• We reviewed the "anchor C's" that help us quickly identify notes on the staff:

• We learned about the ledger lines above the treble staff
  • The notes on the ledger lines above the staff are: ACE
  • The notes on the spaces above the staff are: GBDF 

• We learned to play a song to help us remember what the ledger lines and spaces are. You can listen to the tune here as you follow along on page 28 in the Songbook. (It's okay to sing an octave lower than the notes!)

• I worked with each of the kids during class to see what was working and not working with their primary songs. I added finger numbers to everywhere they had to play something that didn't already have the correct finger over it. I emailed a PDF of their song to each parent so they can begin working with the new updates. Please print it for them! If you can't print it, please let me know. I had to finalize each piece after class was over, so I couldn't get the kids a hard copy before they left.
• The kids should break down their primary song by practicing the first line only of their song this week.
  • Your child should be able to play the 1st line of the song memorized without making mistakes.
  • Here is a web page I made with all the primary songs and the MP3s so you know what they sound like.
  • Your child is welcome to learn any of the other primary songs ONLY AFTER they have learned their own song.

This week your child will do the blue highlighted assignments at home! Parents need to initial completed assignments this week in order for the kids to get their reward in class!

I have added additional flashcards to my Quizlet collection. You can access those on my website, or through Quizlet.com. I have also added a few sets to the "Repertoire" section of the Student Portal. Please let me know if you are using these resources and I will continue adding to it! Also let me know if you can't get them to work! (Sometimes things work fine for me as the teacher, but not so well for the students and I have no way of knowing if nobody tells me they aren't working!)

Don't forget to please help your child pass off their songs and scales to earn pins! You just need to send me a video of them playing. The scales can be played with or without the back track, but they need to be perfect at least one time with both hands.

I'm getting a lot more pass-off lately! Keep it up!

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed the order of sharps and practiced drawing sharps
  • The middle space of the sharp sign needs to be centered over the line or space where the sharp is meant to be. Otherwise we can't tell which note we're trying to make sharp!

• We worked on Hanon #1 and got better at the transitions between all the chords on the bottom row. Soon we'll be able to play hands together and up to tempo!
• We did The Pirate Ship puppet show because we'll be learning about Johannas Brahms this week and he wrote that music!
• We got to play our chord progressions from page 32 for our classmates. 
  • Some of us would like to change ours a little before next week so we can make it sound even better! 
  • We'll be adding a melody for our chord progressions soon, so your child should be thinking of something that will sound good with the chords they chose.

• I worked with each of the kids during class to see what was working and not working with their primary songs. I added finger numbers to everywhere they had to play something that didn't already have the correct finger over it. I emailed a PDF of their song to each parent so they can begin working with the new updates. Please print it for them! If you can't print it, please let me know. I had to finalize each piece after class was over, so I couldn't get the kids a hard copy before they left.
• The kids should break down their primary song by practicing the first line only of their song this week.
  • Your child should play slowly until they can get all the notes correct and speed up ONLY when they can play without making mistakes.
  • Help your child memorize the 1st line of their song this week! If they only practiced the 1st line the past 2 weeks, this should be easy!
  • Here is a web page I made with all the primary songs and the MP3s so you know what they sound like.
  • Your child is welcome to learn any of the other primary songs ONLY AFTER they have learned their own song.

This week your child will do the red highlighted assignments at home! Parents don't need to initial this week, but I do need to see tally marks on the red lines for the kids to get their reward in class!

I have added additional flashcards to my Quizlet collection. You can access those on my website, or through Quizlet.com. I have also added a few sets to the "Repertoire" section of the Student Portal. Please let me know if you are using these resources and I will continue adding to it! Also let me know if you can't get them to work! (Sometimes things work fine for me as the teacher, but not so well for the students and I have no way of knowing if nobody tells me they aren't working!)

Don't forget to please help your child pass off their songs and scales to earn pins! You just need to send me a video of them playing. The scales can be played with or without the back track, but they need to be perfect at least one time with both hands.

I added more pins your child can very easily earn! 

• The yellow ones are the short songs that come after the scales/chords/arpeggios/inversions in the red book. When they can play all the songs in a given key, they will earn that pin
• The other pins are for 
  • Canon in C (playing one of the variations of the chord progression) 
  • Welcome to Bridge song
  • Paint's Mountain Adventure
  • Dinosaur Triads
  • Major Scale Magic
  • That's How You Make a Minor Scale

I'm getting a lot more pass-off lately! Keep it up!

• We reviewed how to create scales by playing hopscotch
  • Major: WWHWWWH
  • minor: WHWWHWW

• We practiced counting rhythms with bugs and actual counting using fun jingle bells
• We did the Skaters puppet show because we talked about Johann Strauss II and he wrote that music!
• We practiced feeling a strong beat by playing "One Potato, Two Potato" with beanbags
• We reviewed how to transition between the different chords on the bottom line of Hanon #1. The purple chord feels just like the yellow chord but your fingers move up instead of down.
• We practiced wrist circles in Starry Sky.
• We reviewed Love Somebody so that we'll soon be able to transpose it to the key of D Major

• The kids should break down their primary song by practicing the first line only of their song this week.
  • This will help them memorize their song if they are only doing a little bit at a time and perfecting it.
  • Your child should play slowly until they can get all the notes correct and speed up ONLY when they can play without making mistakes.
  • Each child got something that they should be able to manage with some practice, but it shouldn't be too difficult. 
  • If they would like to sing the words to their song, just let me know and I'll give them a copy with lyrics. 
  • Here is a web page I made with all the primary songs and the MP3s so you know what they sound like.
  • Your child is welcome to learn any of the other primary songs only AFTER they have learned their own song.
  • If they would like a different song, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

This week your child will do the blue highlighted assignments at home! Parents don't need to initial this week, but I do need to see tally marks on the red lines for the kids to get their reward in class!

I have added additional flashcards to my Quizlet collection. You can access those on my website, or through Quizlet.com. I have also added a few sets to the "Repertoire" section of the Student Portal. Please let me know if you are using these resources and I will continue adding to it! Also let me know if you can't get them to work! (Sometimes things work fine for me as the teacher, but not so well for the students and I have no way of knowing if nobody tells me they aren't working!)

Don't forget to please help your child pass off their songs and scales to earn pins! You just need to send me a video of them playing. The scales can be played with or without the back track, but they need to be perfect at least one time with both hands.

I'm getting a lot more pass-off lately! Keep it up!

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed the key of D minor and learned to do the chord progressions.
  • We use the notes of a HARMONIC scale because the TI leads back to DO better than te does.
  • Here is the solfege we use for our chords (compare with the diagrams below)
    • I Chord = DO-me-SOL
    • IV Chord = DO-FA-le
    • V Chord = TI-RE-SOL (instead of te RE SOL)
    • V7 Chord = TI-FA-SOL

• ARPEGGIOS are just playing the I chord broken using both hands
• INVERSIONS are the same as they are in the key of C Major but starting one whole step farther up. 
• There are no black keys for arpeggios or inversions but they still sound minor.
• If your child hasn't passed off any scales yet, they can definitely begin with the d minor scale and songs on p. 30-33
• If you have any questions about the key of d minor, please feel free to ask!
• The kids can pass off Land of the Silver Birch by playing either Triads or Performance version.
  • In this song, we play the V chord MAJOR, rather than minor
    • To make a chord major, we move the middle note UP a half step

• The kids should break down their primary song by practicing the first line only of their song both this week and next week.
  • This will help them memorize their song if they are only doing a little bit at a time and perfecting it.
  • Your child should play slowly until they can get all the notes correct and speed up ONLY when they can play without making mistakes.
  • Each child got something that they should be able to manage with some practice, but it shouldn't be too difficult. 
  • If they would like to sing the words to their song, just let me know and I'll give them a copy with lyrics. 
  • Here is a web page I made with all the primary songs and the MP3s so you know what they sound like.
  • Your child is welcome to learn any of the other primary songs only AFTER they have learned their own song.

This week your child will do the red highlighted assignments at home! Parents don't need to initial this week, but I do need to see tally marks on the red lines for the kids to get their reward in class!

I have added additional flashcards to my Quizlet collection. You can access those on my website, or through Quizlet.com. I have also added a few sets to the "Repertoire" section of the Student Portal. Please let me know if you are using these resources and I will continue adding to it! Also let me know if you can't get them to work! (Sometimes things work fine for me as the teacher, but not so well for the students and I have no way of knowing if nobody tells me they aren't working!)

Don't forget to please help your child pass off their songs and scales to earn pins! You just need to send me a video of them playing. The scales can be played with or without the back track, but they need to be perfect at least one time with both hands.

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We learned about Charles Gounod
  • His most famous song is Ave Maria
  • He wrote the song we use for our March of the Gnomes puppet show
• We practiced pencil pointing while counting out loud to our rhythms
• We learned the key of D minor
  • There is just one flat, a B♭
  • D minor is the relative minor to F Major
  • The fingering is the same as a C scale, but there is a black key on the 6th degree

• Land of the Silver Birch Triads song uses these same triads
  • In this song, we play the V chord MAJOR, rather than minor
    • To make a chord major, we move the middle note UP a half step

• The kids were each given a primary song they will get to play for the recital at the end of the year (in addition to the song they will compose). 
  • Each child got something that they should be able to manage with some practice, but it shouldn't be too difficult. 
  • If they would like to sing the words to their song, just let me know and I'll give them a copy with lyrics. 
  • Here is a web page I made with all the primary songs and the MP3s so you know what they sound like.
  • Your child is welcome to learn any of the other primary songs AFTER they have learned their own song.

This week your child will do the blue highlighted assignments at home! Parents, please initial the whole page so your child can get their reward in class!

I have added additional flashcards to my Quizlet collection. You can access those on my website, or through Quizlet.com. I have also added a few sets to the "Repertoire" section of the Student Portal. Please let me know if you are using these resources so I can continue adding to it! Also let me know if you can't get them to work! (Sometimes things work fine for me as the teacher, but not so well for the students and I have no way of knowing if nobody tells me they aren't working!)

Don't forget to please help your child pass off their songs and scales to earn pins! You just need to send me a video of them playing. The scales can be played with or without the back track, but they need to be perfect at least one time with both hands.