 We are to working on absolute pitch (plucking middle C out of thin air) and relative pitch (using that middle C to find the F above it by singing 'Do, Re, Mi, Fa; F is Do'). If this sounds like Greek, just ask your child to show you what we did. You'll be amazed at their musical skills! We figured out that when we play hand together (HT) on our 'Bug' Scale, our hands have to POP at different times! Please help your child practice this so they can successfully play HT in class next week! It was fun listening to Mozart's 'Twinkle, Twinkle' variations. What is a variation, you say? Well, you should ask your child — they should know after our discussion in class! Homework: p. 38–39 Students write in the counts (1–2–3–4) under the whole notes. Be sure they use a 'dash' to indicate that the note is holding for longer than one beat.  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star This familiar childhood song is a great way to learn about theme and variation. You can still hear the main theme in each of the variations, it is just sort of disguised in different ways each time. As we continue to study this song throughout the semester we will discover that it is ALSO written in our classical ABA form, and will help our fingers play in an extended C position.  Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is one of the most popular English nursery rhymes. It combines the tune of the 1761 French melody "Ah ! vous dirai-je, Maman" with an English poem, "The Star", by Jane Taylor. It is often thought that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the original writer of this melody. Reinforced by its appearance as a "correct answer" in the original edition of Trivial Pursuit and "Snapple Facts" (among others), many believe that the song was written by Mozart when he was four or five years old. Mozart was this age at the time the original French melody was written. Much later in his life, he did write 12 variations on the original theme-- which we hear on our CD! Check out this parrot singing his OWN variation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! For my convenience, I have preloaded content for the whole semester. I will update each future post with specific time-sensitive info before I send the link each week. If you choose to read ahead you might see details that don’t apply to your child’s class. For this reason I do not recommend reading ahead. Thank you!
Parents, thank you for coming to class! It was so fun to transpose (play a song in a different key or place on the keyboard from where it is originally written) and improvise (play notes not exactly as they are written on the page, such as playing a broken chord instead of a block chord). These skills are incredibly important for our complete musicians. Encourage your young musician to create their own music and play around with the music on the page in addition to learning how to play exactly what is written. Both skills are needed! Next week is Showtime for Halloween Night. I will be assessing if students can play the C minor red, blue, and yellow chords, and if they understand 3/4 time. I love that Let's Play Music is more than a piano course. Our ultimate goal is to teach full musicianship. Singing on pitch, hearing the pitches in our head (audiation) and internalizing the words in the songs to cement music concepts, will help bring about a top quality musician. Keep listening to the album and singing along! Homework: p. 36–37 Students write the note names on the blanks. Let's Play Music Wait a minute? This song isn't new! Using a song that our ears and fingers are VERY familiar with is a perfect stepping stone for being able to transpose. That's just a fancy word for reading notes in one key and playing in another. And it's kind of a big deal!! All of the foundational learning we've had in solfege, intervals, and skips and steps makes transposing super easy. We’ll have many more chances to transpose it this year. Kitty Casket Yep, you probably already guessed it. Similar to our 'Scratch My Back' game, this helps us feel that unresolved half cadence with our whole bodies! But, this time we will have the opportunity to play it with our hands as well. Now that we have introduced the spaces in the bass clef, you will appreciate this educational parody of Meghan Trainor's music "All About That Bass" that reinforces the notes of the bass clef in a fun way! And just for fun, I have attached some coloring pages for our new 'Skaters' puppet show. Enjoy! 
For my convenience, I have preloaded content for the whole semester. I will update each future post with specific time-sensitive info before I send the link each week. If you choose to read ahead you might see details that don’t apply to your child’s class. For this reason I do not recommend reading ahead. Thank you!
Next week is parent week and tuition is due! It was fun to see everybody play! If you haven't already sent me a video of Alouette, please text me or send it using Marco Polo. Homework: p. 32–35 Students can read about Mozart, the composer of "A Royal Problem" (which is really Symphony No. 40 in G minor) and need to label, add a repeat sign and double bar line, and determine which themes are major and minor. (See p. 60 in the Reference Section for the answers.) Song of Joy After experiencing it with our bodies, your child is ready to execute this tricky upbeat rhythm with their fingers. This song is also an opportunity to play as part of an ensemble in class and to audiate the model in their head while playing on their own. Speaking of playing as an ensemble staff, check out this live instrument flash mob of Ode to Joy in Spain! Hows it going with your flashcards? Have you shuffled in the treble clef lines yet? Click here for an online game to quiz your student on all of the treble clef notes we have learned so far! For my convenience, I have preloaded content for the whole semester. I will update each future post with specific time-sensitive info before I send the link each week. If you choose to read ahead you might see details that don’t apply to your child’s class. For this reason I do not recommend reading ahead. Thank you!
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Miss ClaraClara McDonald — As a music educator of 25 years, my passion is infusing others with music! Archives
May 2022
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