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Week 5 @ West Bayfield

Posted on November 5, 2009 by jennifervangennip

Today we were missing half our class! Hopefully those of you who were missing are not sick, and we hope to see you back next week. Be sure to do any worksheets linked from here, and email me if you were missing as there were some worksheets that I handed out in class that I do not have online to link to.

Beginner Level 1A

Today in Class

We started with the whole class playing out loud together to find all the Cs to play as holding notes. We completed lesson 7, where we practiced more holding notes. You both showed a big improvement today in playing back the rhythms, and I was so proud of you, and loved to see how pleased you were with your ability to get these all right today! We also talked on the floor about Mr. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concertos that Miss Melody played for us today, and I taught you that your fingers have numbers: thumbs are 1, pointers are two, etc out to the pinkies which are 5. We spent some time in the game room and improvisation room. Great job! =)

This Week @ Home

  • In CMJ volume 1 (if you have it) review lesson 7 and have fun in the practice room. In the Games Room there are 4 games for you to play.
  • Your fingers have numbers! Your thumbs are number 1, pointers number 2, etc. to your pinkies, which are number 5s. Teach this to a grown-up at home, and take turns wiggling the finger numbers that one of you call out.
  • This week’s worksheet was handed out in class, and it is about finger numbers.

Beginner Level 2A

Today in Class

Today we started out playing in Concertmaster (the program that lets us play out loud and hear each other). We did some whole notes (4 beats) on Cs all together. Everyone did a great job with this! Then we did Lesson 30, where you played Old MacDonald and Mr. Dvorak’s composition, the tune from the folk song “Going Home.” You worked on reading line and space notes, and whole, half, and quarter notes, and played two fun new games in the games room to practice note values and also naming the white notes. Remember that quarter notes (the ones that are coloured in circles) get one beat, and the notes that are not coloured in are half notes, and they get held for two beats. We will learn more about these next week. The stick on the quarter notes and half notes is called a stem, and if the stem is going up it goes on the right side of the note, and down stems go on the left side.

This Week @ Home

  • If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 30 with Mr. Dvorak and Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
  • Each day, practice finding all the Cs (Group of 2, down to C) and Fs (Group of 3, down to F) on your keyboards. You can go from highest to lowest or lowest to highest, as fast as you can or hold them as quarter notes, half notes, or whole notes. Then find all the Ds, all the Es, all the Gs, As, and Bs, counting up or down from the white notes you know (C and F). It is important that you become quite comfortable naming the white keys over the next couple of weeks as we will soon be reading on the Grand Staff!
  • Complete the worksheet I handed out in class and also this worksheet on line and space notes.
Level 1

Today in Class
We started out today reviewing grand staff notes on the white board and doing a few flashcards. We did some more work on Old Grey Goose in Piano Suite and I think that if you practice this piece this week, we’ll be able to try it out loud together next week. While we were on the floor I introduced rests, too. Notes represent lengths of sound, rests represent lengths of  silence. I also introduced the C Major Scale, play the notes from C to the next C using the fingering 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. This requires a thumb tuck, so your thumb plays the F as well. You played an ear training game and a note reading game in the CMJ2 software, too, and started working on Jingle Bells. Good work today!
This Week @ Home
  • Continue to review the white key names by playing all the Cs, then all the Fs, then all the Ds, Bs, Gs, As, and Es. You can play them from high to low or low to high, as quarter notes, half notes or whole notes, or just as fast as you can.
  • Play the C Major scale using the fingering 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. Aim for a smooth sound and once you get used to it, work on having only one key pressed down at a time so it doesn’t sound too blurry.
  • Review Old Grey Goose from last week. Can you memorize this piece for next class? I’d like to try it all together out loud with the accompaniment next week, so work on being able to play at a steady speed.
  • Complete the worksheet that I handed out today in class, for more practice with the notes in Old Grey Goose: C D E F G on the Treble Clef.

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