We are 6 weeks in to the 10 week program, and I am seeing huge progress with some of the students new to the program, and I am also seeing very steady progress among the students farther along and who may feel like they aren’t learning as fast but who have learned a tremendous amount of information which they are beginning to synthesize together.  We all need to remind ourselves that the music we are learning to play and learning about is about the expression of ideas, not just the technique involved!

Tori and Olivia are closing in on the end of CMJ2 where they have spent the last couple of lessons practicing music with more complicated rhythms involving 8^th notes and ties.  Alex is also not far behind and has been learning about 8^th notes.  All three are getting better about being patient with that annoying woodpecker (metronome)!  At home this week it would be useful for Tori and Olivia to choose one “recital” piece in lesson 59 or 60 and practice it really well.  Alex, please spend some time with Miss Melody in lesson 54, and then of course enjoy some games!  You can also find new songs in the “library” by clicking on the computer.

Quin and Melissa have been working very hard playing sharps and flats, understanding that they carry through the measure, and this week they were introduced to natural signs and played pieces that used all three accidentals (sharp, flat and natural sign symbols).  They have both done a great job!  You can practice these further in your next lessons, or with Miss Melody in lesson 72.

Michael has finished his lessons with Scott Joplin!  He has done a nice job with a good hand position in C position and learning all of the note names forwards and backwards.  He has also done some terrific ear training work with Bongo Boy (rhythm) and Cliff Hanger (pitches).  At home you could try the leaf catcher game using the computer keyboard letter names, and you can also try some simple improvisations in the improve room.  Take your time finding a background rhythm you like!

Grisha completed lesson 20 this week, and gave us a performance of Ode to Joy as well!    He worked very hard reading the notes for the last two lines, using the notation on a simple staff with “normal” notes moving (mostly) by step that he has been learning to read in his last two lessons.  Next week he will meet his new teacher, Mr. Villa-Lobos.

Technique sheets to print out:

Quin and Melissa:  Here is a review sheet for rhythms (rests, 8th notes and ties), and  this is for naturals

Quin, Melissa, Alex, Tori and Olivia, and Grisha and if you want to try: Here is a copy of Mary Had a Little Lamb After you follow the instructions, you can play it on any piano or keyboard!  Remember that the barlines happen every four BEATS, not every four notes.

Alex, Grisha and Michael:  Here is a technique sheet for practicing with the musical alphabet forwards and backwards, and here is another for staying familiar with what notes are like moving by steps as opposed to skips.

Have a great week everyone!

Like last week, everyone was very focused with their keyboard lesson work and I was able to circulate and spend time with everyone.

In CMJ1 Michael plowed through three lessons with Mr. Joplin, and is now playing music using all 10 fingers in C position, reading notes with finger numbers on a simple staff!  Michael had fun in the Games Room and learned some new games in CMJ2 with Quin.  Nice work, Michael!  Grisha worked his way through lessons 17, 18 and part of 19 with Fanny Mendelssohn and did a good job playing songs like Mary had a Big Fat Sheep and Upside Down Buns.  It was a little tricky to switch back and forth from the right hand to the left at first, but it got easier by the end of class.  Grisha also spent some time in the Games Room with some ear training games.

In CMJ2 Royson finished lesson 34 and is starting to get more comfortable reading notes on the Grand Staff.  Only one more lesson with Mr. Mozart! Tori worked through lessons 55 and 56, and Olivia 53, 54 and 55.  Tori and Olivia have been doing serious rhythm work (eighth notes) with the woodpecker, as well as reading new songs with more and more complicated rhythms.  Tori was also introduced to quarter note rests with her new teacher, Frederic Chopin.

In CMJ3, with Cecile Chaminade, a late 19^th and early 20th century French composer, Melissa finished lesson 72 and Quin finished lesson 71.  Both are still working on flats, this time learning that the symbol for flats (or sharps) carry through the measure.  Melissa and Quin have also gotten very good at their rhythm exercises, specially reading ties where the note values are added together, sometimes indicating that notes are held down from one measure to the next.  Both girls were also very careful to practice with Miss Melody the new techniques they learned.

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 At home this week:

Everyone should review with Miss Melody and spend some time in the games room and the improv room.  If you have reviewed with Miss Melody you can try the next lesson, or go to the library, click on the computer, and find some extra songs to play.

Technique sheets you can print out:

Melissa and Quin:  this is for flats (you had this last week, but it might be good to do this one again!)  Here is a word search for Ms. Chaminade.

Olivia:  WRITE out a simple piece for your right hand.  Please, please, please?  Here is the link for your paper.

Tori:  Here is a worksheet with some practice with quarter note rests, and here is a Frederic Chopin word search.

Royson:  Almost, almost, almost done with Mr. Mozart….Here is a Mozart word search to help you remember some things about him!  Also, you can print this out to help remember the notes you learned in your last lesson.

Michael:   Here is a word search to help you remember some things about your new teacher, Mr. Scott Joplin, and you can have fun with these work sheets to help you remember how your fingers are numbered for playing music on a piano.

Grisha:  Here is a technique sheet to help you remember what the notes moving up and down by steps, on spaces and lines, look like.   Here also is a fun word search about Ms. Fanny Mendelssohn.

Have fun, and I’ll see you all next week!

We also reviewed steps and skips, including larger skips and intervals which we were able to see and measure on our hopscotch board as well as hear on the keyboards.  Melissa and Olivia played Ode to Joy for us, discovering once again that it can be really difficult to play the same thing at the same time!

At the keyboards this week everyone was more focused than I’ve ever seen them, everyone working hard to master at least one new skill.

In CMJ3 Melissa finished lesson 71 with her new teacher Cecile Chaminade, Quin finished lesson 70, and both are learning about flats, the symbol which means to lower the designated note by a half step.  They also worked on some pieces that included the note B-flat.

In CMJ2 Royson finished lessons 32 and 33 (as well as played Ode to Joy looking at the Grand Staff notes in lesson 50!).  Tori was diligent finishing lesson 45, and Olivia has finished 52.  Tori and Olivia can now read and play the notes from F in the bass clef with left hand finger number five, up to G in the treble clef with right hand finger number five.  Alex also worked very hard in lesson 52, and was VERY careful using all of his fingers including his pinky fingers, sometimes a little tricky because our pinky fingers are not as strong.  Tori, Quin, Olivia and Alex all played with very nice hand positions this week, and Everyone is doing a fabulous job reading notes on the Grand Staff, even when there are no finger numbers!

In CMJ1 Michael is moving along quickly and finished lesson 10 with Mr. Bach. In addition to practicing double notes, holding notes and rhythm “sentences,” Michael did a nice job with Jungle Boy in the cliff hanger game hearing notes going higher and higher as well as lower and lower.

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At home this week, keep strengthening your fingers!  Tap your fingers on your desk or dining room table, as long as it doesn’t drive your friends, teachers, or families crazy!

One, one, one (pause), one is thumb (pause),

Two, two, two (pause), two is new (pause),

Three, three, three (pause), count on me (pause),

Four, four, four (pause), just one more (pause),

Five, five, five (pause), so a-live!

 Everyone should review with Miss Melody and spend some time in the games room and the improv room.  Remember, you can always find interesting things in the library like music to listen to from the composers in our lessons (click on the globe with the headphones) or more music to play (click on the computer).

Technique sheets you can print out:

Melissa and Quin:  this is for sharps, and this is for flats, and this is for eighth notes

Olivia, Tori, Alex, Quin, Melissa:  this is for note naming and this is for dividing notes into 4-beat groups

Royson:  this is for lines and spaces and getting used to the Grand Staff

Michael: this is for double notes 

Have fun, and I’ll see you next week!

We also spent some time clapping rhythms, and they all worked especially hard while divided into two groups, one keeping a steady beat of either quarter or half notes, and the other clapping a rhythmic counterpoint which included eighth notes.  Its pretty tricky to stay steady, but we get better at it each week!

At the keyboards everyone worked their way through one or two lessons:

Melissa – 67 and 68 (more songs with F-sharps)

Tori – 56 and 57 (Chopin, practicing all notes and rhythms learned in level 2)

Olivia – 50 (Ode to Joy with “real” notes and starting to learn about rests)

Royson – 30 and 31 (yay Mozart!)

Michael – 5, 6, and 7! (holding notes, reading note-heads, no stems)

Grisha – 17 Mary had a little lamb in C position and musical alphabet backwards

Alex Z – 50 (Ode to Joy and starting to learn about rests)

Quin – 67 (F-sharps and more rhythm work)

At home: Enjoy the Spring vacation week!

You may work on your improvisations if you like (a piece about spring?) see notes in first paragraph, and keep tapping your fingers!

One, one, one (pause), one is thumb (pause),

Two, two, two (pause), two is new (pause),

Three, three, three (pause), count on me (pause),

Four, four, four (pause), just one more (pause),

Five, five, five (pause), so a-live!

I look forward to seeing you all after vacation!

At the keyboards:

CMJ1:  Michael completed lessons 3 and 4, has gotten very good at hearing and playing rhythms, and has started to read notes on a simple, lined staff.  Grisha worked through lesson 17 with Fanny Mendelssohn, and did particularly good work in the practice room with Miss Melody playing songs in C position, using all of his fingers.

CMJ2:  Royson worked very hard going all the way through lesson 28, using all of his fingers and being careful to keep his hands in C position, with a particular focus on reading notes for his right hand (C, D and E).  He also worked hard playing back rhythms and practicing with Miss Melody. Olivia worked through lesson 48 with a review of the left hand note, F, and Tori completed lessons 52 and 53, with more practice of eighth notes and being accurate with that most annoying woodpecker (metronome).

CMJ3:  Melissa and Quin met their new teacher, Scarlatti, and are now very excited to be playing black notes, or at least one, F-sharp!  They did a nice job integrating this new note into what they already know about the keyboard and Grand Staff notation.  They are both also doing an excellent job with the level 3 rhythmic exercises which are not only getting trickier, but the computer program is demanding a much higher level of accuracy.

At home this week:

Like last week, EVERYONE please keep strengthening your fingers:  With fingertips touching as if holding on to a ball, the fingers (numbered 1-5 beginning with the thumbs) should tap in time with the rhythm of the rhyme when that particular finger is named (i.e. both thumbs tap six times during the first line, with a pause in the middle.  Then the two index fingers for six taps with a pause in the middle, etc.

One, one, one (pause), one is thumb (pause),

Two, two, two (pause), two is new (pause),

Three, three, three (pause), count on me (pause),

Four, four, four (pause), just one more (pause),

Five, five, five (pause), so a-live!

Michael and Grisha:

1.  More 4-count rhythms! (for example My—name-is-Mi—chael–) clapping your hands, and get one of your brothers or a parent to clap it back to you.  Then ask them to make up a rhythm for you!  This time, after saying the word rhythms see if you can clap the rhythm without the words.  (You can still imagine the words in your head.)

2.  You can print out this word search to help you remember interesting facts about Mr. Beethoven, and here is an activity sheet that might give you another way to think about 4-beat phrases.

3.  Grisha (and Michael if you wish!) here is an activity sheet for reviewing the musical alphabet and practicing which letter names go with which piano keys.

4.  Grisha – Please play through Hills and Valleys again in the lesson 17 practice room with Miss Melody, and remember especially to keep your THUMBS on middle C.

Royson:

1.  Spend some time in CMJ2 and work through the whole of lesson 30 with Mr. Dvorak.   You can then pick any lesson with Mozart (31, 32, or 33) BUT only with Miss Melody in the practice room!  (You will need to make sure the mode is set to “free” by clicking on the tool box.)  Please remember to tell me how it goes at the next class!

2.  Please print out this activity sheet to familiarize yourself with some Grand Staff symbols.  (Beware, one term is in the wrong column.)  Here is another for practice writing and naming some Grand Staff notes.  Your sister can help you if you need it!

3. Spend some time in the improvisation room, and play a piece in C position using all ten of your fingers with both thumbs on middle C.

Tori, Olivia, Quin, Melissa:

1.  Work on sketches for your own improvisation piece, and practice them either on an electronic keyboard (like the ones we use in class) or on a regular piano.  No notes though!  You can refer to whatever you put on your one-minute timeline.  (template sent via e-mail)

2.  Lesson reviews with Miss Melody – Tori 53, Olivia 48, Quin and Melissa 66 and 67.

3.  Bring your improvisations to class next week!  With or without your time-lines.

4.  Here are some word searches: Mr. Satie for Tori and Olivia, and Mr. Scarlatti for Melissa and Quin.  You may also print out this activity sheet for some practice naming notes on the Grand Staff, and here is another for general review.

See you next week!

Activities away from the keyboards this week included our finger strengthening rhyme, teaching it to Alex and Michael (see below if you need a refresher).  Our ear-training work was focused on rhythm, with the more experienced students reviewing note values and listening to an actual metronome (as opposed to the unforgiving woodpecker).  Royson taught Michael how to play rhythms with Bongo Boy, and then Royson, Michael and Alex set up their own version where they played rhythms for each other.  The MusIQ veterans (aka “the girls”) also talked about “designing” a piece of music, how one might go about thinking about a new piece before starting an improvisation or trying to write it down.  Several pieces were started, some were completed and performed, and several new methods of notation were created right on the spot!  We will develop these ideas more this spring.

At the keyboards:

CMJ1:  Michael completed lessons 1 and 2, becoming familiar with Mr. Beethoven, high and low notes, and how to locate middle C on his keyboard.  Royson was helpful introducing him to the games room where he could practice playing all of the above on his keyboard as well as playing rhythms on middle C with Bongo Boy.  Fantastic job, Michael.  And thank you very much, Royson!  Royson also performed Ode to Joy for Michael, as well as listening to other students in CMJ2 and reviewing with Mr. Dvorak.

CMJ2:  Alex finished his lessons with Amy Beach this week, and had his first lesson (41) with Mr. Tchaikovsky using the notes G-F and playing with dynamics.  Olivia has completed lessons 52 and 53 with Mr. Handel and Tori completed lessons 55 and 56, learning to play eighth notes and understand their rhythmic relationship to quarter notes.

CMJ3:  Melissa and Quin have dived into CMJ3 performing more and more complicated rhythms with the woodpecker and learning about sharps.  Quin also enjoyed the ear training game with Guitar Girl, hearing and playing back pitches (rather than rhythms as with Bongo Boy).

At home this week:

Everyone please keep strengthening your fingers:  With fingertips touching as if holding on to a ball, the fingers (numbered 1-5 beginning with the thumbs) should tap in time with the rhythm of the rhyme when that particular finger is named (i.e. both thumbs tap six times during the first line, with a pause in the middle.  Then the two index fingers for six taps with a pause in the middle, etc.

One, one, one (pause), one is thumb (pause),

Two, two, two (pause), two is new (pause),

Three, three, three (pause), count on me (pause),

Four, four, four (pause), just one more (pause),

Five, five, five (pause), so a-live!

Michael:

1.  Make up some 4-count rhythms (for example,  My—name-is-Mi—chael–) clapping your hands, and get one of your brothers or a parent to clap it back to you.  Then ask them to make up a rhythm for you!

2.  You can print out this activity sheet to help you remember what you learned in class last week about locating high notes and low notes as well as middle C.

3.  See improvisation note below.

Royson:

1.  Spend some time in CMJ2 in lessons 31 and 32, but only with Miss Melody in the practice room!  (You will need to make sure the mode is set to “free” by clicking on the tool box.)  If this seems very easy for you (I think it just might!) please do the same with Miss Melody in lessons 33 and 34.

2.  Here is a word search you can print out with fun facts about the quite friendly Mr. Mozart.  You might have some questions about some of these words (like “What does Mozart have to do with Jupiter?), so bring them next week!

3.  See improvisation note below.

Alex and Royson:

1.  You can print out this technique sheet and have fun with some music math while reviewing your note values.

Alex:

1.  For extra songs to practice click on the library, then click on the computer, then select new songs using notes A through E.

2.  Print out this work sheet for reviewing notes in the treble clef (right hand notes).

3.  See improvisation assignment below.

Tori and Olivia:

1.  You may print out this word search for reviewing some fun facts about Mr. Handel.

2.  Review lesson 53 with Miss Melody in the practice room.

3.  See below  for an improvisation assignment.

Quin and Melissa:

1.  Spend time going through the first 5 lessons of CMJ3 reviewing with Mr. Dvorak, and pay special attention to the review of eighth notes.

2.  You can print out this technique sheet for reviewing eighth notes.

IMPROVISATION ASSIGNMENT FOR EVERYONE

Imagine a piece only one minute long that you are going to improvise (in this case, you will play it on a keyboard in class next week).  First, just close your eyes and think about what it might sound like.   Here are some things to think about:

1.  What kind of mood does it have?

2.  Will it start slow or fast, loudly or softly?  How will it end?

3.  Think of words you can use to describe the sound you hear in your head, and write them down if you wish.

4.  Can you draw a picture of it?  No notes though!  Please bring your drawing to the next class.

Have fun, try to be specific, and bring all of your ideas to class next week.

See you then!

At home this week….practice for our end of session open class/recital!  We had a brief discussion about next week’s class, the last of this session.  The class will be held on THURSDAY (NOT Tuesday) next week, and the children would like parents to come at the end of class rather than the beginning, if possible.    If this is difficult then we would like to hold off until the end of the next 10-week session and then have a ”really big party and recital” in June!

Grisha – please spend some time with Miss Melody in the practice rooms for lessons 13, 14 and 15, and don’t forget to sit up straight with your stomach right in front of middle C so it is easy to place your hands in C position.  Also, don’t forget about your thumbs!  They will take turns playing the same note, middle C!  After a practice session with Miss Melody, don’t forget to have some fun in the Games Room.  Choose one game to practice so you can demonstrate it next week!

Melissa and Quin – Both Melissa and Quin have elected to perform By the Sea next week, and Melissa would like to play Ode to Joy, right hand only, using the Piano Suite software.  By the Sea and other pieces can be found in the “library” by clicking on the computer.    Both Melissa and Quin are also welcome to look at lessons 59 and 60 for extra recital preparation and practice.  Have fun finishing up with Mr. Chopin, and congratulations for all you have learned, including about eighth notes!

Olivia —  Review with Miss Melody in lesson 40, and then choose a recital piece from either lesson 40 or the extra pieces found in the library by clicking on the computer.  In addition, I hope we will all get to hear one of your own original pieces!  Please pick one piece to tell us about and to perform.

At home this week:

Sit up straight and face your keyboard, belly button facing middle C!

Scales – Haley C major, both hands separately as well as contrary motion.  Ryan F major hands separately, the fingering for the RH is 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4.  (Remember, no thumbs on black notes here!)

Sit up straight and face your keyboard, belly button facing middle C!

Haley and Ryan – Lightly Row – make sure you can play each hand by itself smoothly and holding out the notes for the correct number of beats before putting the two hands together.  When you do get ready to put your hands together, remember to just practice one or two measures at a time.

Sit up straight and face your keyboard, belly button facing middle C!

Haley – Ode to Joy – you can start putting hands together for the first 8 measures.

Ryan – Ode to Joy – Left hand as written, and don’t forget to use the fingerings in the part especially during the second half of the piece where the sharps and flats are.

Ryan – practice one of the riffs you took home, left hand only, and don’t forget to use the fingerings in the part.  Pretty soon you won’t even have to think about it!

Oh, and did I mention to sit up straight and face your keyboard, belly button facing middle C?!

Have a great week, and see you next Monday!

At home this week it is time to start thinking about a recital piece!  We’ll pick something together and practice during the next class, or you can come to class with your own ideas.  Tori, please practice the sheet music you took home, as well as Ode to Joy.  Alex, please go to the practice room with Miss Melody for lesson 31, and then you can go on to lesson 32 if you wish.  You will also find new games in the Games Room, and you might like to go to the train station for extra practice holding down quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes, as well as dotted half notes (3 beats!).  You will have to look at the note itself to know how many beats to hold down the middle C key.

See you next week!

At the keyboards Quin is working with Mr. Chopin and played some new songs which use eighth notes, rests, and the notes from F below middle C to the G above middle C.  Great job Quin!  Olivia learned new songs and also reviewed in lesson 39 with Amy Beach, as well as working on hearing pitches with Jungle Boy in the games room, and Grisha worked on his ant tunnels with Mr. Scott Joplin (lessons 12, 13, beginning 14), using all of his fingers in C position.  Fantastic!

At home this week:

Grisha:

1.  Spend some time with Miss Melody in the lessons 13 and 14 practice rooms.

2.  Have some fun in the games room, especially with Jungle Boy and Bongo Boy.

3.  In the improvisation room, can you make up a piece with your hands in C position, both thumbs sharing the note middle C and each finger on it’s own neighboring note?  Pick out an accompaniment you like, or just play a solo.  You might want to change the sound of the keyboard by clicking on the different instruments (the tools icon on the bottom right).  Be sure to use all ten of your fingers, but only one at a time!

Olivia:

1.  Review with Miss Melody for lesson 39.

2.  Print out this sheet for review of note values (how many beats each of the different notes get), and here is another for some musical math.

3. Play the restaurant game in the games room for more review of note values, and have some fun hearing pitches with Jungle boy.  And as always, enjoy playing your favorite pieces including your own!

Quin:

1.  Spend some time with Miss Melody in lesson 57, being very careful to count steadily even when you have rests.  You may also go to lesson 58 where you will find new songs using all the concepts you have already learned.

2.  Practice Row, Row, Row Your Boat with your hands in C position and beginning on the note G in your left hand.  If you need it, here is a copy of the music you can print out.

3.  If you like, you may print out this word search about Mr. Chopin, to help you remember some fun facts about his life.

Have a great week everyone!

At home this week:

Haley and Ryan – Listen again to Bobby McFerrin’s pentatonic improvisation on Youtube.  Ryan, practice the C-pentatonic scale with the fingering above which as you discovered Monday feels a little weird at first, and then I hope you have fun writing a short (4, 5, or 6 measures in 4/4 or ¾ time) pentatonic piece!  Links for Bobby McFerrin and manuscript paper will get e-mailed to parents separately.  You can print this out for a reminder of the C pentatonic scale.

Haley – Keep practicing your favorite songs, especially Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and add Lightly Row, hands separately.  You can also print out these two sheets for reminders about sharps and flats.

Ryan – You are being challenged to learn a new piece every week!  This week it is Lightly Row. Practice hands separately at first, and only when you can play them smoothly separately put them together one measure at a time.  In addition, practice the left hand of Ode to Joy (2) WITH THE FINGERINGS AS WRITTEN!

Have a wonderful week!

At the keyboards Melissa finished lesson 52 with Mr. Handel learning more about eighth notes and reviewing techniques.  Royson began a new lesson with Mr. Mozart and will have a lot more fun finishing next week when he is feeling much better than he was on Monday.  Alex finished lesson 22 with Mr. Villa-Lobos, already reading quarter notes and half notes (holding notes for two beats), and able to follow notation on a simple staff.  Congratulations everyone!

At home this week:

1.  Please spend some time with Miss Melody in the practice room of your most recent lesson (Royson, lesson 33, Melissa 52, Alex 22).

2.  Melissa, you may print out this word search so you can remember some fun facts about Mr. Handel, and here is another about your new composer, Mr. Chopin.   Royson, here is a technique sheet to remind you about half notes, quarter notes, whole notes and dotted half notes (three beats!), and how many beats they each represent.  Alex, you might have fun with this technique sheet for practicing the musical alphabet backwards, when the notes go down, and this one which illustrates how notes move by step.

3.  Don’t forget to have some fun in the improv room!  Make up a piece with your hands in C position (both thumbs sharing the note middle C, and each of your other fingers on their own notes going out by step on either side of C).  Be sure to check on the ant tunnels you learned about with Mr. Joplin!

I hope you all have a great week!

With fingertips touching as if holding on to a ball, (or with hands on knees, fingers curved and spread slightly apart) the fingers (numbered 1-5 beginning with the thumbs) should tap in time with the rhythm of the rhyme when that particular finger is named (i.e. both thumbs tap six times during the first line, with a pause in the middle.  Then the two index fingers for six taps with a pause in the middle, etc.

One, one, one (pause), one is thumb (pause),

Two, two, two (pause), two is new (pause),

Three, three, three (pause), count on me (pause),

Four, four, four (pause), just one more (pause),

Five, five, five (pause), so a-live!

At the keyboards Melissa and Quin have started their lesson with Mr. Handel who looks very funny with his big white wig.  They both right away recognized the harpsichord he was playing!   Olivia has added Grand Staff notes G and F with Amy Beach, and Grisha met Mr. Scott Joplin and has learned how to number his fingers to make piano playing easier.

At home this week:

Grisha:

1.  Review with Miss Melody in the lessons 11 and 12 practice rooms.

2.  Practice the finger strengthening exercise (above), and have some fun in the games room, especially with Bongo Boy and Cliff Hanger.

3.  Have fun in the improvisation room!  Remember you can change the instrument you are playing as well as the accompaniment, or play without an accompaniment!

Olivia:

1.  Practice the finger strengthening exercise (above).

2.  Review with Miss Melody for lessons 37 and 38, to practice reading your new notes, F and G.

2.  Keep working on your new piece!  Keep it short, and make sure it has a beginning, a middle part, and an end (which can be like the beginning if you wish!).  Maybe, like Amy Beach, you can be inspired by the sounds of nature.

Melissa and Quin:

1.  Review with Miss Melody in the practice rooms for lessons 50, 51 and 52, especially where the woodpecker is beating the time for the songs.  This can be tricky, but if you can feel secure here then you will have no problem with the eighth notes and ties coming up very soon!

2.  Like Mr. Satie, make up a song for one of your pets or stuffed animals.  It can be an improvisation, and it can be short, but it should have a beginning, a middle and an end.  Many composers start and end pieces the same way, so don’t be afraid to repeat something!

I hope you have a wonderful vacation, and I’ll see you in March!

We also talked about sharps and flats, how they are written in the music and what we need to know about them in order to play the correct note when we see one.  Haley reviewed the concepts in the Theory Thinker, and Ryan worked through the left hand of Ode to Joy (the level two version) which has at least a couple of sharps and a flat or two written in.  It is VERY IMPORTANT to use the fingerings that are written in the music. Ryan found this annoying, as does most everyone at first, but it will make playing the music a lot easier and it won’t take as long as you think to learn the fingerings.

At home this week:

1.  Tell your parents to check their e-mail!  I have sent them a link to a YouTube video that is a performance of a piece by Mozart with illustrations of the chords that are being played.  It is quite wonderful, and I want you to tell me which chord is your favorite!  Ryan and Haley, you might think about the chords in Heart and Soul while you listen to this!

2.  I know it is vacation week, but if you have a chance, please learn the level 2 Ode to Joy left hand part, complete with the sharps and flats.  Remember to use the correct fingerings!

3.  Scales – Haley, C major contrary motion (next time you will get a new one, so make sure this one is really smooth) and Ryan, please figure out A major!  It has three sharps, F-sharp, C-sharp, and G-sharp, and it uses the same fingerings as C major!

Please review any of the pieces you have learned so far (especially Row, Row, Row your Boat and Old Grey Goose with two hands Ryan!), and I hope you have a wonderful vacation.  I’ll see you on the last day of February!