 We are having so much fun learning new skills and transferring our knowledge to playing the keyboard! My goal is that every student will master these skills this semester and YOUR support is the key to their success! Celebrate Connection A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!
Homework: p. 28–29 Students will find all of the middle C’s on the staff and draw some of their own. Schedule Reminder: There is no class on Tuesday, October 11 due to Fall Break :)  Bubble Hands Playing along with the Bubble Hand song on the album is the perfect opportunity to encourage your child to keep the bubble hand shape while they push down other fingers to play as well as reinforce finger numbers. Once they MASTER finger numbers in order, switch up the finger numbers in the 3rd verse. A fun way to extend this activity is to "write" the finger numbers on their fingers with marker OR “write” the finger numbers on the tops of the fingers on a latex glove which they wear while they play! Turtle Shells Speaking of finger numbers, your Turtle Shells discovered that intervals are played with specific finger numbers. A 2nd is played with fingers 1 & 2, a 3rd is played with 1 & 3, and a 4th is played with 1 & 4. Remember “Thumbs are ONES!” The bottom note of every interval is a middle C. It is the most important note because it has its VERY OWN line!!! (Like, seriously!) Firetruck Hurry, Hurry we learned to play a Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do! For practice play the song on the album and let them 'dance' in their seat, then get in C-position and play the 'ding, ding, ding' part. On each verse alternate between singing the solfege, the finger numbers, ding dings, and even "5 notes stepping down."  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!
Thank you for coming to class and having fun with your child. They love having you there to cheer them on! The students are quickly learning the keyboard basics and moving right along quite nicely. You may be yearning to hear your little one playing beautiful pieces, but remember, this is not just a piano course. We are learning harmony, ear training, singing, and listening to classical music. In time, it will all come together in a more complete and satisfying way than just playing a piece. Enjoy this journey with your child! Celebrate Connection A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!
Homework: p. 24–25 Students will cut out and glue on the "Spring Bees" characters on the listening map. Kit Kat Keyboard: Playing all the C's and then all the F's as fast as we can builds our spatial awareness of the keyboard (octave spacing). Mix it up this week by racing the song up the keyboard, or racing down the keyboard. Suggest they look at their fingers, then look away or even close their eyes! Sol Fa Mi Re Do “Who sits on your SOL-FA? MI and RE eating cookie DO!” A catchy phrase to remember the new melodic pattern we are learning. Our big goal is to 'HEAR and Recognize' and also to 'SEE and Recognize', and then PLAY the melodic patterns. We will begin playing Sol Fa Mi Re Do next week! Sally Go Round This is a fun game to play at home! Emphasize all landing together on BOOM! It is the whole body experience of the same kinesthetic energy that it takes to lift the hand and come down on the beat when you play a song. We are training the ear to hear layers of sound with the aquatic piece, Solfege Seafriends. By studying each individual part, we will be able to hear them distinctly even when they are played together. This is a great skill that a lot of adults haven’t yet acquired yet! Check out this fun example of harmony. 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 parents attend and tuition is due on the 20th! Next week when you come you can make class especially great by arriving a few minutes early to get your child settled at the keyboard, and throughout class encourage your child, praise them for the wonderful progress their little hands have made (hugs, do bonks, high 5's, etc.), participate in all of the activities, and HAVE FUN! Homework: p. 22–23 Students color the red chords and trace the last two. Celebrate Connection A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!
White Keys This week we reviewed anchor notes C & F in class with the 2nd verse of Kit Kat Keyboard. Play a quick game of “Show Me a _______” (LOW F, HIGH C or a MIDDLE C). This will help cement these white anchor notes as well as review keyboard geography! Red Chord Do you want to build a snowman? This year, a red chord will always be stacked up nice and neat like a snowman with two stacks of 3rds. Enjoy drawing rounded snowmen for the theory this week! Old Paint Now that we know how to read and play a red chord we get to play our favorite Old Paint! When you sing together exaggerate that down beat: good BYE, old PAINT, I'm LEAV-in Chey-ENNE. Mix it up singing in a cowboy voice, an opera voice, in a video for grandma! SING ALONG as your child accompanies you both feeling the steady beat and hearing beautiful harmonies all at once! Our first puppet show this year has been renamed “Spring Bees” for the sake of Let's Play Music's story line. However, its real name is “Spring” and is from a set of four violin concertos called, The Four Seasons composed by Antonio Vivaldi. What is your child’s favorite character? Can they hear the loud (forte) and soft (piano) within the themes? Which themes are major and which ones are minor? 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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Clara McDonaldAs a music educator of 25 years, my passion is infusing others with music! Archives
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