Here is some of what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed the sounds of a major scale, natural minor scale, and harmonic minor scale
  • Even though the scales were played in many different keys, the kids were still able to identify which kind of scale they were hearing!

• We practiced drawing ⅛ notes and ⅛ rests  

• We played a review game that covered many different concepts we've been learning in Bridge. We will play it again the next couple of weeks.

• This month is SPIRIT MONTH! The kids each brought home a BINGO sheet that they can fill in to earn tickets for the drawing at the end of the month. The squares can be substituted as necessary. For example, instead of registering for a class next year (since this is basically the last age group I teach), you can watch the video I made in class and then text me what you thought of it. I'll give 3 tickets for that!

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

Be sure your child is practicing their recital piece (primary song) every time they practice. They don't need to play the entire song, but they need to try to make a small section of it perfect. Use those sticker charts I gave you!

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 some of what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed the different sounds of intervals and how to recognize them easily.

• We practiced drawing ⅛ notes and ⅛ rests  

• We reviewed sharps & flats order
  • Sharps: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
  • Flats: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father

• We learned how to easily figure out what Major key we are in based on the number of flats we see in the key signature.
  • Look at the second-to-the-last flat in the key signature... THAT is what the Major key is!
    • Example: if there are 5 flats, they are B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, and G♭. The second-to-last flat is D♭... so that's what key you are in if there are 5 flats!
    • The trick doesn't work when there is only one flat, but that's okay because that one is soooo easy! The key of F was the second major key we ever learned. Remember our magic keys song? ♫ "Here's the key of F, it's a lovely key, it has one flat and that's a B."

• We sang and played a round with "Hey Ho, Nobody Home". The kids wanted to record I put it on YouTube as a private video. I'll email the link.
• This month is SPIRIT MONTH! The kids each brought home a BINGO sheet that they can fill in to earn tickets for the drawing at the end of the month. The squares can be substituted as necessary. For example, instead of registering for a class next year (since this is basically the last age group I teach), you can watch the video I made in class and then text me what you thought of it. I'll give 3 tickets for that!

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

Be sure your child is practicing their recital piece (primary song) every time they practice. They don't need to play the entire song, but they need to try to make a small section of it perfect. Use those sticker charts I gave you!

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 some of what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed 3 types of "Cadences" which are the way we say "the end" when a song is over. 
  • AUTHENTIC CADENCE: V7, I
    • yellow to red
    • the most popular way to say "the end" and it sounds the most complete.
    • strong pull to DO
  • PLAGAL CADENCE: IV, I
    • blue to red
    • sounds like a hymn with "a-men" at the end
  • HALF CADENCE: ends with V
    • ends on a yellow chord
    • sounds unfinished like "Kitty Kitty Casket" in LPM

• We reviewed counting notes and rests with our pyramid

• We reviewed the key of e minor and learned to do the triads.
  • 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)

• 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 two whole steps farther up. 
• There are no black keys for arpeggios or inversions but they still sound minor.

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

Be sure your child is practicing their recital piece (primary song) every time they practice. They don't need to play the entire song, but they need to try to make a small section of it perfect. Use those sticker charts I gave you!

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 practiced listening to the difference between the I, IV, V, and V7 chords (red, blue, yellow, and new yellow)

• We reviewed the names for dynamics and the order they go in:
  • pp  pianissimo (very soft)
  • p  piano (soft)
  • mp  mezzo-piano (medium soft)
  • mf  mezzo-forte (medium loud)
  • f  forte (loud)
  • ff  fortissimo (very loud)
  • sfz  sforzando (very loud accented note)

• We learned the key of e minor and learned to do the triads.
  • 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)

• 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 two whole steps farther up. 

• There are no black keys for arpeggios or inversions but they still sound minor.

• We figured out the "relative Major" for e minor is G Major because they both have just one sharp - F♯!
  • G is 3 half steps up from E
  • E is 3 half steps down from G

• We reviewed what we learned about Gustav Mahler and Camille Saint-Saens
  • We got to listen to many parts of the Carnival of the Animals Suite and figure out which animal we were listening to.

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

Be sure your child is practicing their recital piece (primary song) every time they practice. They don't need to play the entire song, but they need to try to make a small section of it perfect. Use those sticker charts I gave you!

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 scale and song pass-off lately! Keep it up!

• We reviewed the "new yellow" chord (V7)
• TI-RE-SOL changes to TI-FA-SOL
• In the key of C Major, the notes are B-F-G

• We practiced listening to the difference between the I, IV, V, and V7 chords (red, blue, yellow, and new yellow)
• We learned about the 3/8 and 6/8 time signatures
  • The "8" on the bottom means that an eighth note gets one count (if it's a "4" then a quarter note gets one count)
  • 3/8 sounds like "blue-ber-ry"
    • Emphasis is placed on the first beat
  • 6/8 sounds like "blue-ber-ry bub-ble gum"
    • Emphasis is placed on the first beat and a little less on the fourth beat
  • Each of these rows has 6 beats in it when we're in 6/8 time signature:
• We count to 6 in 6/8 time signature, like in Medieval Journey, which you can listen to here.
• Counting feels like this: 1  2  3  4  5  6

This week your child will do the red and purple 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!