Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #6

Sound Beginnings is built on the premise that everyone is capable of developing musical talent and that the early years are the perfect time to start building a musical skillset. The meaningful and purpose-filled class activities provide a foundation for further music study. Parents can foster a child’s musical development by participating in class, listening to the album at home, and encouraging children to explore other music experiences.

Next week we'll sing these in class:

• Ten Little Pennies
• Hey! Hey! Look At Me!
• DO Pentatonic Scale
• Little Turtle
• How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
• A Rum Sum Sum
• To Market
• Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
• Zoodeo

The syllables and hand signs we use in class are part of a pitch-learning method called solfege. It is widely taught at all levels of music education and has numerous benefits. Learning solfege:

• strengthens pitch relationships and develops relative pitch
• improves sight singing abilities
• aids in transcribing (writing down) music
• improves improvisational and composition skills

Optional home fun activity: Use your paper coins for the sorting activity on page 4          
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Here's a different song about the value of coins. Check out this video!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Peek into a Sound Beginnings class and you will see skipping, crawling, dancing, and jumping! Full body movement builds large muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, aids brain-hemisphere function, and develops balance in young children.

Have a musical day!        
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons

Lesson #6

Wow! What a fun lesson #6. I was blown away with your children's compositions this week! Everyone came to their private lesson with an idea of what they wanted to do. Some even had it notated on their staff pages for me. (Thank you moms!) It was fun dreaming up ideas of what was to come next. Every student felt successful and happy with what they had accomplished.

Please have your child play their piece for you and prepare to be amazed. Our compositions are not finished yet so encourage your child to keep working. Now that we have something on paper, encourage your student to continue practicing their composition and complete whatever notes from me that you see. (i.e. finish filling in the chords or finish notating a melody line etc.) Many of the children have finished their "A section" and now need to focus on writing a contrasting "B section". We will have another private lesson on Lesson 11. Let me know if your child needs a little extra help between now and then. Persuade them to start working on the next part of their song.

Students should continue to add to their compositions. I'd love to see any changes or additions they make. They can write directly on the music I printed for them, or they can make additions in the line section of their songbooks. They can bring it to class or you can send me a picture and I'll get it updated on my computer. You’re on a roll, so don’t stop now!

I am holding free preview classes in a couple weeks. I'd love for you to invite your friends to come check out Let's Play Music! I'm also doing free preview classes for Sound Beginnings for those too young for Let's Play Music. (I know a lot of you have younger children!) I LOVE having experienced families attend my preview classes, so please sign up and invite a friend or two! I offer referral bonuses! 
   
Click here to sign up for a free preview class!

On From the New World, don't forget about the 'blue chord position' and special 'bass C' position that the LH will need to move to on pg. 15 of Part III. Here is a quick video to help with that.

Composition

The composition is the culminating event for your Let's Play Music student! We have been experiencing, internalizing, and now labeling many things over our three year development as a young musician. We will rely on our knowledge of: major and minor, time signatures, chord uses and sounds, ABA song form, staccato and legato, theme and variations, block, broken, and marching chords, and MANY other skills that will help your child as they compose and create their own original composition. We've got a starting point, now I'll encourage implementing more of these musical attributes to really make their composition musical!

Practicing Help (Homework)

Composition Help

Start with melody

Start with rhythm

Start with chords

Watch this video of a young prodigy composer who pulls four musical notes out of hat, improvising and composing a piano sonata in under a minute.     

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 :)

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Blue Bugs Lessons

Lesson #6

Don’t forget, parents come next week! :) 

Listening to the music can spontaneously include doing some of the actions too! For instance, if you hear the song Umburra, sit down and pick an object to pass around on the beat. If you are practicing Bill Grogan’s Goat, have your student clap 4 times or nod their heads 4 times, between each line, etc. The more senses you use while "playing" the more your student will internalize. If you have the storybook of Bill Grogan’s Goat read it to your child. Let your student pretend "teach" a Let's Play Music class to you, their siblings, or stuffed animals. This is great music practice and it's FUN for them!

Umburra
Learning to anticipate a beat and feel the beat internally is necessary when developing little musicians. The Umburra game helps us to do just that! Practice it at home when you are "playing" with your students. Pass the stick on the beat and whoever has it at the end of the song is the winner!

El Gallo
El Gallo translated means “The Rooster”. During your "play" time have fun working on the pronunciation of these words. Soon we’ll be singing it in harmony using a round and learning harmonic rhythm. When a child sings harmony they develop the ability to sing in tune and independently sing parts of music. It's quite a skill!     

A Frog went A-Hoppin'
Today we simply introduced this song, but this song will soon teach us how to read leaps on the staff and play leaps on the bells.     

Jungle Rhythm
Using our “Jungle Rhythm” song we had the students walk like the elephant while I was the lion. This allowed them to hear how a beat can be divided and subdivided.     

I've Been to Harlem
On the autoharp we played the song, I’ve Been to Harlem in major and then again in minor. We are training the ears to recognize the difference between the two tonalities which helps us to recognize that music can help touch our emotions and influence those listening to music.

Rhythmic Notation     
Today in class the students each got their own bug and matched it with it's rhythmic representation. They are picking up on this concept so quickly! Help them get it even more solidly by placing their flashcards bug side down and have them say the bug and flip over the card to see if they are right!

I've Been to Harlem- Maj/Min on Bells & Piano

Your student has been taking baby steps and skipping around in class for sometime. Now, we get to take the concepts that we've been experiencing and start applying them to reading music on the staff. This approach to reading music is somewhat unique to Let's Play Music. Young children will be reading from the staff without knowing any note names, read more details on how this effective method works.

http://makingmusicianslpm.blogspot.com/2014/12/learning-to-read-music.html?inf

ADDED BONUS BELOW!!!

Since your children are now more familiar with the bug rhythms, I think they're ready for this fun matching game I made called "Rhythm Foods"! You will find it in the student portal in the online resources section.

Instructions:

Print the PDF in color or black/white.

Cut out the notes on the first page (there are 3 extra notes). If you'd like to make them more durable, cut them into strips and put shipping tape on both sides before cutting them out individually.

You may keep the other 4 pages as they are, or cut them into 4 sections so each of the 16 foods is a separate card.

Begin with ONLY the first food page (the one with Pop Tarts) to be sure they understand the concepts, then add the other 3 pages once they understand how to play.

Have your child clap and say each food with you.

The answers are on the last page (printing that page is optional).

Please let me know if you use this game and let me know what you think. Your honest feedback is greatly appreciated!

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, February 6, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #5

Thank you parents for coming this week! We can't have parent days without you! 

Looking ahead to next year, as of right now, I'm planning to teach 3rd Year at the same time I'm currently teaching this class. So in August when we start Purple Magic, it will still be Thursdays at 3:50 or 5:00. Please let me know if that will or will not work for you.

Please cut out the letters as they are needed and play the alphabet keyboard game with your child. (If they're already cut apart, just pull out all of one letter at a time.) Play this game on the largest keyboard you have. (If you have a piano with 88 keys, this is preferable to playing it on a 66-key keyboard.) You can do this separately from regular practicing. Just keep each letter session very short to begin with. You can even have several sessions in a day. We want the kids to enjoy playing this game. Maybe time them and have them beat their best time!  The instructions I wrote in the Ziploc bag are different than those in the book. I have learned from experience that learning one new letter at a time makes it easier for the kids to remember. You should be able to play the game as described in the book very soon, but isolating the letters to begin with helps alleviate confusion. The repetition will help them remember faster. They will visualize the white keys for what they are, rather than what they are in relation to each other. If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please let me know. I have many suggestions, but don't want to overwhelm you with all of them at once!

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Blink with each note/chord you play in the bass clef (LH).
• Close your eyes, and run your finger over your music then stop and open your eyes. Start from wherever your finger landed and play through to the end.
• Knock on the wood/plastic of your keyboard when you come to Mr. Rests.

Bass C and Treble C
The 3 C’s are in a family; they have different first names and the same last name! We’ve known Middle C since last semester. This week we introduced Bass C: 2nd Space in Bass Clef is Bass C! (♫ "Second space is C in the bass") AND Treble C: 3rd Space in Treble Clef is Treble C (♫ "Space 1-2-3 is treble C"). These anchor notes on the staff will help orient us as we expand our keyboard skills. Treble C is just one octave up from Middle C and Bass C is just one octave below Middle C. You can look at pg. 56 in the homework book for reference, if needed.     

C Major Scale
Now that we know where Treble C is on the keyboard we can play the C Major Scale going DOWN. The technique is exactly like the Left Hand, though playing it with the Right! Practice this SLOWLY to ensure correct fingerings and bubble hand position. 1) Begin with RH finger number 5 on Treble C. (This is the C right above middle C.) 2) Play Do, Ti, La, Sol, Fa using fingers 5-4-3-2-1 with a rounded bubble hand. 3) To play Mi, POP finger number 3 over thumb. 4) Reset the BUBBLE and proceed to play Mi-Re-Do with finger numbers 3-2-1.     

I am Robin Hood
Shoo-oot the Ar-row, Waa-atch it fly---, teaches us how to feel and play the dotted quarter eighth note pattern (our bulls-eye and arrow feather) right on target. To feel this rhythm more accurately dance with the CD, stomp out the rhythm with hands and feet, or even sit them on your lap and bounce your knees up and down to the rhythm while chanting the song together. Mix up practice with this song by playing the bass clef 5th an octave lower to really sound like a deep drum!     

Mr. Rest
Could you believe all the musical symbols Old MacDonald had on his musical farm? A rest, though played with silence, is a very important aspect of music. Mozart said “The music is not in the notes but in the silence between.” Rests are powerful!

C Major Scale Right Hand Descending

Playing the Alphabet Pieces game every day will help us solidify keyboard geography by learning the names of ALL of the white keys. Once  your child knows all the letters individually, you can enjoy playing this game with its theme and variations!

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 :)

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #5

In today’s busy world, Sound Beginnings provides an opportunity for meaningful interaction and purposeful connection with your child. As you laugh, play, hug, sing, and dance with your children, you are bonding them to music and nurturing a stronger relationship with you!

Next week we'll sing these in class:

• Let's Count Our Money
• Hey! Hey! Look At Me!
• DO Pentatonic Scale
• Little Turtle
• How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
• Polly Wolly Doodle
• Palo Palo
• Uno, Dos Tres
• Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
• Hush Little Baby

This semester we will focus on the pentatonic scale. This scale is comprised of only 5 notes, and contains no semi-tones (or half steps). The absence of half steps makes it easier to sing in tune and produces music that is easily layered over many chords and other scales. Some consider the pentatonic scale a “universally pleasant sound” and a “naturally occurring phenomenon” because music based on this scale is found in virtually all parts of the world. It is common in traditional folk music and widely used in jazz improvisations.

Optional home fun activity: Cut out the coins on page 25          
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Want to know just how cool the pentatonic scale is? Check out this video! (This one is more for the parents, but the kids might still find it entertaining.)

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Our classes teach intelligent listening and understanding of classical form in a fun and interactive way. Each semester we study the timbre (tam'-ber) of various instruments and our 'smart moves' dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable, classical music experience.

Have a musical day!        
-Ms. Bethany :)