Itai completed lesson 1 with Mr. Beethoven, who we learned a little bit about today. Do you remember where Mr. Beethoven lived?  How about something that happened to him that caused him some frustration and added a challenge, but also lots of emotion to his composing?  We talked about high and low notes (or High Bird notes and Low Whale notes, as Mr. Beethoven and Miss Melody call them) and different things that we hear that make high and low sounds.

Quinn completed lesson 8 with Mr. Bach, trying out some double notes with both hands and continuing to work on holding notes.

Miss Melody helped us remember what we learned when we visited the practice room.  Remember that practising just a few minutes a day will help you remember all the new things you will be learning over the next term.  I think that everybody enjoyed our visit to the improv room.  Do you remember what “improvising” means?  Next week we will listen to the songs you created.

Homework:  Listen to the sounds around you during the week and tell us at the next class about 3 high sounds and 3 low sounds that you heard.  You might want to draw a picture or write a word to remind you of the sounds you collected.

Here is a link to a word search about Mr. Beethoven.  Try to do this and bring it to your next class:  Mr. Beethoven – Word Search

See you all on Wednesday.

Kersti

Welcome to our third weekly class blog. I will be posting homework assignments here as well as keeping you, the parent, updated as to what we cover in each class.

Matthew, Rylee, Gabriel, and I were very happy to welcome Aden, Aaliyah, and Jared to our class! I heard Eric was at a Moosehead game, have fun and see you next week Eric

We started off together on the floor with a review so Matthew, Eric and Gabriel could help our guests learn some of the cool stuff we learned last session. First we learned the finger number thumbs are 1 all the way out to number 5 baby fingers. We practiced hand position by making zombie hands floating them up and then down until our finger-tips rested on our knees. Then we did musical push-ups by lifting each finger in turn saying the finger number and practicing getting those finger to move independently. We all noticed finger 4 was the hardest to use! Next we did some rhythms clap back and I have to say these kids rock at rhythms. We did three levels. level 1: funny phrases like I like pu-ppy dogs (long long short short long) level 2: numbers 1 2 3&4 level 3: no verbal cues just listening to me clap the rhythms then they clap it back. We finished with a discussion about 4/4 and 3/4 time and how sometimes music is grouped in groups of 4 beats and sometimes like in a waltz the music is grouped in three beats. But no matter what beat 1 is always the strongest.

We headed to the keyboard to do our lessons: Aden and Jared did Lessons 3 “rhythm tapping” & 4 “circle notes” with Mr. Beethoven, They learned to replace the bird and whale notes with circles but that the high notes are still at the top of the page and low notes at the bottom with middle C in the middle. Aaliyah started where she left off last term with lesson 10 “toward middle C” working with Mr. Bach on notes that start high or low then get closer and closer to middle C. Matthew did lesson 17 “playing and singing songs” with Miss Mendelssohn, great work with using all fingers! Rylee did lesson 20 “Musical Alphabet”with Miss Mendelssohn,  Gabriel did practice 22 “Half Notes and Quarter notes” with Mr. Villa-Lobos.

We finished by playing Musical Alphabet steps, only taking a step when I hold up cards with two letters that are next to each other on the keyboard or in the Musical Alphabet CDEFGABC.

Home work:

Aden & Jared – review practice rooms 3 & 4 on different days, and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Aaliyah – review lesson 10  and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Eric- do lesson 13 one day and practice room 13 the next day, then the rest of the week you can play the cool new games you opened up by completing these levels. Print and complete this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Matthew – review lesson 17 & practice room 17  on separate days. feel free to look at lesson 18 if you feel ready. Great job on last week’s worksheet here is a new worksheet! Click to print.

Rylee - review lesson and practice 2o on different days and do this worksheet (click HERE to pint)

Gabriel – Review lesson 21 and practice room 21 on separate days. Do this worksheet click HERE to print!

Remember parents, just 5-10 minutes practice a day can help your child advance by reinforcing the things we learn in class and keeping it fresh in their minds. This year the software in included in your registration fee all you need is a MIDI keyboard and the fun can continue all week. If you need an appropriate keyboard you can either log into your account to order one from the office or call the office to order it. The link for the software will be sent you your email  so if your child is already registered and you haven’t gotten the link yet check your spam box! Any problems with the download or installation contact the office.

Mrs. Loza

Welcome to week 3 of our class blog. I will be posting homework assignments here as well as keeping you, the parent, updated as to what we cover in each class.

Today, we welcomed two new students to our class Sophie M. and Solveig.

Since the class is now bigger I decided to split the group grades P-2 Computer & keyboard lesson first then theory and games away for the keyboards and vice versa for the grade 3-6

P-2 (Sophie M., Solveig, Martin, and Grady)

Sophie and Solveig did lesson 1 with Mr. Beethoven and learned about high bird notes and low whale notes, then they went the practice room to review with Miss Melody, they got to try out two new games which reinforced the concepts of high and low that they just learned. Next they did lesson and practice room 2 where they learned how to find middle C. The most important note on the keyboard. Martin did lesson 15 “more Musical Steps” with Miss Mendelssohn and worked on short songs that used stepwise motion up and down from middle C. Grady did lesson 19 “gown up notes” with Miss Fanny Mendelssohn and was introduced to notes with stems. Stems up for the Right hand and stems down for the Left. After our lessons we went to the table where Grady and Martin helped me introduce the musical alphabet to Sophie and Solveig. Next we played keyboard race, and drew cards to move our game pieces up the keyboard using the musical alphabet and our special saying “two black keys down to C” to helps us find the note on the card we drew. The helps them learn the musical alphabet which really is the names of all the white notes on the piano in order. CDEFGABC

3-6 (Sophie A. Thomas, Sam, Josh and Autumn)

We started together at the table with a review of note values, types of notes, types of rests, dotted notes and rests, and time signatures like 4/4,  3/4,  and 6/8 time. next I had them split into two groups and each make up a rhythm with our rhythm cards to challenge the other group to clap. they came up with some pretty hard ones! At the computers Sophie did practice room 84 with Miss Melody working on interval of a 4th. Thomas did lesson 67 a review of sharps with Mr. Scarlatti. Josh and Sam did lesson 35. Autumn was absent, I spoke with her EPA and we will make sure she remembers next Friday to come to MusIQ Club.

Below is the homework for each child, print of the worksheet for your child and have them try to complete it and return it to me next week in class!

Home work: (These are the same worksheet from last week because no one passed them in!! please print for you child to complete it and return next Friday!)

Sophie A. - do practice session 85 at home and do this worksheet (Click HERE to print)

Thomas – good job on the last worksheet. Do practice session 67 and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Grady – review lesson 19 and practice 19 on different days this week, and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Martin – review lesson 15 and practice 15 on different days,  and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Autumn – do practice session 30 with Miss Melody and do this worksheet (click HERE to print) and this worksheet (click Here to print)

Sam & Josh -Do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Sophie M & Solveig – review lesson 1 & 2 with your parents this week, show them how to play the games, and do this worksheet (click HERE to print)

Remember parents, just 5-10 minutes practice a day can help your child advance by reinforcing the things we learn in class and keeping it fresh in their minds. This year the software in included in your registration fee all you need is a MIDI keyboard and the fun can continue all week. If you need an appropriate keyboard you can either log into your account to order one from the office or call the office to order it. The link for the software will be sent you your email  so if your child is already registered and you haven’t gotten the link yet check your spam box! Any problems with the download or installation contact the office.

Mrs. Loza

Ellie: Go into the CMJ 2 software and set it up for lesson 30 and 31. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. Ellie’s hands position has to keep the thumbs of both his right and left hand positioned on middle C. Then each finger gets its own key. So right hand would be C D E F G and left hand C B A G F. Ellie is working on two songs on his computer, Are You Sleeping and Going Home. He is being prepped to make a full transition to the lines and spaces. Watch carefully for notes moving up by step (moving on the right of the keyboard) and notes moving down by step (moving to the left of the keyboard). In the workbook, please complete MusIQ Club Beginner Level 2A: The Staff – Line and Spaces, The Grand Staff – 2 Ways of Writing Middle C, Reading – Treble Clef C, D, E, and Note Naming: 2 Tricky Notes. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Cail, Gabby, David & Lauren: Go into the CMJ 2 software and set it up for lesson 40 and 41. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. Matteo is actively reading on the lines and spaces of the treble clef and bass clef. Take special care at home to make sure that he is able to identify all the notes that he is playing on the lines and spaces. They should also recognize the time signature, bar lines, treble clef, bass clef, and double bar line. Each of these things have a special meaning. They also needs to know the note values, i.e. half note, quarter note, dotted half note, and whole note. In the workbook, please complete MusIQ Club Beginner Level 2A: The Staff – Line and Spaces, The Grand Staff – 2 Ways of Writing Middle C, Reading – Treble Clef C, D, E, and Note Naming: 2 Tricky Notes. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Aidan, Tyler, Hunter & Lachlan: Go into the CMJ 1 software and set it up for lesson 15 and 16. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. These boys are working their way through notes “moving by step.” In order for them to be successful, they have to keep the thumbs of both their right and left hand positioned on middle C. Then each finger gets its own key. So right hand would be C D E F G and left hand C B A G F. Watch for the picture of the RH or LH so you know what hand to use. When a notes moves by step, that means it’s up or down to the very next key, i.e. ‘a neighbor.” Written music is a visual representation of what the sound is doing. So, if the notes look like they’re going up, then the sound is higher and the fingers walk to the right. If the notes look like they’re going down, then the sound is lower and the fingers walk to the left down the keyboard. In the workbook, please complete MusIQ Club Beginner Level 1B: Moving by step – Notes Stepping Up, Notes That Are Neighbors and Ms. Fanny Mendelssohn — Word Search. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Calum: Go into the CMJ 2 software and set it up for lesson 30 and 31. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. Calum’s hands position has to keep the thumbs of both his right and left hand positioned on middle C. Then each finger gets its own key. So right hand would be C D E F G and left hand C B A G F. Calum is working on two songs on his computer, Are You Sleeping and Going Home. He is being prepped to make a full transition to the lines and spaces. Watch carefully for notes moving up by step (moving on the right of the keyboard) and notes moving down by step (moving to the left of the keyboard). In the workbook, please complete MusIQ Club Beginner Level 2A: The Staff – Line and Spaces, The Grand Staff – 2 Ways of Writing Middle C, Reading – Treble Clef C, D, E, and Note Naming: 2 Tricky Notes. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Matteo: Go into the CMJ 2 software and set it up for lesson 40 and 41. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. Matteo is actively reading on the lines and spaces of the treble clef and bass clef. Take special care at home to make sure that he is able to identify all the notes that he is playing on the lines and spaces. He should also recognize the time signature, bar lines, treble clef, bass clef, and double bar line. Each of these things have a special meaning. He also needs to know the note values, i.e. half note, quarter note, dotted half note, and whole note. In the workbook, please complete MusIQ Club Beginner Level 2A: The Staff – Line and Spaces, The Grand Staff – 2 Ways of Writing Middle C, Reading – Treble Clef C, D, E, and Note Naming: 2 Tricky Notes. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Griffin: Go into the CMJ 1 software and set it up for lesson 4 and 5. We tried to get through two lessons today but not everyone made it. Please catch up on the two lessons at home if possible. Today Griffin transitioned from reading bird and whale notes to actual circle notes on the screen. Middle C has a line through it in the middle of the screen. Notes that are higher than middle C have to be played on the right hand side of the keyboard, while notes that are lower than middle C have to be played on the left side of the keyboard. Be careful! Since the notes are going higher and higher and lower and lower, you must make sure that you still have keys left to play. In other words, if you need to go lower and lower and start out with the lowest note on the keyboard, then you have nowhere left to go. This is a common mistake that a lot of beginning students make. In the workbook, please complete Circle Notes, Holding Notes, and Mr. Bach – Word Search. Next week we are going to start to play the songs in the back of the workbook, so if you haven’t already tried them at home, then please take a peek and see how they go.

Level 1

Today the girls did lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak to continue practicing neighbour notes and work on the Musical Alphabet forwards and backwards, and Liam did lesson 30. Good job today reading the finger numbers carefully to play the songs, which you did very well! Playing back rhythms was the trickiest part today, but this is new, so it is ok if it is a bit challenging, we will keep working on it! We also played a new game called Keyboard Race to practice naming  of the white keys today. Remember Group of two [black keys] Down to C, and Group of 3 Down to F. From there you can count forwards or backwards to find the names of the neighbour notes!

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review Lesson 29 or 30 with Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Continue working on some Letter Tunes from your workbook at your keyboard this week. Remember to use all 5 fingers, one for each white key, not just playing the whole song with your pointer finger!
• Practice finding all the Cs from highest to lowest, all the Fs, then all the Ds and all the Bs, which are C’s neighbours.
• Teach someone at home how to say the Musical Alphabet backwards: G F E D C B A. Can you say it?
• Complete the next worksheet in your workbook!

Level 2B/3B

Faye and Rebecca did Lesson 47 today. Great job girls! You rhythms are much better this week, and the note reading is going very well. This week I gave you new worksheets for 2B and asked you to complete two of them, plus try the new song I Am Tall at home this week. Jack completed lesson 77 today and some of 78. He is doing really well, and quickly learned a new solo piece today called My Flat Song. He learned it well in just a few minutes, and I was very impressed! He also got caught up on his worksheets today. Great job Jack!

Advanced Level 2/3

Today Jarrett played Daydream Believer for me (watch the F#s, otherwise very good!) and his legato/staccato exercise, two music terms for smooth and bouncy. He got caught up on his worksheets, and we started a new song, March Militaire. He is also still working on the Angry Birds theme song. You can work on these at home and complete your worksheets. Daniel completed Ten Little Wanderers today, and so he has started a technique exercise about 2-note slurs (down-up!) and the lead sheet for This Old Man. Great work!

Level 1

Today Breanna did lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak to learn about notes with stems, and continue playing songs that move up and down from Middle C in steps and skips, but reading the finger numbers and watching how they move on the lines and spaces. I really loved how you are being careful to use the correct fingers so that you can use all 10 fingers to play, not just your pointer fingers. =)

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 29 with Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Continue working on some Letter Tunes from your workbook at your keyboard this week. Remember to use all 5 fingers, one for each white key, not just playing the whole song with your pointer finger!
• Practice finding all the Cs from highest to lowest, all the Fs, then all the Ds and all the Bs, which are C’s neighbours.
• Teach someone at home how to say the Musical Alphabet backwards: G F E D C B A. Can you say it?
• Complete the next worksheet in your workbook!

Level 2A

Today we did Lesson 35, where Mr. Mozart reviewed some Treble Clef CDE songs and introduced the Bass Clef and C B A songs for the LH. Middle C still has its own little line, Balancing B “balances” on the top line of the Bass staff, and A is a line note. There was a small amount of confusion around As and Es, and Bs and Ds being mixed up, but we will keep working on this. Remember that when we go down from Middle C we count backwards through the alphabet and when we count up, we move forwards through the alphabet. Great job on this!

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 35 with Mr. Mozart and Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Keep up the beautiful hand positions at home, too please! Nice curved fingers.
• Complete the worksheet in your workbook: Grand Staff Notes. You can also try Hot Cross Buns written on the Grand Staff from the Repertoire section of your workbook. We will try it together out loud in Concertmaster next week.

Georgia is in 2B and she completed Lesson 44 with Mr. Tchaikovsky. Georgia continues to do some really nice note naming and playing, with nice curved fingers and good rhythm tapping, too. So, she can complete the next worksheet at home, and review Lesson 44! Go ahead and try 45 if you’d like as well.

Caitlyn zipped through Lesson 70 where she put together all her knowledge about flats and sharps to learn some new songs.Great job Caitlyn!. Please review Lesson 70 at home and complete the worksheets on flats!

This week was our second week, and we had a lively class! Everyone is making progress at the level they’re working on. Good job!

Level 1B, Lesson 16 – Andrew

Lesson 17 – Mya and Abigail

Lesson 18 – Beth

• We began our lesson by reviewing the life and times of Miss Fanny Mendelssohn. You remembered so much from last week! Good job!
• Then we clapped some 4 beat rhythms together in a rhythm circle.
• We also reviewed the terms piano (quiet) and forte (loud).
• At the computers, you each worked through lessons which helped you to play songs with stepping notes. Some of you played the songs ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ and ‘Mary Had a Big Fat Sheep!’
• After practising with Miss Melody, you had fun in the Games Room!

At Home this Week;

• It is very important at this stage in your piano playing, to remember to use all 5 fingers with your hands in a relaxed ant tunnel position. It is tempting to use just your pointer finger, but using all your fingers will help you to develop strong piano playing hands!
• Mya, Abigail and Andrew – Re-visit lesson and practice for lesson 17.
• Beth – visit Miss Melody in Lesson 18.
• Print out this sheet and see if you can find all the notes drawn on the lines!

Beth and Andrew, have a wonderful vacation!

Mya and Abigail, I’ll see you next week!

Adele

This Saturday was the second class for this term. Everyone worked super hard and made good progress!

Devon – Level 2B, Lesson 40 and 41

• This week you began reading more notes for the left and right hand on the Grand Staff. You can now play music using the first 4 fingers of you right hand, reading the treble clef notes Middle C, D E and F, and the first 3 fingers in the left hand reading the Bass Clef notes Middle C, B and A!
• You have also met Mr Woodpecker, and are getting more confident at tapping back rhythm patterns. You know what a whole note, half note and quarter note look like, and can recognize dotted half notes too! Good job!
• This week you met your new teacher Mr Tchaikovsky who taught you all about right hand note F.

At Home this Week;

• Print off this sheet and try to circle the correct notes! If you have trouble, bring it with you to class and we’ll complete it together!

Parker and Madeline – Piano Suite Level 2, Lesson 2 (See you next time, Luc)

• This week, Parker explored some songs in Level 1, and also watched some animations animations about correct body posture and hand position.
• Then we worked on the C Major scale. Remember the finger pattern, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 4 5.
• Then we tried the new scale – G Major. This one has one sharpened note, F#, but the finger pattern is the same.
• In the Piano Player library, you spent some time playing through songs from Level 1 and 2.

At Home this Week;

• Print out the Technique sheets for Level 1 and Level 2 . Keep working on C Major, C Contrary motion, and G Major scales.
• In the Piano Suite software, try the note naming Game in Theory Thinker that we played in class. (Both Treble and Bass staffs)
• Print out this sheet to practice note naming.

Craig – Piano Suite Level 7, Lesson 2

• This week we continued to work on the E Major and B Major scales. You are getting much more confident at playing them with both hands together over 2 octaves. This week, we also went through the C# Major scale together. Try this one hands apart this week.
• In Piano Player, you spent some time working on your 2 pieces for Level 7. Beethoven’s ‘German Dance’ and Mozart’s ‘Minuet in F.’ These will be your assessment pieces at the end of this term. Then you tried Bach’s Minuet in D for a challenege.

At home this week;

• Continue to practice your scales, EVERYDAY!
• Try to find the time to practice your repertoire pieces in Piano Player.
• As you didn’t get chance last week, please print out this sheet and the ‘Circle of Fifths sheet to work out these sharp key signatures.

Have a great week!

Adele

Welcome to week 3 of our class blog.

Devin was not at MusIQ Club today but the office indicated he was absent. Hannah was also missing and I had the office call her but she did not show up. I strongly recommend for parents to include a note with your child’s lunch on Thursdays reminding them to go to MusIQ Club or send a note for the home room teacher to remind them!

I started with Lauren working on some theory, we covered note values, time signature, and practiced making some rhythms using the different note values in both 4/4 and 3/4 time. next she went to the computer and keyboard to do “Grand staff note placement” to practice note reading skills. She also did Theory Thinker 1-1 and 1-3 Which covered the treble and bass clefs as well as some exercises. She worked on Old grey Goose for the right hand both using wait for note to learn the notes and then with the metronome to practice the rhythms. I saw some excellent progress over the lunch hour for Lauren, great job! We finished in Concertmaster where we use the speakers to “play out loud” in ensemble. we practiced singing the finger number, singing the note names, and clapping the rhythm before we finally put it all together and played the song! She also handed in her worksheet which she did a great job on!

Josh Started out in the composers corner playing around with his own compositions. Next we went over some theory away from the computer. We reviewed piano and forte and learned mezzo piano and mezzo forte, reviewed the difference between legato and staccato. We learned the scale degrees (the roman numerals assigned to each note of the scale) and then we learned a new type of scale called the pentatonic scale unlike the major scale wich has 7 notes this one only has 5! fingering was 12,1235 and Josh tried that out to great success on the keyboard. We then had a quick introduction to whole tones and half-tone (also known as whole tones and semi-tones or whole step and half steps) He had already heard about these because in his guitar there are frets and each fret is a half step. At the computer he worked on “Let in Be” with metronome, “Happy birthday” concentrating on the part with two hands together. and learned a new song “Home on the Range”  We finished off working with :Lauren in concertmaster with Josh playing a second part of Old grey Goose for the Left hand. More challenging and great for practicing reading in the bass clef! Good work as always Josh

Home work:

Josh- homework this week is to practice “Let it Be”, “Happy Birthday”, “Home on the Range” at home using the metronome, play the grand staff note placement game (found on Theory Thinker page) to work on note reading skills, and do this worksheet Click HERE to print <– same as last week because he didn’t hand it in yet!

Lauren – Do this new Worksheet click HERE to print.  Do the “Grand Staff Note Placement Game” on the Theory Thinker page. try to get 10 right answers! Practice Old Grey Goose, use the metronome by clicking on the little clock picture but set it to 70 to start and work your way up to 80 or 85 for next Thursday. Review all the exercises for the Treble and Bass clefs. You can find them under Piano Player, exercises topic 7, page 8, ex. 1 to 8.

Hannah and Devin - On the Theory Thinker page there is a game called “Grand Staff Note Placement Game” try to use the musical alphabet and count up and down from middle C to find the notes. This will be a big challenge this week try to get 5 right! I promise it will get easier. Also play the “Word Play” game found on the bottom of the Theory Thinker page, the icon with ACE written across the keys. Parents please print THIS reference page and also have your child complete this worksheet click HERE to print.

Remember parents, just 5-10 minutes practice a day can help your child advance by reinforcing the things we learn in class and keeping it fresh in their minds. This year the software in included in your registration fee all you need is a MIDI keyboard and the fun can continue all week. If you need an appropriate keyboard you can either log into your account to order one from the office or call the office to order it. The link for the software will be sent you your email  so if your child is already registered and you haven’t gotten the link yet check your spam box! Any problems with the download or installation contact the office.

Mrs. Loza

Level 1

Today, we did Lesson 29, where Mr. Dvorak had you reading line and space notes on the 5 line staff!  You did a great job with this Gailin and tried very hard to keep your hands in middle C position!  After you lesson, you went to the Improvisation room where you learned how to change your instrument sound, and you recorded an Improvised Melody over the Blues channel.  Well done!

This Week @ Home

• Complete the worksheet on “Moving by Step – Line and Space Notes” and bring to our next class. 
• Keep practicing “Love Somebody”, “Ode to Joy” and “Hot Cross Buns” !
• Start working on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” which we will work on in Concertmaster next week!
• If you have CMJ2 at home, review Lesson 29 with Miss Melody and then head to the Improvisation and Games rooms.

Level 2A

Today, we did Lesson 37 where we focussed on playing songs with our hands in Middle C Position and working on rhythms with Mr. Woodpecker!  You are getting better at these.  Just remember to play the rhythms on Middle C and hold down Middle C for any holding notes.  After your lesson, we went to the Improvisation room where you recorded an Improvised Melody over the Blues.  I was really impressed with your song, Gillian!  Excellent work today!

This Week @ Home

• Complete the worksheets on ”Reading Grand Staff Notes” and bring it to our next class! 
• Keep practicing “Hot Cross Buns” and “Upside Down Buns”, and “Alouette” at home.
• If you have CMJ2 at home, review Lesson 37 and then head to the Improvisation and Games rooms.

Level 3B

Today, we moved ahead to Lesson 80 and 81!  You also had a new teacher, Mr. Debussy who introduced you to “Big C Position”.  This is like Middle C Position, only your left hand moves down to the next C, and your pinkie (finger 5) goes on the C, finger 4 on the D and so on.  You also learned about our new Bass Clef Notes F, E, D and low C!  You did a great job adding the sticky notes to “Ode to Joy”.  Careful practicing it at home, as the sticky notes on your song sheet are differerent that the ones used in the lesson.  Excellent work today Alex!  You really enjoyed making up some song in the Improvisation room afterwards. 

This Week @ Home

• Complete your worksheets on “Big C Position” and “Secret Code Detectives”.
• Keep practicing ”Ode to Joy” and your other songs!
• If you have CMJ3 at home, review Lessons 80 and 81 and then head to the Improvisation and Games rooms.

Beginner Level 1A

Today, in Lesson 8, Mr. Bach taught us about Double notes and you did very well with this concept in your lesson.  Well done! Please remember to bring your folders to class so that we can work on your songs!  I did give you a song to practice as I do not know if you have any songs in your folder, Allison.  You can work on “Mary Had a Little Lamb” at home. 

This Week @ Home

• In CMJ volume 1 (if you have it) review Lesson 8 and have fun in the practice and Improvisation rooms (using Double Notes).
• Practice ”Mary Had a Little Lamb” and any other songs you may have.  Please bring your book next week as we will be working on your songs in class!
• If you have the worksheet on “Double Notes”, please complete and bring to our next class!

Level 2A

Today, we did Lesson 35 which was a review lesson of what you have learned so far, with our teacher Mr. Mozart.  After the Lesson, you went to the Improvisation room and I was really impressed  with the song you composed!  Well done James!  

This Week @ Home

• Practice “Hot Cross Buns/Upside Down Buns” and ”Alouette”.
• If you have CMJ2 at home, review Lesson 35 with Miss Melody each day and then head to the Games and Improvisation rooms.
• Complete your worksheet on “Grand Staff Notes” for next class.

Level 2B

Today in class, we completed Lesson 42 with Mr. Tchaikovsky, where we learned about 2 new musical terms… piano (which means to play quietly or softly) and forte (which means to play loudly).  We also played some forte/piano Tic Tac Toe on the floor.  Well done!  Ruben, if you could bring your booklet next class, that would be great!

This Week @ Home

• In CMJ volume 2, review lesson 42 and then spend some time in the Games and Improvisation rooms.
• Complete your worksheet on “Forte and Piano”. 
• Practice “Ode to Joy” (if you have it) and “Alouette” at home.

Level 2C

Today, we skipped ahead to Lesson 56 as you have been doing some of the lessons at home.  Try not to skip too far ahead Taylor, as we need to make sure that you understand the concepts covered in the lessons!  Lessons 54 and 55 covered Eighth Notes and your homework today will review those.  Lesson 56 introduced you to Quarter Note Rests which also get 1 count (just like quarter notes).  You also created some one bar rhythms in 4/4 time for me on the floor.  Just remember that a whole note gets 4 counts, a half note gets 2 counts, and a quarter note gets 1 count.  We will do some more rhythm review next week to make sure that you understand this.  Great job in your lesson Taylor! 

This Week @ Home

• Redo your worksheets on “Grand Staff Notes” and “Skips and Steps” to correct any mistakes and bring it to our next class.
• Complete the new worksheet on “Eighth Notes”.
• Practice “Alouette” (if you have it) and “Ode to Joy”.
• If you have CMJ2 at home, review Lessons 56 each day and then head to the Games and Improvisation rooms. 

Level 3A

Today in class, we completed lesson 70 with our  teacher, Mr. Scarlatti.   He reviewed Flat Signs with you.  Excellent work on your lessons!   Then you headed to the Improvisation room where you created some songs starting and ended on C and using the white keys, to the Blues!

This Week @ Home

• Complete the worksheet on “Review Worksheet – Note Naming”.  
• If you have CMJ3 at home, review Lesson 70 and then head to the Games and Improvisation Rooms.
• Practice “Look Sharp” and your new Flat song. 
• Keep practicing “Angry Birds”. We will work on our songs in Concertmaster next week.

Level 1B

Today these girls completed Lesson 19. The lessons are getting pretty tricky now as the songs get longer and there is even more switching between notes below and above the Middle C line. The girls still get stuck on this a bit, so watch for this at home – if they are stuck, just ask them if the notes are for their right hand or left hand. Today the circle notes got stems, which is a big step, and Miss Mendelssohn added two more lines to the staff, so the girls are really getting the feel of how notes move on the staff, steps and skips on the lines and in the spaces. This is great practice for after March Break when they will be on the Grand Staff!

Level 2A

Today we did Lesson 35, where Mr. Mozart reviewed some Treble Clef CDE songs and introduced the Bass Clef and C B A songs for the LH. Middle C still has its own little line, Balancing B “balances” on the top line of the Bass staff, and A is a line note. There was a small amount of confusion around As and Es, and Bs and Ds being mixed up, but we will keep working on this. Remember that when we go down from Middle C we count backwards through the alphabet and when we count up, we move forwards through the alphabet. I introduced the girls to the Grand Staff Race game, which is a great game for learning how notes move on the Grand Staff. Great job on this!

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 35 with Mr. Mozart and Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Keep up the beautiful hand positions at home, too please! Nice curved fingers.
• Complete the worksheet in your workbook: Grand Staff Notes. You can also try Hot Cross Buns written on the Grand Staff from the Repertoire section of your workbook. We will try it together out loud in Concertmaster next week.

Caitlyn completed Lesson 70 today, so she is a pro now with sharps and flats! Please complete the worksheets in your book about Sharps and Flats. Nicole, please remember your book next week! Nikki is doing really well with the note reading in the new Big C hand position in Lesson 89 She and Aydean played the Octopus Game on the carpet today to review intervals up to an octave. Aydean did some great work this week and today on Let It Be. The notes are right, you especially did a great job on the tricky section where your hand has to move up. Now work on getting a more steady tempo/beat through the whole song. Listening to it on you tube might help, too! Next week – new song!

See you next week!

We started with our CMJ Lessons, and then went to the carpet for a new rhythm/history/movement/listening activity I’m trying out based on Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, Mov. 2. It went really well, great participation and it was neat to see the kids applying what we have been practicing all year with the rhythm cards. From there we went to eat, and the 2As played the Grand Staff Race game while they ate – good thing they aren’t competitive at all…. hmm. =)

Level 2A

Today we did Lesson 35, where Mr. Mozart reviewed some Treble Clef CDE songs and introduced the Bass Clef and C B A songs for the LH. Middle C still has its own little line, Balancing B “balances” on the top line of the Bass staff, and A is a line note. There was a small amount of confusion around As and Es, and Bs and Ds being mixed up, but we will keep working on this. Remember that when we go down from Middle C we count backwards through the alphabet and when we count up, we move forwards through the alphabet.

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 35 with Mr. Mozart and Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Keep up the beautiful hand positions at home, too please! Nice curved fingers.
• Complete the worksheet in your workbook: Grand Staff Notes. You can also try Hot Cross Buns written on the Grand Staff from the Repertoire section of your workbook. We will try it together out loud in Concertmaster next week.

Level 3B

This is Paige (who was missing today), Ethan, Ruby, and Valerie. They are using Children’s Music Journey Volume 3. Today they completed Lesson 75, which was a review of the songs from the last several lessons. Ruby rocked her lesson, and Valerie did some very nice note reading today. Ethan is going to do Lesson 76 at home this week. At home you can review Lesson 75 with Miss Melody, and complete the C Major Scale worksheets in your workbook. Keep working on the song from your workbook: My Flat Song. If you can play the first measure, you can play 1/2 the song!

See you next week!

Level 1

We did lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak. Things are getting a bit trickier, but I’m so happy to see you using all 10 fingers. We played a new game with game pieces and cards at the keyboard, called the Keyboard Race Game. I’m pleased with how comfortable you are getting at naming all the white keys! Next week is a big week: 2 important concepts to learn, and 2 new games will be unlocked in the games room!

This Week @ Home

• If you have CMJ volume 2 at home, you should review lesson 29 with Miss Melody, and head to the games room.
• Continue working on the letter tunes at the back of your folder, and choose one to practice extra to perform for everyone next week!
• Practice finding all the Cs from highest to lowest, all the Fs, then all the Ds and all the Bs, Es, As and Gs.
• Teach someone at home how to say the Musical Alphabet backwards: G F E D C B A. Can you say it?
• Try the next note spelling worksheet in your workbook!

Level 2B

Cassie did well today in lesson 40. We worked at the table also to check her understanding of 4/4 time signature with the rhythm maker cards. She did great! At home, try Lesson 41, and try lots of Songs with CDE from the CMJ Library Room.

Level 3B

This is Lily and Jude. Today Jude did really well in Lesson 75 playing some cool hands together pieces. Lily went on and did Lesson 76. At home you can review your lesson with Miss Melody, review the C Major scale with the thumb tuck (1 2 3 tuckyourthumb 1 2 3 4 5) and complete the C Major Scale worksheet in your workbook.

See you next week!