Orange #10

Hello Orange Roots!

Don’t forget….2 weeks of Spring Break, and then private lessons follow the next week!

This week in class we focused on included: taking dictation in the BASS CLEF, working on scales in C, F, G, and a minor, practicing inversions, note naming, triad spelling, and rhythm counting.

Practice at home:

1. Flashcards: We will be playing fun games in class from here on out, so please practice the flashcards every day. If your child can do it under one minute, then set the goal of 45 seconds. The faster they

are, the better they will sight read music.

2. Russian Sailor Dance: (pg. 14) & Bagatelle Bridges: (pg. 16)

The assignment log information outlines what needs to be accomplished by the end of the practice week. For example, on lesson #10 the song Russian Sailor Dance says, “Play the A section with the CD. Learn all of the B section and add the LH.” Keep in mind, your student needs to be doing this by the end of the week, not the first day of practice. Don’t expect to do the whole goal objective on the first day. Breaking practice goals up throughout the week will not only help them enjoy practice time more, but it will help them feel more successful.

Also, having your student listen to the repertoire songs on the CD will help them play them better. If they listen to the song a few times a day, it is another way to process the music that they will be practicing.

This week’s homework: Theory Assignment # 10

This week you will be working with sharps and flats. Remember, the center of either symbol lies directly on the note line. If you are confused about this assignment and/or your child has no idea what to do, call or email me. This is important stuff.

Parent Notes:

•This next time we have class is on Thursday, March 31st, or Sat April 2nd (private lessons).

• Make sure you continue to practice with your students. A few of them are really starting to lag behind and it’s all due to inconsistent or poor practice. When I asked them why they weren’t practicing they said, “My mom just can’t help me. We have too many other important things to do!” Make sure you aren’t holding your child back. (I’ve been guilty of this!) We only have a few weeks left and I know it can get hard, but YOU CAN DO IT! I feel a slight spring fever coming over everyone,

myself included, so let’s all make a concerted effort to do your best as a parent in being consistent. It’s so fun to see them progress and love music so much. I absolutely love seeing their musical growth!

Yellow Lesson #10

We played lots of songs on the keyboards this week. Can you believe how many songs we can play from that yellow songbook already? The next few lessons are going to focus on putting the two hands together. Sometimes it’s tricky – like in the Indian song – when both hands are playing different things. But with consistent and S-L-O-W and deliberate practice, you will be surprised at the results.

Have a wonderful spring BREAK. After your 5 practice days are done, just play for fun. HOMEWORK:

This is kind of like the bug scales – match each phrase of music (in the middle) to a cadence pattern on the right side and a bug on the left.

PRACTICING:

We get to play the caterpillar song again. We’ve done so much finger strengthening since you first played this song. The kids have improved so much on this song! Make sure to play your chords blocked, and broken into pieces. Also, please please please keep playing the "Alphabet Pieces" game (from the back of the songbook) if your child hasn't mastered which key is which yet. This is so important. Thanks for all of your hard work and support!

Blue Lesson #10

Are you practicing songs on your bells at home?

You have learned to play “How to Skip,” “The Dinosaur Song,” and “Are You Sleeping?” (the 'ding dong' part as well as the melody) on the bells now!

Maybe you can even figure out how to play: “V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E” and “Johnny Get Your Hair Cut “

Practice your bells over spring break! Remember to practice slowly and listen the song in your head. Sing along out loud. You can even play along with your CD player. On the autoharp, we are playing “El Gallo” and “On Top of Spaghetti.” We are also using DMajor and dminor to play “I’ve Been to Harlem” as the happy and sad travelers.

HOMEWORK:

Remember in red balloons when we used to place the notes on the right spot on the staff? This is a helpful review. Do your best with those tiny circles – you’re welcome to use little stickers or have mom help out

NEXT 2 WEEKS:

No classes! Enjoy your spring break! See you again the last week of March

Orange #9

Well moms (& dads)...

Your kids are totally AWESOME!! (in case you didn't know that)

Third year, and especially orange roots, can be pretty complex. I can tell your kids are practicing. They really are GETTING it.

Hopefully you’re all making plans to continue with piano lessons after our class is over. Your kids are all at the right age to succeed in private lessons – attention spans are longer, responsibility has increased, one-on-one attention is more effective, and now that they have their musical roots, they are ready to grow to great heights! I have 2 amazing private piano teachers to recommend that are close by. You may have someone else in mind. Just for your special new piano teacher, I have a letter of introdution and a page of helpful tips to make the transition easier. Each student will receive both at our final lesson. If you have questions about ANY of the piano teachers, which ones I might recommend for your child, etc., please don’t hesitate to call or email me. There will also be a LPM transition book available as a download at the end of the year. It will be free of charge – I will get you all the details as soon as I hear anything else. We worked on a couple new songs and our new puppet show. We refined our scales, inversions, and rhythm counting.

While I am sad that our time is almost over, I am SO PROUD of all our accomplishments together and so excited for the future! It has been a FABULOUS 3 years.

PRACTICING:

Play ALL your scales! Try hands together on all but F Major.

I will pass off the other two parts of New World next week – be ready to play each part with the group. Work on the whole “A” section of “Russian Sailor Dance” – get it ready to play with me in class! Also, learn the right hand of Bagatelle Bridges. (the book says to play C Major ) We’ll work on G Major in class next week.

What did you think of our new puppet show? “Coda” is a word that describes our special surprise ending! We also learned about introductions, and bridges. Hopefully your child will apply these ideas to their compositions. I'd like to encourage full rich pieces, that really showcase what they've learned. Don't hesitate to call me for ideas.

Lesson 11 is another private lesson. If you didn't sign up for a time in class, I'll be contacting you soon.

Yellow #9

Thanks for coming this week, Moms. Please know that I understand the COUNTLESS hours of quiet (and not so quiet) urging, patience, and reminding on your part to help your children get to where they are.

There were lots of new songs this week – a few of which we didn’t even have time to get to in class. Remember what we learned about the DOWNBEAT? See if you can hear the downbeat in songs around you. I was impressed to see you do the music alphabet backwards. Keep up the alphabet pieces game – do 2-3 letters at a time and see how quickly your kids can find those notes on the piano. I liked that Calypso beat, too.

PRACTICING

Have fun with those bug scales and remember to “pop” UNDER your long third finger on the way up. Play “How to Skip” using the hand positions and pattern we discussed in class. I can’t wait until next week to see what you have done with “Tinga Layo” and “When the Saints Go Marching.” I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with those chords. Keep working on “I’m an Indian” – and don’t overthink it – you’re doing two different things at the same time, but we’ve done so much in class to help you “feel it.” Be confident and SING while you play!

HOMEWORK

Name the notes on the staff: low C, middle C, high C (you can just mark “C”); middle D, and middle B. Want extra note-reading practice at home? Draw a simple staff with 5 lines and make 5-6 little dots around middle C – just like we did in class up at the piano. I love that sight-reading is such a fun game at this point!

See ya real soon!!

Blue Lesson #9

Today we played another ostinato on our bells to the song "Are you sleeping." We learned how to play a slug on the bells. The slugs are really half notes and are held for 2 beats, so we should exaggerate the way we wave that "extra" beat up in the air, before continuing on with our bug beats.

Wasn't it fun to see the BINGO song in action? This really seems to be a favorite with the kids. This song teaches great audiation, rhythmic balance and beat.

The homework this week is super short, but should be a springboard for you to try to “trick” your child with lots of questions like: How many monkey steps make one lion step? How many cicada steps make TWO elephant steps? This exercise shows the various beat relationships and is a great math lesson. The chart of different animal steps shows divisions of space. The CD rhythms divide time. As the children see the correlation between the 2 divisions, they are building "spatial awareness" which is a necessity for success in math. WOW!!

We started the new "Fox Hunt" puppet show today. Don't forget to have your kids color, cut and paste up their puppets.

See ya real soon!