Tuesday, September 24, 2024 | Purple Magic Lessons

Lesson #5

Thank you for coming to class this week! It is so fun to have you in class with us!

Tuition is due this week and is $280 for the Purple Magic semester. You can pay via Zelle using my phone number (preferred, so I don't have to pay Venmo transaction fees). Zelle is a way to transfer money from your bank account to my bank account without needing to wait or pay extra fees. It's easy to set up through your bank and even easier to use once it has been set up. You could pay via Venmo @musikandme if you really can't set up Zelle. If you need to make monthly payments, rather than paying for the semester, it will be $75/month. (You will save $20 by paying for the semester up front!) 

Next week is our first "Showtime" week! Rather than take up time in class, I'd like for you to send me a Marco Polo video of your child playing at home. This week's song is "Bounce and Roll". I will be assessing that they understand the skills being taught within that repertoire piece. I never give "grades", this is just to help me get an idea of each child's individual progress on a song, their playing ability, and will also help me identify any "problem" spots that might need a little attention.   
     
Celebrate Connection

• Play a different pattern each day for our "Let's Play Music" song and have your parent guess which one it is... then switch and have the parent play and child guess which pattern it is!
• Parent can use "V-fingers" when pointing to songs with different parts on the treble and bass clefs. Be sure you are sitting on the left side so your fingers don't cover up the music that is coming up. You can have your child do the V-fingers while you play as well!

Need some fun practice ideas? Log in to your Student Portal and download "Practice Fun Cards"!

Let's Play Music
Be sure your child is playing all five patterns. A different one each day is fine if it's a review, but if they haven't been doing it, they should play all five patterns every day. 

Caterpillar Cousins
Remember that playing in parallel motion is not easy! This piece is not meant to be played quickly, but the focus should be on technique. Your child should be playing it with proper form (bubble hands) and play as evenly as possible, with "laser beam eyes" on the music.

Say It, Then Play It
Using the purple flashcards, the student may play this game at home by saying the note they see, then playing it on the keyboard as quickly as possible. Keep in mind, this is a complex two-step decoding process: they see where the note is on the staff so they know what letter it is, then they have to transfer that knowledge to the keyboard. This is the process of learning to read music!

Magic Keys
This song is a multi-tasker! It helps us understand key signatures and chord theory, plus gives us the opportunity to practice our scales and cadences while self accompanying. Wow! Now that's complete musicianship! Check out this blog post! We will not actually play this for several weeks, but it is before lesson 9 (when parents are in class again) so it was demonstrated in class. This is a concept that will continue to sink in as the kids play the songs. They don’t need to understand it now. Remember, experience precedes learning. They experience the key signature by playing in it. Learning the words is the most important thing for now.

Cadences
When If your child is really struggling to reach the A-flat in the blue chord, have them drop the middle note and only play the C and A-flat. This will be easier for them to reach while still working toward playing the full chord. 

Bounce and Roll
Since this is one of the first songs where left and right hand have independent rhythms, it is a good one to use "V" fingers while pointing in the book. This pointing technique helps the child to read the notes and line them up vertically with his eyes to understand what notes are played simultaneously and what notes are played alone. You can also use a highlighter to draw a vertical line through notes played simultaneously.

A Royal Problem
We learn so much from studying classical music. Understanding how music is put together will help us when we compose our own songs next semester!

Scratch My Back
When a cadence pattern doesn't make it back 'home' to a red chord, it gets stuck halfway on a yellow chord. This fun activity helps us not only hear, but 'feel' an unresolved half cadence with our whole body! 

Everyone did a great job pointing out flat, sharps and naturals on their quiet keyboards in class this week. Here's an online version that you and your student can play at home (or on the go) any time, and here's a little 'accidental' humor for you this week.
  

Now that we have 'unbanded' all of the Treble Clef notes in our flashcards, you and your child will enjoy this Treble Clef parody of Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble!

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 :)