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!

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We learned about Tchaikovsky today and did a fun dance from the Nutcracker... mostly marching, skipping and jumping... no ballet!
• We are getting very good at counting and tapping rhythms!
• We went over the A Major scales and triads. We added the chord progressions, arpeggios, and inversions.
• We put our chord progression compositions on the computer and discovered that they all sound really good because we followed the rules for making chords with chord tones and passing tones.
• For the next few weeks, I'd like the kids to focus on perfecting a few measures at a time. I made individualized charts to help make this task more fun. The kids got a brand new practice sticker sheet (and stickers) to help practice their primary songs. While we don't usually focus on perfecting all the songs we play, they should be able to have at least one song that they can play without thinking about it. This is great when there's a piano around and they want to show how amazing they are! :)
  • The sticker chart and stickers should be kept in their workbook along with their song. 
  • If they bring it to class each week, I can help them a little during class time. 
  • The kids need to play each section PERFECTLY for each sticker they earn. If they make a mistake, they don't get to put a sticker on the chart. Please ask me if you have any questions about the sticker chart.
  • I'd like the kids to try to earn a couple stickers each week.
  • Memorizing will be much easier if they can play it perfectly with the music first.

This week your child will do the blue 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!

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed our "Do Sol Fa Sol" song on the piano. The fingerings are a little tricky, so watch out for those!
  • You can hear the song on my website here!

• We learned what the low ledger lines are this week. Your child can practice the ledger lines on my website or Quizlet.com if they are having a hard time being motivated to use the physical flashcards. Have them write their times on the assignment sheet! The goal is to be able to know these notes by sight!

• We reviewed our 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!)

 

• We reviewed what a dot after a note does: give the note 1/2 the value of itself in addition to the actual value.

• We are getting really good at the chord progression at the end of our Hanon #1 exercise!

• We are adding melody to our chord progression (p.33 of the songbook)!
  • Chord tones are the notes that are being played in the chord
    • these should be added to the downbeat when the chords are being played
  • Passing tones are the notes between the chords
    • these notes can be any notes that are in the scale for the key the song is in.
    • these notes add interest to the song

• For the next few weeks, I'd like the kids to focus on perfecting a few measures at a time. I made individualized charts to help make this task more fun. The kids got a brand new practice sticker sheet (and stickers) to help practice their primary songs. While we don't usually focus on perfecting all the songs we play, they should be able to have at least one song that they can play without thinking about it. This is great when there's a piano around and they want to show how amazing they are! :)
  • The sticker chart and stickers should be kept in their workbook along with their song. 
  • If they bring it to class each week, I can help them a little during class time. 
  • The kids need to play each section PERFECTLY for each sticker they earn. If they make a mistake, they don't get to put a sticker on the chart. Please ask me if you have any questions about the sticker chart.
  • I'd like the kids to try to earn a couple stickers each week.
  • Memorizing will be much easier if they can play it perfectly with the music first.

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!

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We learned our "Do Sol Fa Sol" song on the piano after reviewing it with our hand signs. The fingerings are a little tricky, so watch out for those!
  • You can hear the song on my website here!

• We learned what the middle ledger lines are this week. Your child can practice the ledger lines on my website or Quizlet.com if they are having a hard time being motivated to use the physical flashcards. Have them write their times on the assignment sheet! The goal is to be able to know these notes by sight!

 

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

• 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!)

• We are adding melody to our chord progression (p.33 of the songbook)!
  • Chord tones are the notes that are being played in the chord
    • these should be added to the downbeat when the chords are being played
  • Passing tones are the notes between the chords
    • these notes can be any notes that are in the scale for the key the song is in.
    • these notes add interest to the song

• The kids should break down their primary song by practicing the second line only of their song this week.
  • Your child should already 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 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!

• 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.

Here is what we did in class this week:

• We reviewed that chords can be any shape, but it is the pieces that matter!
  • We color coded our song on page 16 of the blue songbook based on what number the chord is, rather than by its shape. 
    • Red is always the I chord (1st scale degree) 
      • In the key of F, the root is F
      • In our song, these are the top heavy chords (2nd inversion)
    • Blue is always the IV chord (4th scale degree)
      • In the key of F, the root is B♭
      • In our song we don't have any bottom heavy chords (1st inversion)
    • Yellow is always the V chord (5th scale degree) 
      • In the key of F, the root is C
      • In our song, these are the snowman shaped chords (root position)
• We learned a new chord in our Hanon #1 song on page 5 of our red technique book!
  • The second chord on the bottom line is iv
    • This is the only minor chord (lower case roman numerals) that we play in this chord progression, the rest are Major chords (capital roman numerals)
    • We will refer to this new chord as the Purple chord
    • It is only one note different than the red chord, but the fingering is different for the middle note!
      • RH fingering is 1, 2, 5
      • LH fingering is 5, 3, 1
    • It feels EXACTLY the same as the fingering for a yellow chord, BUT your bottom finger (5 in LH and 1 in RH) stays where it is and the other fingers move up from when you play a red chord.

• Have your child practice going back and forth between the red and purple chords and between the purple and blue chords
• We reviewed our different Chord Progressions for the song "Canon in C"
  • Have your child experiment with the different styles at the bottom of the page while playing the chords in the order they are in the box in the middle of the page.
  • I made a recording of how each variation sounds as they are being played. You can listen to them here!
    • There is a track for hearing each style one time each and another track that has each style played two times in a row.
    • Have your child play along with the recordings!
    • The 3rd style is detailed out individually because it's the one the kids liked the most.
• The kids all got to perform something they were proud of in class today!
• We reviewed our tempo terms and listened to songs that go along with the different speeds
  • Largo: very slow 
    • New World Symphony
  • Andante: walking speed
    • Waltz of the Flowers
  • Moderato: medium speed
    • Skaters
  • Allegro: fast
    • Hoedown
  • Presto: very fast
    • Flight of the Bumblebee
  • You can hear all of these examples in a file that is in the Online Resources area of the Student Portal on my website (www.musikandme.com). You will need to be logged in (at the bottom on a phone or in the right panel on a computer) to be able to get to this file. It is called "tempo examples-slow to fast" and you can play it directly from the website once you get to it.

This week your child will do the red highlighted assignments at home! This week is a very easy week, so please be sure your child is getting 5 tally marks on each red item! It won't need to be initialed this week, but if the tally marks are there, they will earn a treat!

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.