Thursday, April 10, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #13

Thank you for coming this week! I really appreciate your help in class! 

Lesson #15 (in 2 weeks) is STATION DAY! We will have different stations set up to play games and show off what the kids know. You will get to see just how much your child has learned this semester! It is a parent day and you won't want to miss it!

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Play with a metronome set at 60, then 80.
• Play the RH part with your LH.
• Perform for a neighbor or friend. 

Don't forget our end-of-year SHOWCASE is coming up! Invite your family, extended family, neighbors or friends. Let's celebrate your child's accomplishments! Kids will wear their LPM t-shirts!

Our 1st and 2nd Year Showcase will be Friday, April 25th @ 5:30pm at the church at 2750 North 800 East. Please put it on your calendar! Sound Beginnings kids will be singing 2 songs at the start of the showcase. If you'd like to see the 3rd Year and Bridge Recital, it will begin @ 6:15pm.

Remember, this is a SHOWCASE... WE ARE NOT A PERFORMING GROUP! We're not expecting perfection. This is to show your friends and family what we've been learning this year and to give your child a chance to play for an audience.

I will text you the songs your student will be playing at the showcase. These are all songs and activities we've done before, but some of them have been awhile since we've gone over them. Please help your child have an AWESOME experience by being prepared! Memorizing their parts will help them be more confident. (Not required, but highly encouraged!) Everyone should have two songs to play. If you need to make a change, please let me know ASAP! If you don't understand what your child is supposed to actually do, please just ask! If the kids don't have an actual "part" for a song, they will be doing the actions or patting their laps the beat. I do not want to use a backtrack, so everyone will need to sing all the songs!

Although I don't know what order I'll do these in, here are the songs we'll be showcasing: Turtle Shells, Caterpillar Song, Hickory Dickory Dock, I Am Robin Hood, Tinga Layo, and How to Skip.

After 1st & 2nd year are done playing their songs, we'll sing "Don't Put Your Trash" with the audience and hand out certificates and sing our goodbye song. I'm going to keep it under 45 minutes. Then we'll start the 3rd Year Recital, which you are welcome and encouraged to watch.

This Old Man
How exciting to see the culmination of the last 2 years of chord study when writing the accompaniment for this song! We use our ears to hear what sounds correct, then use our staff knowledge to write the correct chord on the staff.
       
Scale Mix-Up
You can play scales anywhere on the keyboard! Begin on any C. Choose to play OUT & IN or IN & OUT. Play each hand separate with various bugs. So many possibilities!      

Dotted Quarter Eighth Note
A.K.A “Shoo-oot the”! This rhythm is tricky to count, though feeling and chanting the dotted quarter note (the bulls eye) and eighth note (arrow feather) with “shoo-oot the” will place each note exactly where it needs to be played in time. Pull out your own beat box to practice the various rhythms!

Have the practice blues set in at home? Jazz up practicing by adding some variety with practice time. Also open up the Green Turtle Shells Songbook and play all of the chords in the LH while playing the melody with the RH. Celebrate the wonderful progress your child has made throughout this year!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 27, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #12

No class next week because of Spring Break! Parents come the following week and final is due! If you are unsure if you are caught up on your payments or not, please just ask.

Next week in class we will choose what your child will be playing in the showcase. I'll give you each a couple options. I'd like all the kids to have a couple opportunities to shine. Remember, we are not a performing group, but we do like to showcase what we've learned, so please have them practice their part. They don't need to have it memorized, but they will feel more confident if they do.

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Duet with your parent (octave higher/lower OR they play LH while you play RH)
• Play the melody with just your index (pointer) finger.
• Make up your own words to a song and sing your version while you play.

Don’t Put Your Trash
Harmony happens when we sing our designated part AND listen to those around us! What a skill! As a family, each person can choose their favorite part and with the cd sing their part all 3 times! All 3 parts begin on the same pitch and the actions will help you stay on your part.    

Tinga Layo
This week we drew in the 'bulls eye' and 'arrow feather' to create a stylized calypso accompaniment on page 23. (Please help your child finish if they didn't get it done during class!) First, sing, chant, or clap Ting-a-layo with each chord while practicing with your child then sing the lyrics of the song while your child dazzles you with this exciting accompaniment!  

Hickory Dickory Dock
Tick, tock let us rock while playing in parallel motion! This is tricky business, playing the same note together with both hands at the same time. Physically rock back and forth with your child to feel the rocking motion their hands will play. Once they get this down enjoy playing the melody while they play the parallel 5ths. What a dynamic duo!

World renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz shares an inspiring perspective of practicing!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 20, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #11

Here is a really great technique idea you can try at home! It's a video made by a Let's Play Music teacher in Ogden. Please watch it and try it with your child, especially if they are having trouble keeping their "bubble hand" shape! This will help keep fingers from "flying away". Give it a try!

Registration for next year is open for current students and we are at the final stages! You have until April 30th to register and enroll your student for 3rd year. If you register by March 29th, you won't have to pay the $20 registration fee! I realize some of you are waiting on other details before finalizing your class time. Just be sure you watch the deadline so you don't get a late registration processing fee.

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make practice time more playful!

• Tap the rhythm of your RH while tapping the rhythm of your LH on the keyboard cover (Or just tap one hand if the song is hands alone).
• Pick a measure to play, then close your book and try it from memory.
• Face Time (or call) a family member and play for them.

Scale In and Out
This technique is teaching contrary motion where the same finger numbers are played together moving in opposite directions. RH pinky (5) begins on Treble C and LH pinky (5) begins on Bass C. Play and sing IN the major scale with fingers 5 4 3 2 1 POP 3 2 1. Both thumbs will land on Middle C. Then play back OUT using fingers 1 2 3 POP 1 2 3 4 5.   

Oh, When the Saints
March 2, 3, 4! We can march with our feet AND our fingers. A marching chord is a type of stylized chord that will make this song sound much more like a march. To play a marching chord, play the bottom note of the chord alone and the top two notes (interval) together and the fingers are MARCHING! Feel free to march around the house as your child plays marching chords with this energetic song!      

Tinga Layo
To practice Tinga Layo, play the block chord as written with the calypso rhythm. An example of how to play this rhythm is at the bottom of the page in the songbook. Follow the chords and CHANT in rhythm Shoo-oot the Bug Bug or Ting-a Lay-O while playing!

C Major Scale In and Out

With Spring in the air, your blooming musician can hop on this life-size keyboard practicing the music alphabet in the sunshine!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 13, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #10

This week we played broken chords with the LH. It is imperative we play all chords with correct fingerings as this transfers over to every chord structure with all 12 major and 36 minor keys!!!

Continue to solidify the Right Hand, RH, and LH Red, Blue, and Yellow Chords! Watch that fingering, it makes a big difference when done correctly. (I can tell that some of the students aren't practicing it correctly at home because they aren't doing it correctly in class!)

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make practice more playful!

• One day this week, have Mom or Dad be the student. Show them where to place their hands, what chord/note to play, how to look up at the notes, and YOU point to each note as they play. Watch for nice bubble hands! Sometimes being a teacher is the best way to prove that you've learned something!
• Play your piece backwards. Start on the last measure and work your way to the front.
• Play through your piece replacing Mr. Rests with a "shh"

Registration is now open for current students! Classes are just about full for next fall! Thanks to those that have already registered for 3rd Year. Remember, in 3rd year the parents only come five times a semester!

I still have a few openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!

Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! I have attached the worksheet again, if you need another copy. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.

The Wheels on the Bus sing Melodic Patterns
Melodic patterns are found in every song. How many Sol-Mi-Do’s and Sol-Sol-Do’s can you hear in this version of a favorite childhood song?    
     
I Gotta Shake    
Get ready to play the rests in this silly song! Our fingers must rest from playing or holding down the note when we see a quarter rest sign. 1st say ‘sh’ or ‘rest’ while playing. Then play again hearing the rest inside while playing the silence in the song.    
     
How to Skip    
Keep skipping with fingers 1-3-5 in the RH saying the middle anchor notes. Play the LH separate while singing 1st the chord color and 2nd the melody with this favorite song. We will put hands together soon!    
     
Tinga Layo    
Duet time with shakers! Invite your child to play the chords on the piano while you or a sibling play "shoot-the-bug-bug" rhythm with a shaker. Switch! Make your own shaker with rice, beans, pennies, small beads, etc. in a plastic egg, empty spice container, or baby food jar. Shake away!

Charles Gounod was born in 1818 in Paris, France. His mom was a piano teacher and his father was an artist, so he started receiving music instruction very early in his life. He attended excellent musical schools. By the time he was 21, he was receiving awards and prizes for his compositions. He also taught other musicians, most notably, Georges Bizet. Today people still recognize his songs, O Divine Redeemer, Ave Maria, and Funeral March for a Marionette (our current puppet show known as March of the Gnomes!) Can you hear the kings heavy down beat in this recording?

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 6, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #9

Thank you, parents, for coming to class! We enjoy having you here and bonding with your child. What a gift you are giving them!

SPIRIT WEEK IS UNDERWAY! Let me know if you need any substitutions for any of the squares. You can find the BINGO worksheet in the Online Resources section of your Student Portal if you are logged in. As a reminder, some of the drawing prizes are some instruments and an MP3 player that you can put your class music on! 

One of the items on the checklist is to leave a Google review. I'm striving for a 5 star rating. If you don't plan to give me 5 stars, please talk to me BEFORE you post a review so I can address any issues you may have. Unfortunately, negative feedback has much more impact than positive feedback does, so please give me the chance to earn 5 stars if I'm not already there. Thanks! Here is the link to post a review on Google: https://g.page/musikandmebethany/review?gm

Registration is now open for current students! Please go to https://musikandme.com/Registration-LPM-return for instructions of how to enroll your student and purchase their 3rd 
year materials. There is a $20 registration fee, but you won't need to pay it if you register by March 28th! (You can earn 10 extra tickets by registering before March 15th!) My 3rd Year classes will be Thursdays at 4:00pm and 5:30pm. Please let me know if these times won't work for you and we'll discuss solutions. I can possibly adjust this if necessary, but please register as soon as you can.

Tuition is due for those who didn't pay for the entire semester up front. 

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make the alphabet pieces game more playful!

• Super Skippers:
  Your child draws out an alphabet letter and places it on the keyboard as a 'starter'. Next, she chooses another piece and checks to see if it can make a skip up or a skip down from the starter. If not, discard it and player 2 gets a turn to play (player 2 should start her skipping chain on a different octave from player 1). Keep taking turns until someone makes a chain, by adding skips at the top or bottom, that is 7 letters long and wins!
• Parking Lot Cars:
  Draw a letter from the lot and park your car on the white key "parking space" that matches. Works great with cars like these from the learning shop. Keep going until you run out of cars (or whatever counters you have).
• Cowboys and Indians:
  Start one tiny plastic character (ANY tiny plastic figures you have will do: Pokemon, animals, cowboys, princesses, etc.) at one end of the keyboard on a white key, and another at the other end. Draw a tile out and move the low guy up to that key. Draw another tile and move the high guy down to that key. Keep going until they meet (and battle, or shake hands, or whatever you pretend!) 

Bug Scale
We can now play UP the C Major Scale with our RH! Place the RH in C position and play with fingers 1-2-3 (CDE) then POP UNDER with the thumb to make a new bubble and continue playing with fingers 1-2-3-4-5 (FGABC). Choose your favorite BUG to practice this new skill. One way to remind where to pop is to insert POP with the bug like this: Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly, POPPERfly, Butterfly, etc. As always, we try to make our technique drills so fun that the kids don't even notice they are getting practice!
      
A Warm Welcome to Middle B and Middle D
The 5 anchor notes used in 2nd year include the members of the “C” family: Treble C, Middle C, and Bass C and the Middle Friends including Middle B who is B-elow Middle C and Middle D who is Down under the first line on the staff.
      
How to Skip
We will master all of our middle anchor notes with this song: Middle B, Middle C, Middle D. Use the same 3 fingers for the entire song: 1-3-5. Simply move your thumb to the appropriate starting note. Sing "C-skip-skip-skip, D-skip-skip" etc. emphasizing each anchor note. This is where the practice of seeing and playing those middle anchor notes connect!
      
I am Robin Hood
If your child can play each hand of "I am Robin Hood" comfortably, they are ready to put both hands together! Isolate 1 or 2 measures at a time to have a successful experience, then continue to add 1-2 measures until they can play the entire song with confidence! While practicing with your child, you can guide their eyes by pointing note by note with V fingers. Hooray for Hands Together!

March of the Gnomes
What did you think of our new puppet show? I've attached the new puppet show as well as put it in the student download portal.

C Major Scale Right Hand Ascending

How instinctive is your child getting with their keyboard geography playing the Alphabet Pieces Game? Time your child for 1 minute and see how many pieces they can put on the piano. Your student will treasure this craft and game idea as they continue to solidify all of the notes on the keyboard!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)