally involved with it. Anyone, so long as they are in fourth or fifth grade, can join, regardless of natural talent.
Circle the State with Song, however, is a program that students must audition for.
Duncan has been involved in this program for five years. It is a Hoosier program that brings students together from all over Indiana to harmonize in one impressive performance a year. They practice with their immediate classmates, and later their region. The day of the performance, they practice their seven-song set list with a guest composer, all morning and into the afternoon. Then, they take the stage at 3 p.m.
“They’re exposed to a different kind of repertoire,” Duncan said. “The songs are a little more complicated, they take a little more work. It’s a different experience singing with students they don’t know. They rise to the challenge and put in a lot of work and effort while still enjoying themselves with music. They learn to appreciate it a little more.”
They begin to see what an impact music can have on their lives, she added.
Duncan is familiar with its influence. From the inspirational pieces that set her on this career path to the hip hop she sings along to in the car, music can be heard in every aspect of her life.
It even exposed her to Indiana.
“I love a lot of things about Indiana that Illinois does not offer: the beach, the dunes. I love to spend time with my family and friends there,” she said.
Duncan and her husband moved from Illinois to Schererville, Indiana. He is a Technical Director for a school in Beecher and they are soon expecting their first child.
“My goal is to always be teaching kids about music,” she said. “I’m proud of how far my choir has come. When I first came to Portage, I had 13 kids join, now there are 60-70. They have gotten to know me over the years, and have made a connection.”