Colourstrings

Welcome to 'Colourstrings' at Brittens Music School

Brittens Music School in Tunbridge Wells is home to our Colourstrings Classes, for children aged 1 to 7 years old. Colourstrings is a child-centred approach to music and instrumental teaching based on the work of Kodaly, Dalcroze and Orff. It replaces conventional teaching in the early stages and provides the best opportunity for children to learn musicianship in an enjoyable, stimulating and extraordinarily musical way... more

Use our contact form if you are interested in signing-up or to request more detail.

Colourstrings Classes

Classes available from Friday 4th September 2026
Robins	2s to 3s - Mainly children who turn 3 by September 2027	Friday 09.30 - 10.15
Blackbirds	3s to 4s - Mainly children who turn 4 by September 2025	Friday 13.30 - 14.15
Swallows*	4s to 6s - Children in the age group for Reception and Year 1	Wednesday 16.30 - 17.15 begins mid-October

*Swallows classes will begin in October when registered children will attend a free introductory class. Children can then enrol to join the regular classes after half-term which will be charged at the usual class rates for the remainder of the term.

Classes are held in our large upstairs teaching room at Brittens Music school. Class sizes are limited and we offer places on a first come first served basis. If you are interested in signing up and would like to know more, please complete the contact form below . We will invite you to try the appropriate class and send you the joining instructions and terms and conditions. There is nothing to pay for the trial class. When you decide to sign up for the term we will send you an invoice. Classes cost £10.00 each and are invoiced for the term in advance.

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Term Dates

Note: Tuition fees are due at the beginning of each term.

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What is Colourstrings?

Our Tunbridge Wells Music School is home to our Colourstrings Classes, for children aged 2 to 6 years old. Colourstrings is a child-centered approach to music and instrumental teaching based on the work of Kodaly, Dalcroze and Orff. It replaces conventional teaching in the early stages and provides the best opportunity for children to learn musicianship in an enjoyable, stimulating and extraordinarily musical way.

It was developed by the Hungarian brothers, Géza and Csaba Szilvay who have gained international recognition as conductors, educators and string teachers. Colourstrings has been established in Finland for over 45 years and the rest of the world since the early 1990s with outstanding results. The number of teachers following this approach to teaching young children grows annually around the world.

Everyone is Musical!

Musical experiences are very important during the early years. Every child is born with an inherent musical ability which needs nurturing early on so that it can develop fully.

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Music Kindergarten Classes

Training begins in the Music Kindergarten where you can join your child on a wonderful adventure travelling to Musicland. They learn through experience about basic musical concepts such as high and low (pitch), loud and soft (dynamics), short and long sounds (rhythm), mood and style (character), fast and slow (tempo) and develop their singing voices and inner hearing.

Brittens Music Colourstrings Kindergarten aims to surround children with a positive, friendly and stimulating environment where they will have a multi-sensory and active musical experience through singing, listening, performing and accompaniment with percussion instruments. Pictures, musical stories, puppets and games are used to bring alive the musical elements so that children learn unconsciously and effortlessly. By introducing music in a playful yet structured manner we believe parents and carers are giving their children the opportunity to develop a love and appreciation of music which will last a lifetime. A feature of every Colourstrings class is a short period of quiet, focused listening to classical or folk music from different periods and cultures, both recorded and live.

Enhance All Areas of Development

The Colourstrings approach of multi-sensory learning encourages not only musicianship but develops the whole child, training the attention, supporting social, academic and motor development and helping each child grow into a confident individual. Interestingly, research indicates an early musical education helps build new neural pathways which, put more simply, means growing more routes and connections in the brain along which information can travel and be processed.

The songs and activities lie within each age group’s capabilities, allowing room to develop and stretch their skills further whilst taking into account the emotional, developmental and musical needs of each individual child. Class size is limited to between 6 and 10 children at the teachers’ discretion.

Graded Song Books, CDs and Work Books

Multicultural folk songs, rhymes and traditional nursery songs are a weekly feature with the core song material featured in a series of books and CDs called the Singing and Rhythm Rascals. These are designed for pre-school, Early Years and Key Stage 1 children with the aim of awakening their interest in music and creating a musical environment in the child’s home.

The primary purpose of the CDs is to encourage the child to sing and sing well. The graded repertoire helps develop the best intonation/pitch accuracy. A story links each song to the next and at the end of each sequence the song is heard as a string orchestral performance of high artistic quality which leads the child naturally from singing to listening. The Rascals songs reappear in workbooks and instrumental tutor books, creating an integrated system of learning which has been tried and tested and established in Finland for over 45 years with outstanding results.

Books and CDs are available from Brittens Music.

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The Colourstrings Classes Explained

Robins | Blackbirds | Swallows

Robins - 2 to 3 Years

At this age we aim to expose the children to as many different musical experiences as possible. We explore counting songs and rhymes, action songs, respond to music physically with our bodies, scarves and teddies, start moving (with assistance!) at different speeds and enjoy being rocked, bounced and swung. The children develop favourite songs, try out a variety of percussion instruments and meet Mummy and Baby Bear in Musicland. The structure of the class helps keep things familiar and secure as well as giving a sense of discipline and routine.

As the children are growing, the class includes more movement, circle dances and musical activities that focus on keeping the beat along with developing co-ordination, listening and language skills. As your child develops they can join in with action songs, start to contribute ideas for what to do next or whether to go fast or slow and start to sing themselves and take on solo roles with parental support. We meet Three Bears in Musicland and explore the musical concepts through the Colourstrings books as well as other songs and rhymes. We try out a variety of percussion instruments and develop our imagination through the story within the songs.

Back to our classes for 2025/26

Blackbirds - 3 to 4 years

As their confidence develops, children continue to explore musical concepts through fun songs and games, rhymes, movement and dances and add in the very beginning of musical notation through finding Middle Bear (TA) and Little Bear (titi) paw prints and tapping different melodic rhythms with words and with the rhythm syllables.

Through the familiar Colourstrings songs, solo and ensemble singing is encouraged with games to develop listening, pitch matching and aurally recognising and identifying songs. Children learn to interact and co-operate in small groups and express different moods through songs, instruments and creative movement. We explore different ways to play percussion instruments and accompany our singing.

Back to our classes for 2026/27

Swallows - after school groups

Swallows - 4s to 6s (children in the age group for Reception and Year 1)

Children generally come to the after-school classes without a parent or carer but you are welcome to sit in for a week or two if that will help your child settle in.

In the after-school programme, the children start to link the songs they have learned to the musical concepts we have previously explored, as well as beginning to consciously understand rhythm and pitch. They start to translate the rhythm of the songs into ‘bear language’ which then moves them towards reading musical notation. They also begin translating the pitches within the songs with the help of Solfa Sam, learning the pitches through tonic solfa (Do, Re, Mi) and hand signs. This class is lots of fun, with musical games, exploration of percussion instruments, clapping games and dances.

We recommend that any children new to Colourstrings starting this class purchase the Pentatonic book and CD (these are available at Brittens Music). Progress depends on the children knowing the songs well.

Back to our classes for 2026/27